Waiver Wire Week 5 - Must Add Players

This is the Waiver Wire Week 5! Who should you be adding to your fantasy football teams this week?

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Week 5 Waiver Wire

UPCOMING BYE WEEKS

Week 5

Detroit

LA Chargers

Philadelphia

Tennessee

Week 6

Kansas City

LA Rams

Minnesota

Miami

Week 7

Chicago

Dallas

Shallow League Adds

(Players rostered in 30-40% of leagues)

QB Justin Fields – Pittsburgh (32%)

I had Fields as a top 5 Waiver Wire add and my top QB sleeper last week. He delivered with his best fantasy performance as a Steeler. This could be the sign of things to come. Fields is now 3-1, and the Steelers look like they absolutely stole him this offseason. He will have fantasy spike weeks this season.

RB Kareem Hunt – Kansas City (32%)

Turn back the clock. Kareem Hunt looks like the back to roster in KC. Hunt led KC in RB snaps and dominated carries (14 to Carson Steele‘s five). He finished with 69 rushing yards and two catches. Hunt should be a priority add on the Waiver Wire Week 5.

Steele looks to have been phased out, and Samaje Perine‘s rushing TD could just be random. Hopefully, you saved some FAAB from your Carson Steele bids. Hunt scored nine TDs in 2023. He is old, but not dust. With the Rashee Rice injury, KC could find creative ways to use Hunt.

RB Trey Benson – Arizona (31%)

Benson had his best game as a pro, finishing with 50 rushing yards. He is a valuable handcuff behind James Conner, who has missed time in every season of his career.

RB Ty Chandler – Minnesota (33%)

This is Aaron Jones‘ backfield, and Chandler should be viewed as a direct handcuff, not a handcuff plus. Even with this role adjustment, Chandler is still a very valuable piece for your roster. The Vikings have one of the league’s top offenses, and if Jones were to miss time, Chandler would step right in.

WR Romeo Doubs – Green Bay (40%)

Doubs and the rest of the Packers are trending up with Jordan Love back behind center. I prefer Dontayvion Wicks, but Doubs should be on the field a lot and is coming off an eight-target game.

Standard Roster Size and Deep League Adds

(Players rostered in 30% of leagues or fewer)

Note: Every player is available in at least 70% of leagues. Each player has their roster percentage in parentheses.

Quarterbacks

QB Andy Dalton – Carolina (14%)

Dalton is currently the QB11 on the week heading into Monday Night Football. He was QB8 in Week 3. Over the past two games, Dalton has passed for five TDs and 539 yards. This season has been upside down and inside out, but we are on the verge of using a 36-year-old as a streaming option. Dalton is a locked-in Superflex starter. He can be the 2024 version of 2023 Joe Flacco.

QB Joe Flacco – Indianapolis (1%)

Wait a minute, 2024 Joe Flacco is right here. Flacco stepped in for the injured Anthony Richardson and finished with 168 passing yards and 2 TD passes. Flacco also helped lead Indianapolis to a 27-24 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Richardson’s status is up in the air, but I would expect the Colts to err on the side of caution. Flacco would get a scintillating matchup against the reeling Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5 if he were to start.

QB Daniel Jones – New York Giants (8%)

Jones passed for 281 yards and a TD in Week 4’s loss to Dallas. He is QB17 on the season. Start him in Superflex, but leave him alone in single QB leagues.

QB Drake Maye – New England

The Pats were destroyed once again, and Maye’s eventual starting role seems inevitable. He has a big arm and scrambling ability.

Maye led UNC in rushing yards during the 2022 season. This should give him a fantasy floor as soon as he takes over. He is a solid speculative add, especially in a week without many options on the wire at QB.

Running Backs

RB Tyler Allgeier – Atlanta (23%)

Allgeier is a thorn in the side of Bijan Robinson fantasy managers right now. He had eight carries for 60 rushing yards and added two catches for 20 yards. Robinson had a TD called back on a questionable holding penalty and was outproduced by Allgeier 80-74 in total yards. Allgeier is at the very least one of the more valuable handcuffs in fantasy. There is also a chance he can develop a handcuff-plus role – much to the chagrin of Robinson managers.

RB Trey Sermon – Indianapolis (1%)

Jonathan Taylor suffered a “mild” high ankle sprain. OK, that’s cool and a super helpful clarification. Fantasy managers with Taylor should be more than “mildly” worried. Taylor has missed time in all but one season and played 21 games combined in the previous two. Trey Sermon, a one-time bust while in San Francisco, is the next man in. He should be prioritized. Before dismissing Sermon, bear in mind that Zack Moss was once an afterthought who provided multiple RB1 weeks in the Shane Steichen offense.

RB Samaje Perine – Kansas City (25%)

Perine scored a rushing TD but was not targeted in the passing game.

