Sleeper Picks for Week 6

Desperate times call for desperate measures. With six teams on bye this weekend, owners might look to some of these sleepers, who should be widely available on waiver wires, as fill-ins for bye- or injury-depleted rosters.

Quarterbacks

J.P. Losman at Detroit—Detroit’s pass defense is horrible, allowing a league-worst 11 touchdowns through the air and 266 passing yards per game. The Lions are minus-five in turnover differential, so the Bills could have favorable field position for much of the game.

Damon Huard at Pittsburgh—Huard has been surprisingly effective in relief of Trent Green, with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Also surprising is Pittsburgh’s defensive woes. The Steelers rank No. 22 against the pass, allowing 218.2 passing yards per game.

Running backs

Correll Buckhalter at New Orleans—The Eagles have been guarded about Brian Westbrook’s condition but have indicated that he will play this week. Regardless, Buckhalter should get a decent number of carries to spell the ailing Westbrook, who carried the ball only 11 times last week. The Eagles will need to establish the run as the Saints are much better against the pass than the run.

Ladell Betts vs. Tennessee—Betts is averaging 4.8 yards per carry, though his playing time has diminished with Clinton Portis healthy. The Redskins should use Betts more this week to exploit the Titans’ last-place run defense.

Wide receivers

Wes Welker v. N.Y. Jets—Welker averages nearly 60 yards per game as the Dolphins' third wide receiver and may be moved up to No. 2 this weekend with Marty Booker ailing.

Eric Parker at San Francisco—Parker’s receptions have been increasing each week and he’s got a good opportunity to reach the end zone as the Chargers continue to step up their passing game against the 49ers, who have allowed 10 passing scores this year.

Tight ends

Bo Scaife at Washington—With David Givens out and Drew Bennett questionable, Vince Young will probably look more often to his tight ends, especially his former Texas teammate. The Redskins have yielded nine passing touchdowns this season.

Jerramy Stevens at St. Louis—Stevens should see his first action of the season against the Rams after returning from a knee injury. He was eighth among tight ends last year with five regular-season touchdowns.