Waiver Wire: Week 5
Hard to believe we’re already into the second month of the 2024 fantasy football season. Week 4 had its share of highlights, injuries, and non-productive tight ends. The Waiver Wire: Week 5 will catch you up on the latest crop of low-rostered players to target for reinforcements.
Along with knowing who to pick up, FullTime Fantasy‘s Matchup Analyzer Tool will help you get the most out of your lineup.
Here are the low-rostered players you should consider adding before the season’s fifth week.
Dontayvion Wicks (WR) Green Bay Packers – After Christian Watson went down with a high-ankle sprain, Wicks played 58 snaps and absorbed a career-high 13(!) targets. Of course, we can’t count on that sort of fantasy-friendly game script each week. However, Watson is a candidate to miss multiple weeks, putting Wicks in position to be a WR3 or better for the foreseeable future. A healthy bid of 30-plus percent of your FAAB may be required. Teammate Romeo Doubs would be a solid consolation prize for those who miss out on Wicks.
Kareem Hunt (RB) Kansas City Chiefs – Hunt is most likely rostered in your league. However, an impatient manager may have dropped him after Carson Steele’s Week 3 usage. Speaking of Steele, a second fumble in 26 carries earned him a spot on the bench, opening the door for Hunt to ascend to the main role. If Hunt happens to be available, consider him the TOP waiver wire Week 5 option to target.
Taysom Hill (TE) New Orleans Saints – I can’t understate what a disaster the tight end position has been. Hill didn’t even play in Week 3 and barely played on Sunday, yet he’s the No. 7 fantasy tight end for the season. WITH THREE TOTAL TARGETS! His usage is wildly unpredictable, but Hill’s rushing and throwing upside make him a viable TE1/2. However, he’s dealing with a new rib injury and his availability will need to be updated in tomorrow’s injury report.
Mike Williams (WR) New York Jets – Williams’s usage continues to trend up. In Week 4, he played a season-high 43 snaps. He also had his best statistical showing of the year. As opponents continue to blanket Garrett Wilson with their best coverage corners, Williams will see plenty of one-on-one downfield opportunities.
Wan’Dale Robinson (WR) New York Giants – Robinson was featured in last week’s article. He delivered a whopping 11 grabs on 14 targets. Incredibly, Robinson now ranks fourth in the league with 38 targets, yet he’s only rostered in about one-third of public leagues.
Tucker Kraft (TE) Green Bay Packers – Kraft’s usage has increased and he is now clearly the lead TE in Green Bay. Last week Kraft out-snapped Luke Musgrave 62-25. Additionally, Kraft’s 17% target share dwarfed Musgrave’s 5.6%.
Ladd McConkey (WR) Los Angeles Chargers – Los Angeles evenly split snaps between McConkey, Quentin Johnston, and Josh Palmer. However, McConkey’s 26% target share led the team. The Chargers don’t have a high-octane passing attack, but if you can add a team’s No. 1 wideout on the waiver wire you make that move every time.
Justice Hill (RB) Baltimore Ravens – In weeks where Baltimore attempts to ground out wins, Hill won’t see much usage. However, when the Ravens turn to the pass, Hill plays most of those downs. Hill’s 16 targets through four weeks rank sixth at RB. More than Saquon Barkley, Rachaad White, and Bijan Robinson.
Xavier Legette (WR) Carolina Panthers – Legette led Carolina’s receiving corps with 61 snaps (87%). He caught 6-of-10 targets for 66 yards and a score. The rookie is entrenched into a starting role with the Panthers. That gives him solid weekly WR4/FLEX value.
Trey Sermon (RB) Indianapolis Colts – Jonathan Taylor will miss time with a high-ankle sprain. That puts Sermon in line to start for the Colts. However, Sermon is not the athlete that Taylor is and I expect the Colts to trot out a committee backfield. Furthermore, Anthony Richardson is also injured and casts more doubt on the state of Indy’s offense. Sermon is certainly worth an add. But his value is short-term with a limited ceiling.
Josh Downs (WR) Indianapolis Colts – Speaking of the Colts, Josh Downs ran 23 routes in Week 4. 22 of those came from the slot, where he reeled in 8-of-9 targets for 82 yards and a score. We can’t count on that kind of volume every week, but the usage indicates that Downs is entrenched as the team’s main slot receiver. That gives him weekly WR4 value regardless of who is under center.
Noah Gray (TE) Kansas City Chiefs – The loss of Rashee Rice will have a devastating impact on Kansas City’s already fledgling passing attack. I expect the club to resort to a lot of ’12’ personnel with Gray and Travis Kelce both running a lot of routes. As bad as the tight end position is, any warm body running routes is worth waiver wire attention. And Gray has above-average upside in that role.
Justin Watson (WR) Kansas City Chiefs – After Rice was injured, Watson saw a lot more playing time. In all, he played 69% of Kansas City’s snaps. Also, he commanded a modest 11% target share.
Tutu Atwell (WR) Los Angeles Rams – In Week 4, Atwell ran a route on a team-leading 91% of his snaps. He also led the team with 15 slot snaps. As long as Cooper Kupp remains sidelined, Atwell should maintain a solid role in LA’s passing attack. Jordan Whittington, who led the group with a 96.7% snap rate, is also a quality add.
Roschon Johnson (RB) Chicago Bears – Before last week, Matt Eberflus indicated that Johnson was going to be given a shot to take control of Chicago’s sagging backfield. Johnson did deliver a short-yardage touchdown. However, he only played 22 snaps (Swift played 38) and was thoroughly outplayed by D’Andre Swift. That makes Johnson less of a priority than he was ahead of Week 4.
Joe Flacco (QB) Indianapolis Colts – If Anthony Richardson misses time, Flacco is a fringe QB2 with weekly QB1 upside.
Streaming Quarterbacks
Justin Fields (Chicago Bears) vs. Dallas
Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks) vs. New York Giants
Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams) vs. Green Bay
