Fantasy Football Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickup Advice

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 rostered in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the roster percentages coming from Yahoo.com.

Quarterbacks

C.J. Stroud, Texans (47% Rostered): With four weeks in the books, it’s time to officially let go of notions we had entering the season that haven’t been borne out. Chief among them is the idea that the Texans suck. Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick of this draft, is legit. He’s thrown two touchdown passes in three consecutive games, gone for at least 280 yards in each of them, and twice surpassed the 300-yard mark without throwing a single INT. Stroud won’t run enough to take him into truly elite fantasy territory as a rookie, but there are managers who are hurting right now with players like Joe Burrow or Trevor Lawrence who should definitely kick the tires on Stroud.

Josh Dobbs, Cardinals (5% Rostered): Dobbs is competent! No, he’s not winning fantasy weeks for anyone, but he can be a part of you not losing. Stroud is the prize at QB, but if you miss out on him, and you’re dying to replace Burrow or you need to fill in for Justin Herbert, Dobbs can capably fill in. He has decent receiving options, and has eclipsed 40 rushing yards in three straight games, which is an extra passing TD per game in four-point pass TD formats for you math nerds. Again, nothing special, just competent.

Running Backs

Tyjae Spears, Titans (24% Rostered): Spears continues to have a bit of a standalone role in this offense, and while that role isn’t valuable, his upside in the event of a Derrick Henry injury – which has happened in each of the past two seasons – is through the roof. He’s averaging five yards per carry, been on the field for more than 50% of snaps in three of Tennessee’s four games, and is inside PFF’s Top 15 RBs right now. Henry managers need to get him on their roster now, because if Henry goes down, they’ll have to blow their FAAB budget to replace him.

Ezekiel Elliott, Patriots (48% Rostered):

Jaleel McLaughlin, Broncos (5% Rostered): McLaughlin was thought to be a distant third on the Denver depth chart behind Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine, but McLaughlin has looked far more explosive than Perine and has seen his snap rate jump in the past two games. We need more information on Williams’ injury, but it doesn’t seem serious. Should Williams miss time, McLaughlin will definitely share snaps with Perine and probably be outsnapped, but he’ll be the preferred add regardless. McLaughlin showed his explosiveness last week on an 18-yard touchdown catch, and he has scored twice in four games. Don’t spend a lot, but he has a lot of potential as a speculative add in a week where there isn’t much help widely available.

Wide Receivers

Tyler Boyd, Bengals (37% Rostered): Boyd has struggled this year just like everyone in this offense being helmed by a one-legged Joe Burrow, but he’s quietly drawn 7+ targets in three straight games. Those targets haven’t resulted in fantasy production, but with fellow receiver Tee Higgins fighting broken ribs, Boyd’s usage should rise even more. There are rumblings Higgins will play through the injury, but he could be knocked out of any game with a single hard hit, and we’ve also seen Higgins goose managers on multiple occasions while dealing with injuries. Boyd won’t win any leagues, but if Higgins is out, his strengths could turn into big games with Burrow unable to test defenses deep.

Jameson Williams, Lions (32% Rostered): Williams has one catch since being drafted 12th overall in 2022. Crazy right? But that one catch is a 41-yard touchdown, and he’s going to enter an offense that has a breakout tight end in Sam LaPorta, and a dominant slot receiver in Amon-Ra St. Brown. Williams is the final piece of what could be the most devastating passing game in football; we’ve seen Josh Reynolds be very fantasy relevant through four games, and his talent doesn’t even approach what Williams is capable of. It’d be wise to wait to see Williams’ usage go up before putting him in your lineup, but he doesn’t need many snaps or targets to have an impact.

Quentin Johnston, Chargers (47% Rostered): Johnston’s upside without Mike Williams did not materialize in Week 4, as he only caught one pass for 18 yards and drew three targets. His snap share was up to 51% however, a promising sign. He feels like a bust right now, but it’s too early to write him off, especially when his skillset is naturally going to lead to high variance week to week. When he inevitably pops for a big game, the upside he offers will be clearer. For now, pick him up cheap, stash him, and wait.

