Fantasy Football 2021 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 owned in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the roster percentages coming from Yahoo.com
Quarterbacks
Sam Darnold, Panthers (37% Rostered): Darnold, freed from the chains of Adam Gase’s career destroying coaching, has passed for more than 300 yards in three straight games and also leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns (5). Jets Darnold flared up just a tad last week, as he was picked off twice by the Cowboys, but the Panthers’ offense is explosive, and Darnold should continue to put up useful numbers with the superior weapons at his disposal. This rushing prowess might be a bit of a mirage, so I’m not viewing his ceiling as a high-end QB1, but D.J. Moore, Robby Anderson, and eventually Christian McCaffery also give him a surprisingly safe floor.
Trey Lance, 49ers (31% Rostered): Lance is in the mix earlier than we thought, and he might be a league-winner if Jimmy Garoppolo is out for a while and gives Lance a chance to win the job for good. Lance has bust potential, because he’s extremely raw as a passer, but in just one half of action he was able to rush for 41 yards and throw for 157 yards and two touchdowns. In other offenses, I’d be more afraid of relying on Lance for fantasy production, but Kyle Shanahan’s offenses are built to maximize the running game, and he’ll have big play potential in the passing game with Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk. You’ll live with the occasional dud, because when Lance goes off, he’ll win weeks. The only question is whether his time as a starter in 2021 is temporary.
Daniel Jones, Giants (31% Rostered): Jones has shown improvement this year, and while he is still a player with a low floor, the floor is rising. Last week he threw for 402 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing four times for 27 yards. He has rushed for at least 27 yards in each of his first four games, scored a rushing touchdown in each of the Giants’ first two tilts, and has topped out at 95 yards on the ground. Jones is one of the best rushing QBs in football, and now he has a healthy Saquon Barkley and Kenny Golladay at his disposal. Jones has some dangerous upcoming matchups – at Dallas, vs. Rams, vs. Carolina – so be careful. But in a pinch, he can overcome low passing yardage and still be useful.
Running Backs
Latavius Murray, Ravens (48% Rostered): Murray is now the lead back in Baltimore, and regardless of whether he’s a better option than Ty’Son Williams, or any of the other vets they have, he’s the guy they trust. Murray doesn’t have an elite ceiling, even in this offense, but he saw 18 carries on Sunday. If he’s going to approach that workload on a weekly basis, he’ll be a steady source of touchdowns, and a FLEX-worthy source of yards at a minimum. There’s no rule that says fantasy production has to be pretty, so check your waivers and be sure he’s not available.
Damien Williams, Bears (9% Rostered): Williams is the premier short-term pickup of the week, as David Montgomery is assured to miss some time with a knee injury. The Bears do believe Montgomery avoided an ACL tear though, so Williams’ time as the starter has an expiration date. In a cushy matchup vs. the Lions Williams impressed, rushing eight times for 55 yards and a touchdown while also seeing two targets in the passing game. For the duration of Montgomery’s injury, expect Williams to see similar usage, and quite possibly similar results. If you’re in bad shape injury-wise, spending a good chunk of FAAB on Williams is advised, even with some difficult matchups on the horizon (at Las Vegas, vs. Green Bay, vs. Tampa Bay).
Kenneth Gainwell, Eagles (29% Rostered): Miles Sanders remains “the guy” in Philadelphia, but Gainwell clearly has a role. We can’t count on consistent usage yet, but he was targeted eight times in the passing game vs. Kansas City this week, catching six passes for 58 yards, and he scored a rushing touchdown. Gainwell is a talented pass-catcher, and can be explosive on the ground as well. Should Sanders get hurt, Gainwell would be a very pricy pickup, so he makes sense to stash now if your roster allows.
Brandon Bolden, Patriots (2% Rostered): James White is out for the season, and Bolden has stepped right into his role. The Patriots are notorious for confusing fantasy managers with their RB usage, but White’s role has been the same for years. If Bolden is slotting in, then he’s worth rostering as a pure emergency play, because in this role he’s highly unlikely to goose you. He’s also got a very low ceiling though.
J.D. McKissic, Football Team (39% Rostered): Everything that was said about Bolden can pretty much be applied to McKissic, except McKissic has much better primary playmakers to contend with in his offense (Antonio Gibson, Terry McLaurin). Still, he takes over when Washington is in pass heavy game scripts, and has caught five passes twice in four games. He’s someone who probably won’t goose you, and who can be deployed in emergencies.
