Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups Week 5
Is your fantasy team in need of new blood? Each week I’ll bring to you the best pickups to make ahead of the waiver deadline. All the players I list will be owned in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the ownership percentage coming from Yahoo.com.
Quarterbacks
Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins (42% Owned): You will not catch me arguing that Tannehill is a good quarterback, but he’s a bit of a poor man’s Matthew Stafford. Before Week 4’s Thursday night debacle – and I tend to throw out bad performances on TNF – he had back-to-back games in which he threw for at least 319 yards and two touchdowns. Tannehill will put up numbers more often than not, and in fantasy it doesn’t matter at all if the numbers are hollow.
Trevor Siemian, Broncos (27% Owned): I will repeat what I said last week; Siemian is the 2016 version of Ryan Fitzpatrick. I do not think Siemian is a great quarterback. He is a competent quarterback surrounded by excellent skill position players. Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders and C.J. Anderson can make any QB look good, and they will make Siemian look good often. Pay attention to his shoulder injury, but that only makes him a discounted value.
Colin Kaepernick, 49ers (1% Owned): Don’t listen to Chip Kelly when he says he’s not considering a QB change. Blaine Gabbert has gone two straight weeks with fewer than 200 passing yards and an even or negative TD to INT ratio. He stinks, and Kaepernick’s blazing speed will allow Kelly to overcome his weak AF skill players. It’s only a matter of time.
Running Backs
Terrance West, Ravens (30% Owned): West is not good, but he’s the lead dog in Baltimore’s backfield. He’s startable every week because he will get the bulk of the carries, and he does not need to be taken out near the goal line. Get him if he’s out there, but temper your enthusiasm for his upside.
Fozzy Whittaker, Panthers (24% Owned): I absolutely love Whittaker as a free agent pickup. He’s criminally underrated for as long as Jonathan Stewart is out of commission, because he does not get as many carries as Cameron Artis-Payne. While everyone looks to pick up CAP, Whittaker skates by with the derisive “passing downs back” label. Newsflash – Whittaker has gotten 15 targets in two games (23 touches) and he’s the more explosive of the two RBs. Monitor Stewart’s prognosis, but if he’s out Whittaker is the RB you want.
Darren Sproles, Eagles (47% Owned): Because of the bye week folks seem to have forgotten Sproles’ big role in the Philly offense. Some weeks he will be a dud, but he has the upside to be your top scorer in any given week, and the nature of his role makes him basically matchup-proof. He’s arguably the best add at the position right now.
Wide Receivers
Eddie Royal, Bears (13% Owned): Royal has been around. Everyone’s had him on their team, and we’ve all angrily started him, gotten a crap game, and dropped him. This time around it’s different. He will be heavily targeted as the No. 2 option behind Alshon Jeffery, and Brian Hoyer is slinging it right now. He’s a nice FLEX option for an injury riddle roster.
Quincy Enunwa, Jets (37% Owned): He is real. Enunwa has cooled off slightly, but he has yet to be targeted fewer than six times in a game this year, and we don’t know how long Eric Decker will be out. His size makes him an attractive red zone target, he has uncommon speed for someone as big as he is, and he also is involved as a runner occasionally. He is a very solid add and can be trusted to deliver a baseline of around five catches and 50 yards at worst.
Sammie Coates, Steelers (17% Owned): Coates is Martavis Bryant adjace. He is not a high-volume pass catcher, and therefore makes a bit more sense in standard leagues, but as a WR3 in deeper leagues he offers awesome upside. He’s a weekly threat to bust off a 60+-yard TD, and Ben Roethlisberger has no qualms about airing it out.
Tight Ends
Hunter Henry, Chargers (31% Owned): He’s a nice player whose value undoubtedly dips whenever Antonio Gates returns to action. That said, Henry has been good enough to carve out a Ladarius Green-esque role for the Bolts with some occasional multi-TD games in store.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Jets (4% Owned): He is on the verge of being out of the league, which means he’s a solid bet to behave. His talent is undeniable, and the Jets are going to force feed him once he’s up to speed. He won’t be startable right away, but in a few weeks he might just be a Top 10 TE.