We are now a month into the fantasy football season, which means we are starting to get an idea of what our teams’ strengths and weaknesses are. It’s now time to improve our rosters.
Let’s take a look at the top Week 5 waiver wire targets and pickups that fantasy managers should consider adding to their rosters.
As always, all players are rostered in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues.
I have done away with FAAB recommendations this year, as there are too many variables to account for. Instead, I replaced it with my opinion on how aggressive fantasy managers should be in pursuing the player on a scale of 1-10.
Who To Target on This Week’s Waiver Wire
Justin Fields, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers (31%)
We finally got that game from Justin Fields. In a rare high-scoring Steelers game, Fields did it all. He threw for 312 yards, ran for 55, and accounted for three total touchdowns. The Steelers may have lost the game, but it certainly wasn’t on Fields. Russell Wilson is not getting this job back anytime soon.
Next week, Fields will be forced to score again in his efforts to keep pace with the Dallas Cowboys. As long as the Steelers don’t get caught in a low-scoring, slow-paced slog, Fields should be startable.
Aggressiveness Rating: 6.0
Rico Dowdle, RB, Dallas Cowboys (48%)
The Cowboys appear to have realized Ezekiel Elliott doesn’t have it anymore. Rico Dowdle led the backfield with 11 carries for 46 yards and a 15-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
Cowboys strike first! Dowdle takes the screen for a touchdown pic.twitter.com/uejfasHyk3
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) September 27, 2024
The volume isn’t necessarily going to be there for Dowdle, but he does appear to be the RB1 in Dallas. It won’t be pretty when he doesn’t score, but this offense provides him with enough touchdown upside to make him at least worth rostering.
Aggressiveness Rating: 4.5
Tank Bigsby, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars (11%)
I am surprised Tank Bigsby is so little rostered. He’s one of the best handcuffs in the league and has legitimately looked good this year.
Bigsby carried the ball seven times for 90 yards against the Houston Texans. He didn’t see a single target, but he would have some passing game role if Travis Etienne Jr. were to miss any time. That almost happened this week, as Etienne missed part of the first quarter with a shoulder injury. It’s a reminder of how close Bigsby is to being a weekly RB2.
Aggressiveness Rating: 3.5
Kareem Hunt, RB, Kansas City Chiefs (35%)
It wasn’t an exciting debut for Kareem Hunt, but it was an impactful one from a fantasy perspective. No, this wasn’t a situation where you should’ve started Hunt. Heading into this game, we had no idea what his role would be. Now, we do.
Hunt is going to be the Chiefs’ lead back. Carson Steele started, but he fumbled again and then barely played. Samaje Perine is the main passing-down back, but he’s not going to see many carries. He did get a goal-line carry and scored a short touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers, but that’s not enough of a reason to completely fade Hunt.
Hunt looked pretty good for a guy signed off the street. He carried the ball 14 times for 69 yards while also earning three targets, catching two for 16 yards. Hunt led the backfield in snaps. He is only going to get more into game shape. It won’t be like 2017, but Hunt needs to be rostered.
Aggressiveness Rating: 6.0
Trey Sermon, RB, Indianapolis Colts (1%)
This one is short but certainly not sweet. Jonathan Taylor hurt his ankle late in the Colts’ win over the Steelers. At this point, we don’t know how serious the injury is.
Trey Sermon is the primary backup and would likely start if Taylor had to miss any time. He’s had ankle issues in the past.
SEE MORE: NFL Injury Report
It won’t be exciting, but with bye weeks coming up, Sermon could be a passable RB3, if needed. Monitor Taylor news and add Sermon if you desperately need RB help.
Aggressiveness Rating: 2.0
Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, New York Giants (26%)
There is nothing exciting about Wan’Dale Robinson, but it’s truly shocking he is available in so many leagues. With all of the injuries across the league, a mostly guaranteed 8+ fantasy points have to be useful for more than 26% of you.
Robinson now has two games with 12+ targets. He’s scored at least 9.8 fantasy points in every game this season. On Thursday night, Robinson caught 11 passes for 71 yards. Obviously, he’s never going to be efficient, but those are WR1 numbers. The mere fact that Robinson has that in his range of outcomes is enough to justify rostering him and starting him. There likely won’t be many better wide receivers available on waivers this season.