Wide Receivers
Darnell Mooney, Bears (38% Rostered): Mooney managers gave up after Justin Fields’ nuclear implosion in Week 3, and they’re kicking themselves. Mooney responded with a five-catch, 125-yard explosion vs. Detroit as a reminder of his playmaking ability. Mooney is not going to be consistent, especially with the Fields/Andy Dalton combo at QB, but he’s so damn fast that it makes him matchup-proof. He’s not safe at all week to week, but he has all the tools to be a difference-maker on any given Sunday. If he’s available, scoop him up for sure; it’s rare a guy averaging 13+ yards per reception who has seen seven or more targets in three of four games is floating on waivers.
A.J. Green, Cardinals (24% Rostered): Maybe Green wasn’t washed? He’s seen exactly six targets in each of his first four games in Arizona, scoring in two of his last three, and hanging 112 yards on Jacksonville in the game where he didn’t find the end zone. His yardage will fluctuate, because Kyler Murray has an alpha in DeAndre Hopkins, and there’s receivers galore on this team, but he’s a weekly TD threat and there’s plenty of points to spread around. Green is solid receiver depth.
Tim Patrick, Broncos (44% Rostered): Patrick finally delivered a dud, but give him a pass. He’s been steady, and this was a tough matchup (Ravens) and his QB got concussed. Drew Lock is a downgrade, but Patrick had success with him last year, and he’s still the clear WR2 behind Courtland Sutton while Jerry Jeudy is out.
Jamison Crowder, Jets (20% Rostered): Crowder made his 2021 debut and did Crowder things. He served as a safety blanker, catching six passes for 71 yards and he found the end zone. Crowder is like the WR version of James White, and he should be on teams, especially in half-PPR and full-PPR formats, but he could be hurt when Elijah Moore is active. I’d avoid starting him if I could, because this is still a bad offense, but in an emergency he is playable.
Hunter Renfrow, Raiders (26% Rostered): Renfrow was useful again on Monday night, despite the first underwhelming game from Derek Carr and the Raiders passing game. He was targeted eight times, reeling in six for 45 yards and a score. His TD output won’t be massive, so the back-to-back scoring games are likely a mirage, but the targets are real. If you think Cole Beasley is a rosterable FLEX type, then by law you must also think that about Renfrow.
Bryan Edwards, Raiders (19% Rostered): Edwards did absolutely nothing on Monday, but it doesn’t change how explosive a player he is. He’s a desperation type option, but this is a high-powered offense so on any given day he can strike for big yardage. You’ll also run the risk of one-catch, four-yard games like he just turned in. I do think he’d see his reliability increase a great deal if Henry Ruggs got hurt.
Tight Ends
Dalton Schultz, Cowboys (34% Rostered): Schultz gets lost in the shuffle of Dallas’ glossy names, but don’t ignore that he’s seen six or more targets in three of four games. The Cowboys are no longer a purely Zeke-centric offense; this team revolves around Dak Prescott now, and he has a clear rapport with Schultz that makes him a fairly safe play these days. He’s had six receptions in three of four games, and scored three touchdowns in his last two. I wouldn’t count on the TD pace persisting, but he’s a solid back-end Top 10 guy as long as Prescott’s on the field.
Dawson Knox, Bills (47% Rostered): Knox scored twice this week, making it four times in the last three games he’s struck paydirt. He’ll be the most heavily added TE of this bunch, but he might be due to disappoint. He’s well behind Stefon Diggs, Emmanuel Sanders and Cole Beasley in the receiving pecking order, and this past week he feasted on one of the worst defenses in the NFL against the TE. His next three matchups – at Kansas City, at Tennessee, vs. Miami – are all much better at defending the position. You can certainly play him and hope for a touchdown, but if he doesn’t score he’s capable of really sinking your week.
Jonnu Smith, Patriots (48% Rostered): Speaking of Houston being awful at defending TEs, they entered Week 4 with the seventh-worst DVOA against TEs, allowing 8.4 points per game and 78.6 yards per game to opposing TEs. And that was BEFORE Knox cut them up for 37 yards and two scores. Smith is definitely a risky play, but he did score last week, and was an effective TE for the Titans in the past by being efficient with limited looks. Houston should always be on the radar of TE streamers, and Smith is the more dynamic of New England’s TE options.
Hunter Henry, Patriots (42% Rostered): Henry has been the more targeted TE for the Pats the past two games, and although his yardage has underwhelmed, he also found the end zone last week. It could be a party for one or both players against the Texans, especially after the Pats just had to face Tampa Bay’s swarming defense. Mac Jones will feel like he’s out of jail on Sunday, so either or both of the TEs here could have big games. But count on at least one.