This was an odd stat line. Perine will have an opportunity to be ramped up as a receiver with Rashee Rice set to miss possibly the entire season with a knee injury. He should be rostered.

RB Justice Hill – Baltimore (14%)

Hill is looking like a handcuff plus to Derrick Henry and a weekly part of the game plan. Henry ran wild with 199 rushing yards and two scores, but Hill showed his value in the passing game. He paced the Ravens with six catches on six targets, finishing with 78 yards and a TD. This is his second game with six catches, and he has 18 total on the season. He will be a valuable player during Bye Weeks and has contingent value as a handcuff.

RB Roschon Johnson – Chicago (27%)

D’Andre Swift had his best game as a Bear, but there was still some positive momentum with Johnson’s usage. He scored a rushing TD and looks to be the new goal-line back. We know that Johnson can catch the ball. Khalil Herbert did not have one touch. The Bears won the game with the Swift/Johnson combo. Temper your expectations for Johnson’s ceiling if Swift is going to see the majority of the targets, but he is still a valuable depth piece.

RB Tank Bigsby – Jacksonville (12%)

Jacksonville is searching for answers on offense, and Tank Bigsby is a player who could see more weekly work. He outperformed Travis Etienne for the second time this season. Bigsby finished with seven carries for 90 yards. Etienne is also dealing with a shoulder injury, the severity of which is unknown. Anyway, you cut it, Bigsby needs to be rostered. He looked like the Auburn version of Bigsby that was selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

RB Emanuel Wilson – Green Bay (14%)

Wilson continues to see weekly touches in Green Bay. He had eight carries for 27 yards. In Week 3, he showed a potential ceiling outcome with 85 combined yards and a TD. We want Packers on our rosters.

RB Antonio Gibson – New England (17%)

Gibson is the next man in if Rhamondre Stevenson were to miss time. He caught three passes for 67 yards and added six carries.

RB Jeremy McNichols – Washington (0%)

McNichols stepped right in for the injured Austin Ekeler and had a career-high performance. He finished with two TDs on 68 rushing yards. This was a promising performance, to say the least. McNichols earned more touches in Week 5 provided Ekeler misses more time.

RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire – Kansas City (8%)

CEH returns to the Chiefs as early as this week.

It remains to be seen whether or not he gets an increased opportunity with KC’s issues on offense or if he is phased out. Speculators only.

RB Kendre Miller – New Orleans Saints (6%)

A stash to hold onto in New Orleans. He should return soon off of the IR. Alvin Kamara is 29.

RB Isaac Guerendo – San Francisco (3%)

The next man in behind Jordan Mason. Guerendo is a big-time athlete. CMC‘s return date is very much up in the air.

RB Ray Davis – Buffalo (11%)

Ty Johnson has been seeing usage as well, but if James Cook were to miss time, Davis would be the next man in. The Bills’ offense has been heavily featuring Cook. This is a valuable handcuff to roster.

RB Tyrone Tracy – New York (3%)

Tracy has been earning weekly touches behind Devin Singletary. He has had 12 touches over the past two weeks and would have a valuable role if Singletary missed time.

RB Tyler Goodson – Indianapolis Colts (0%)

The next man in behind Trey Sermon if the Taylor injury lingers.

RB Aaron Shampklin – Pittsburgh (0%)

Every RB in Pittsburgh besides Najee Harris is injured. Shampkin is a 24-year-old out of Harvard. He joins Kyle Juszczyk as active Harvard Crimson alums. I am sure that somewhere, Jeremy Lin is watching. Actually, he probably isn’t unless he is in the deepest of formats.

Wide Receivers

WR Wan’Dale Robinson – New York Giants (26%)

Robinson is one of the top adds at WR this week and in my top 10 overall. He is a tough sight for the anti-PPR fantasy manager. Robinson finished Week 4’s loss with 11 catches for 71 yards on 14 targets. This is his second game with double-digit targets this season. Robinson now has 26 catches on the season and is playing a decent job of Robin to Malik Nabers‘ Batman. He has had a sub-25% target share in only one game this season per JJ Zachariason. He can immediately be inserted into your lineup and provides a solid weekly floor. If Nabers misses time this week with concussion-like symptoms, Robinson could equal or exceed his Week 4 touches.

WR Xavier Legette – Carolina (14%)

I wrote about Legette last week in this column and in my Sleepers article. He delivered. Legette stepped into Adam Thielen‘s vacated role and set career highs in targets (10), catches (6), receiving yards (66), and a TD. Legette has BIG TIME athletic ability and could provide some spike weeks. He has a chance to gain a great deal of dynasty value as well.

