This is the week many fantasy mavens in Minnesota dread most: Justin Jefferson’s bye week.

Four NFL teams were off last week, but Week 6 is the first one with significant bye consequences. The Vikings will be joined on the sidelines by the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, the Miami Dolphins and the Los Angeles Rams.

The absences include top quarterbacks (Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford), running backs (Aaron Jones, Kyren Williams, Kareem Hunt, De’Von Achane) and pass catchers (Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Travis Kelce, Xavier Worthy).

So this will be the season’s busiest week yet on the waiver wires. Here are some of the top players you might be able to grab this week:

Quarterbacks >> Everyone saw Atlanta’s Kirk Cousins top 500 yards last week. And the Chargers’ Justin Herbert still has big upside. Seems hard to believe, but the Giants’ Daniel Jones and Indy’s Joe Flacco could be good plays for this week.

Running backs >> The Jaguars’ Tank Bigsby ran wild last week and is the obvious top choice. But there’s also Cincy’s Chase Brown, Dallas’ Rico Dowdle … and a deep sleeper we discuss later in this report.

Wide receivers >> The Chiefs’ JuJu Smith-Schuster would be a great choice were it not for the bye. But Atlanta’s Darnell Mooney looked great last week, as did the Giants’ Wan’Dale Robinson and the Colts’ duo of Josh Downs and Alec Pierce.

Tight ends >> Green Bay’s Tucker Kraft is a keeper after scoring twice last week. The Steelers’ Pat Freiermuth is serviceable, and the Giants’ Theo Johnson could be a nice sleeper.

Sitting stars

Jets RB Breece Hall has been one of the season’s biggest busts, and he will continue to be against Buffalo. … Denver’s suddenly competent defense will cool off Chargers RB J.K. Dobbins. … Jacksonville RB Travis Etienne has been relegated to the background as the Jags take on Chicago. … Same goes for Cincinnati RB Zack Moss against Chicago. … Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb will again face double coverage from Detroit. … Pittsburgh WR George Pickens will continue to be an afterthought against Las Vegas. … Cleveland WR Amari Cooper will again be a bystander in Philadelphia. … And Seattle QB Geno Smith will have trouble against a 49ers defense still stinging from its upset loss to Arizona.

Matchup game

Everyone runs on the Colts, and that will include Tennessee RB Tony Pollard. … Both running backs in the Atlanta-Carolina matchup will go off, so make sure you start Bijan Robinson and Chuba Hubbard. … San Francisco RB Jordan Mason will have one more big game against Seattle before the return of Christian McCaffrey. … Dormant Saints WR Chris Olave will wake up against the weak Tampa Bay pass defense. … Jacksonville will not be able to cool off the Bears’ hot combo of Caleb Williams and D.J. Moore. … Tight end Dallas Goedert will likely lead the Eagles again against Cleveland. … And we think this is finally the week that Mark Andrews regains his spot as Baltimore’s No. 1 tight end against Washington.

Injury watch

Among the New York Jets’ many issues is the ankle injury suffered by QB Aaron Rodgers against the Vikings in London. Don’t expect him to be full speed this week against Buffalo. … New Orleans is hurting worse at QB with Derek Carr out (oblique). … The list of questionables is overflowing with running backs (Colts’ Jonathan Taylor, Texans’ Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce, Bengals’ Zack Moss, Steelers’ Jaylen Warren and Raiders’ Zamir White); receivers (Giants’ Malik Nabers, Raiders’ Davante Adams, Packers’ Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson, Eagles’ A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith, Bills’ Khalil Shakir and Panthers’ Xavier Legette) and tight ends (49ers’ George Kittle, Browns’ David Njoku, Jaguars’ Evan Engram, Saints’ Taysom Hill). There are even a couple of notable kickers (49ers’ Jake Moody, Cardinals’ Matt Prater).

Deepest sleeper

He started out as an unremarkable wide receiver at Iowa. But he has converted to running back, and now New York Giants rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. is one of the most sought-after players on the waiver wires. He rushed 18 times for 129 yards last week in Seattle, taking over after teammate Eric Gray’s catastrophic fumble at the goal line. While Devin Singletary may return from his groin injury this week, Tracy has earned a spot in the Football Giants’ offense.

The Thursday pick

49ers at Seahawks (+3½):

Pick: 49ers by 8

You can hear Kevin Cusick on Wednesdays on Bob Sansevere’s “BS Show” podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on Twitter — @theloopnow. He can be reached at kcusick@pioneerpress.com.