Best bye week replacements for Saints RB Alvin Kamara

We’ve reached Week 6 of the 2021 NFL season and that means we’ve reached the first batch of bye weeks to occur this year.

Four teams will be idle this Sunday as the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets will get the week off following their trip to London, along with the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers. The Saints being off means no running back Alvin Kamara this Sunday, who is earning fantasy managers 15.9 points a game.

If you have Kamara, you most likely already have a backup option to take his place for Week 6. If you don’t and are scrambling to find a replacement on the waiver wire, we’ve got you covered. Here are two options to consider:

Week 6 byes: ATL, NO, NYJ, SF

Giovani Bernard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Eagles

Giovani Bernard was brought on by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason to be a change-of-pace, pass-catching running back out of the backfield. When he’s been healthy this year, he’s done just that.

Gio made his mark in the team’s Week 3 loss at the Rams a few weeks back, catching nine of 10 targets for 51 yards and a touchdown. He struck another productive day in the team’s 45-17 beatdown of the Dolphins this past Sunday, catching two passes for 14 yards and a touchdown and also ran four times for 21 yards.

The Bucs travel to Philadelphia for Thursday Night Football this week and notably, Tom Brady has a slight thumb injury that he’ll have to deal in the road matchup. That may somewhat limit his ability to accurately connect on deep passes, making short outlet looks to targets like Bernard more enticing. He’s only rostered in 16% of Yahoo leagues and 11% of ESPN leagues, so you’ll most likely find Gio if you look for him on the waiver wire this week.

Devontae Booker, New York Giants vs. Rams

Booker delivered a solid effort in the Giants’ loss to the Cowboys on Sunday, rushing 16 times for 42 yards and a touchdown on the ground and also caught three passes for 16 yards and another touchdown through the air.

What makes Booker an enticing fantasy option this week is the absolute dire circumstances of the Giants offense at the moment. Lead running back Saquon Barkley will most likely be sidelined after suffering an ugly ankle injury on Sunday, as will receiver Kenny Golladay after hyperextending his knee. Quarterback Daniel Jones is in concussion protocol and the timetable for his return depends on how quickly he completes that and rookie receiver Kadarius Toney will be questionable with an ankle/foot injury.

That makes Booker one of the primary playmaking options for the Giants offense come Sunday against the Rams. The prospects of going head-to-head with Aaron Donald is indeed a risky proposition, but he may get a large enough volume of touches to command a pretty nice fantasy day. Booker is rostered in just 6% of Yahoo leagues and 4% of ESPN leagues.