Jayden Reed, Packers (24% Rostered): Reed has been impressive for the Packers, averaging 16.9 yards per catch and becoming a frequent target in the red zone for Jordan Love. He has a healthy 13.6 average depth of target (ADOT) and has been on the field a lot. His red zone/scoring chances are probably going to dip as Christian Watson is reintegrated as the primary option, but the talent is clear and the coaching staff is invested in utilizing him, so he makes  a lot of sense as a depth guy on any roster.

Wan’Dale Robinson, Giants (4% Rostered): Robinson is back, seeing his snap count jump from 22% in Week 3 to 64% in Week 4. This doesn’t mean anyone should be excited about playing him, as the Giants’ passing game looks absolutely pitiful. But Robinson is the surest bet in this offense of anyone to draw targets, even if they’re low-yardage, low-value looks. Everything helps now that bye weeks have begun, and the injury bug has an insatiable appetite.

Michael Wilson, Cardinals (2% Rostered): Wilson broke out in Week 4 with 76 yards and two touchdowns, but he’s been making chunk plays for three weeks now. He’s been on the field for 67% of snaps or more in three of Arizona’s four games, and finally had a big target share on Sunday. This offense isn’t going to be good enough to foster a true fantasy breakout for Wilson, but he seems like a decent bet to help out managers in an injury or bye week-induced pinch.

Tight Ends

Zach Ertz, Cardinals (26% Rostered): Ertz keeps plugging along, putting up useful (for TEs) production while managers insist on waiting for Kyle Pitts, Dallas Goedert, George Kittle and Darren Waller to show something. Ertz is a pure volume play; he hasn’t gone for more than 56 yards in any game this year, but he has six catches in three of four games and seen double-digit targets twice. If you don’t have Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews, that’s basically a dream scenario. Ertz is the definition of a floor-raiser, but the risk has become so great at the position that there is real value in that.

Luke Musgrave, Packers (36% Rostered): Last week I was excited about Musgrave because of his snap share and his big play potential, and we might’ve finally seen it come together if he didn’t leave the game early with a possible concussion. It was a huge bummer, but everything I liked remains true. If he’s available in your league, he will be cheap, and while he might do absolutely nothing for you, chances are your current TE is also doing nothing. At least Musgrave gets a target or two down the field.

Gerald Everett, Chargers (34% Rostered): Everett feels like late-career Frank Gore at this point, just consistently lingering on the fringes of relevance. He looked to be extinguished this year because Donald Parham was stealing red zone looks, but now Parham is injured again. It’s been rough sledding thus far for Everett, but he’s on the field a bunch and there will be opportunities to score with Williams done. They won’t be consistent, but as I keep saying, who is at TE beyond the top two? For Everett, the QB and high-scoring environment are in his favor.

Possibly Available

Daniel Jones, QB, Giants (69% Rostered)

Russell Wilson, QB, Broncos (57% Rostered)

Jaylen Warren, RB, Steelers (55% Rostered)

Romeo Doubs, WR, Packers (54% Rostered)

Jake Ferguson, TE, Cowboys (53% Rostered)

Cole Kmet, TE, Bears (53% Rostered)

Drop Candidates – HODL or Say Goodbye?

Joe Burrow, QB, Bengals (99% Rostered): HODL. Bench him if you can until he gets healthier, but never, ever drop Joe Burrow.

AJ Dillon, RB, Packers (72% Rostered): HODL. Only because waivers are super thin, and there’s nothing obviously better. But yuck.

Dalvin Cook, RB, Jets (78% Rostered): Say Goodbye. Breece Hall has to see more touches moving forward, and Michael Carter is also here.

Antonio Gibson, RB, Commanders (51% Rostered): HODL. He’s utterly unplayable now, but if Brian Robinson goes down the role could be all his.

Elijah Moore, WR, Browns (66% Rostered): Say Goodbye. I’m over it. Film guys love him, but all I see is low-yardage games, and bonehead plays.

Kyle Pitts, TE, Falcons (95% Rostered): Say Goodbye. This offense ain’t it, and seeing Jonnu Smith get 95 yards had to break Pitts managers.

A.J. Dillon, RB, Packers (77% Rostered):

Dalvin Cook, RB, Jets (78% Rostered):

Antonio Gibson, RB, Commanders (51% Rostered):