WR Josh Downs – Indianapolis Colts (20%)

I included Downs in multiple top 10 Waiver Wire rankings this season, and he showed exactly why in Week 4. Downs finished with nine targets, eight catches, 82 receiving yards, and a TD. He set a Colts franchise record with 68 receptions as a rookie last season.

In his two games since returning from injury, Downs has had target shares of 27-percent and 32-percent. If Anthony Richardson misses time, Downs would see even more increased usage in the passing game. Downs could also receive a boost in weekly touches with Jonathan Taylor set to miss some time. Any way you cut it, Downs needs to be rostered. Prioritize him.

WR Dontayvion Wicks – Green Bay Packers (14%)

Christian Watson suffered a high ankle sprain. Wicks, one of the summer’s most hyped sleeper WR candidates, now steps into a valuable role as Jordan Love‘s downfield target. He should slot right in alongside Jayden “War Daddy” Reed and Romeo Doubs in 3-WR sets. Wicks is a talented player playing alongside one of the NFL’s top QBs. Wicks caught two TD passes on five catches with 78 receiving yards. He was targeted an INSANE (and game-script-aided) 13 times in Week 4’s loss to Minnesota. He is in the weekly WR3 discussion and can be inserted into the flex.

WR Jordan Whittington – LA Rams (3%)

Cooper Kupp will return in about two weeks, but Puka Nacua is going to miss another month. I discussed Whittington as the speculative addition in LA, and it looks like he has taken a huge step in the WR hierarchy. He led LA with eight targets – a 27.5% target share – and set career highs with six catches and 62 receiving yards. This was a positive development for Whittington, and he did it against a top defense in Chicago. He is a sneaky flex play next week against a Green Bay defense that was just shredded by Minnesota.

WR Tutu Atwell – LA Rams (8%)

Much like Whittington, Atwell is another Ram who needs to be rostered. He followed up his big Week 3 with four catches for 82 yards, giving him 175 over the last two weeks. Atwell may have less long-term room for growth than Whittington, but he has a clear role as a downfield big play threat in LA right now. He has had a 20+ yard reception in three straight games.

WR Tre Tucker – Las Vegas (9%)

Tucker has now had two strong fantasy outputs in a row. He broke out in Week 3 with seven catches for 96 yards and a TD and followed it up with five catches for 43 yards and a rushing score. Davante Adams could very well be traded this season and is banged up. Tucker should be rostered everywhere. He also should slide through the cracks this week with multiple WRs available on the wire. Tucker has a wide range of outcomes, but the coaching staff loves him, and his role is growing.

WR Mike Williams – New York Jets (21%)

Williams continues to trend up. He caught four out of five targets and finished with 67 receiving yards. He outperformed Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard. The Jets were shut down at home against Denver and are searching for answers. Utilizing Williams more could be one of them.

WR Ja’Lynn Polk – New England (9%)

Polk flashed some promising usage in New England’s loss to San Francisco. He drew seven targets, catching three of them, and finished with a 22-percent target share. Polk is a speculative add for fantasy managers anticipating a Drake Maye takeover in New England.

WR Michael Wilson – Arizona (17%)

Wilson’s production came back down to earth after an eight catch Week 3.

He still drew seven targets, giving him 16 over the previous two games. This sort of target volume is noteworthy.

WR Andrei Iosivas – Cincinnati (20%)

Iosivas had a quiet week but was coming off a season-high five catches in Week 3. He has been a preferred end zone target of Joe Burrow and can be considered a dart throw flex option in a potential shootout game against Baltimore.

WR Jalen Tolbert – Dallas (5%)

Tolbert has outproduced Brandin Cooks in multiple weeks. He is purely a bench depth piece.

Tight Ends

TE Tucker Kraft – Green Bay (4%)

Kraft is the top add at TE this week. He was targeted nine times and finished with six catches for 53 yards and a TD. He is in the weekly TE streaming discussion moving forward and should settle in as a low-end TE1. Kraft was a third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and has an ascending role in an exciting offense. He should be prioritized in TE premium leagues.

TE Cade Otton – Tampa Bay (15%)

Otton is on an upward usage trajectory. He has 17 targets over the past two games, finishing with seven and six catches in games with vastly different game scripts. Baker Mayfield and the Bucs were very impressive in their dismantling of the Eagles. Otton could be a helpful player during bye weeks if he continues to receive this sort of target volume.

TE Erick All – Cincinnati (1%)

All has had three straight weeks with four receptions.

He is a two-way TE that appears to be a big part of the Bengals’ future plans. All is a great addition for speculative fantasy managers looking for a player who could take on a larger role in the near future.

TE Colby Parkinson – LA Rams (26%)

Parkinson drew seven targets and caught four of them in LA’s loss to Chicago. I was more optimistic on him than I should have been earlier in the season. He is nothing more than a low-end TE2 unless the offense changes.