Aggressiveness Rating: 7.5
Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Green Bay Packers (13%)
No. 13 on the Packers is rostered in 13% of leagues. Looks like the No. 13 is lucky, as Dontayvion Wicks’ talent was allowed to be put on display following Christian Watson’s ankle injury.
In a forced increased role with the Packers facing an extremely negative game script, Wicks caught five passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns. The more important stat, though, is the 13 targets he saw.
Dontayvion Wicks scored 22.3 fantasy points in Week 4 with Christian Watson injured early.
80% route participaiton
24% target share (led team)
35% air yards share (led team)Will rank as a WR2 for me next week if Watson out.
Available in 87% of Yahoo leagues.
Must add, y'all.
— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) September 29, 2024
It’s unlikely the Packers see this game script often, but if Watson has to miss time, Wicks is going to have a larger role. Given what he just did, he needs to be on rosters while we wait and see how he’s used going forward.
Aggressiveness Rating: 6.5
Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts (20%)
I was very close to giving up on Josh Downs as a fantasy factor this season. Then, Anthony Richardson went down. Joe Flacco may not be a better quarterback than Richardson, but he’s definitely better for the Colts’ WRs.
With Flacco playing the majority of the game, Downs caught eight of nine targets for 82 yards and a touchdown. If Flacco has to make starts, combined with bye weeks beginning, Downs would be on the weekly WR3 radar.
Aggressiveness Rating: 5.0
Xavier Legette, WR, Carolina Panthers (14%)
With Adam Thielen on injured reserve, Xavier Legette stepped into the WR2 role opposite Diontae Johnson. Under Andy Dalton, everyone gets to eat. Johnson is still the clear WR1, but Legette was quite productive, catching six of 10 targets for 66 yards and a touchdown.
I have no idea if Legette will be anything. This could just be an anomaly against a terrible defense. But he’s a rookie with an unknown upside. That is a player worth taking a chance on.
Aggressiveness Rating: 7.0
Romeo Doubs, WR, Green Bay Packers (40%)
I’ve never really been a believer in Romeo Doubs. But the bigger issue with the Packers was the four-man rotation. If Watson has to miss time, I expect Doubs, Wicks, and Jayden Reed to all play more snaps.
Doubs saw eight targets against the Minnesota Vikings. We’ve seen him have big games before. This week was a Wicks week. Next week could be Doubs as the feature guy. He’s worth picking up while we await more information.
Aggressiveness Rating: 4.0
Jordan Whittington, WR, Los Angeles Rams (3%)
The Rams have clearly decided Tyler Johnson is not the guy. They went with a three-receiver set of Demarcus Robinson, Tutu Atwell, and Jordan Whittington. The rookie actually led the team in routes run. Whittington saw eight targets, catching six for 62 yards in a tough matchup against the Chicago Bears.
Puka Nacua is expected to be out at least another month, and the earliest Cooper Kupp will return is in Week 7. That means at least one more week of Whittington as an every-down player.
Aggressiveness Rating: 5.0
Tre Tucker, WR, Las Vegas Raiders (9%)
With Davante Adams out, Tre Tucker saw increased usage. He earned six targets and one carry, which he turned into 44 total yards and two touchdowns.
The scoring is obviously random and not likely to repeat. However, it’s clear Tucker will be the Raiders’ WR2 as long as Adams is out. He’s now scored 22.6 and 15.4 fantasy points in each of his last two games. That’s worth adding for WR-needy teams.
Aggressiveness Rating: 3.0
Tucker Kraft, TE, Green Bay Packers (4%)
The return of Jordan Love helped elevate Tucker Kraft and the entire Packers offense. Kraft caught six of nine targets for 53 yards and a touchdown. He also converted the two-point conversion on his own score for the octopus.
Kraft remains the TE1 for the Packers. He out-snapped Luke Musgrave by 40, and their upcoming schedule has a bunch of games conducive to high scoring. We need to keep point-chasing at the tight end position and hope something sticks.
Aggressiveness Rating: 4.0
Tyler Conklin, TE, New York Jets (35%)
The Jets offense was an abject disaster. They didn’t score a touchdown in a home loss to the Denver Broncos. It’s hard to endorse investing in this offense.
With that said, Tyler Conklin saw eight targets. Although he only caught four passes for 17 yards, his usage is enough to warrant interest from fantasy managers. Surely the Jets will perform better offensively going forward. If you need a tight end to cover injuries or Sam LaPorta’s bye next week, Conklin is good enough.
Aggressiveness Rating: 1.0