Fantasy Football Week 5 Waiver Advice

The waiver period of Week 5 may be over but that does not mean you still can’t make moves to improve your roster before Thursday night’s game.  While many big names were likely claimed on Wednesday let’s take a look at some players who might still be floating around the waiver wire that you should grab.

Quarterback

Paxton Lynch/Trevor Siemian, Den- First things first, Siemian suffered an injury to his non-throwing shoulder in Week 4 which forced him from the game.  To this point in the week he has yet to practice which lead many to believe that Lynch is going to get the start but this pick is a little tricky as we do not officially know who the Broncos will be starting in Week 5 and we will likely be left in the dark on this one until inactive are announced on Sunday. However regardless of who is at quarterback for Denver the matchup against the Falcons is a favorable one as Atlanta is currently allowing the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. So whether it’s Lynch or Siemian under center for Denver they should be able to move the ball through the air with relative ease thanks to Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas causing matchup problems for opposing defenses this season.  If I had to pick one guy to add to my roster today I would go with the rookie Lynch as the expectations all along have been that he would start for Denver at some point this season and after a strong showing in relief in Week 4 there is no better opponent right now to make his first NFL start against.

Derek Anderson, Car- With Cam Newton still dealing with a concussion his status for Week 5 is up in the air.  Anderson threw for 172 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in place of the injured Newton in Week 4 and looks like the favorite to start in Week 5 against a Buccaneers defense that has allowed the fifth most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.  Anderson has started his fair share of NFL games during the early part of his career and in 2014 he saw extended action at the Panthers QB with Newton injured where he completed 67 percent of his passes for 701 yards and five touchdowns over six games.  If you find yourself in need of a QB replacement in deeper formats or two QB leagues Anderson actually looks like a safe play this week.

Running Back

DeAndre Washington, Oak- With news that Latavius Murray is unlikely to play in Week 5 against the Chargers the focus will shift to DeAndre Washington who should take over as the Raiders lead back.  The Chargers are currently allowing the second most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season.  The game between the Raiders and Chargers is pegged to be a high scoring affair and with Washington owned in just about 30 percent of standard leagues there is a chance he is still floating around your leagues waiver wire.

Fozzy Whittaker, Car-Whittaker has been a PPR dream over the past few weeks having caught 14 passes for 120 yards out of the backfield for Carolina.  With the Panthers playing from behind of late he has been seeing more playing time than Cameron Artis-Payne and with the likelihood that Cam Newton does not suit up in Week 5 due to a concussion the Panthers game plan could again be forced to air it out as they look to keep pace with the Buccaneers.  Whittaker is currently owned in 40 percent of standard leagues and should be added in PPR leagues heading into Week 5.

Orleans Darkwa, NYG-Jennings is still questionable to play due to a thumb injury which would again lead to Darkwa being the Giants lead back.  Darkwa has found the end zone in each of the last two weeks and managed 48 yards on 12 carries against a tough Vikings front seven.  In Week 5 things get even tougher as the Giant go on the road to face a Packers team fresh of a bye week.  This same Packers defense is currently allowing the fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs so I’d only suggest Darkwa if you were completely out of options.

Wide Receiver

Sammie Coates, Pit – It’s actually pretty surprising to me that Coates is owned in under 30 percent of standard leagues given his relatively hot start as the Steelers big play receiver.  In Week 4 Coates saw his most consistent action as he caught six passes on eight targets for 79 yards.  Coates has caught at least one pass of 40 or more yards in each of the first four games of the season and will have the privilege of playing against a Jets defense that has been burned by guys with straight ahead speed this season.  Coates is the type of player that can finish a game with 3 catches for 100 yards and two scores and that type of upside is hard to find on the waiver wire and makes for a solid bye week option.

Dontrelle Inman, SD–Inman came out of nowhere in Week 4 to catch 7-of-11 targets for 120 yards and a touchdown against the Saints.  Prior to this performance he had not seen more than four targets in any game this season which certainly makes me question if he is capable of a repeat performance but in Week 5 the Chargers face a Raiders defense that is allowing the most fantasy points to opposing receivers this season and it’s hard to ignore such a big game.  Inman was a popular waiver add this week but still finds himself available in nearly 80 percent of leagues so if you are still scrambling for a bye week fill-in then he is worth a shot.

Anquan Boldin, Det– Boldin has been a solid signing for the Lions so far this season as the veteran receiver is averaging about four catches on six targets per game.  He has also found the end zone twice so far in four games this season which has helped his overall fantasy production.  It’s no secret that he is the third option in the Lions passing attack but over the last three games he has seen target totals of seven, six and eight which is respectable in all formats but more importantly PPR leagues where is mediocre yardage totals can get a boost by the number of catches. 

Tight End

Will Tye, NYG– Tye figures to be the Giants starting tight end in Week 5 after Larry Donnell suffered a concussion in Week 4 against the Vikings.  With Donnell out Tye caught four passes on six targets for 43 yards and he has now seen 11 targets over the last two weeks.  Last season as a rookie Tye caught 42 passes for 464 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games for the Giants so he has proven to be a capable fantasy tight end when given the opportunity.  In Week 5 the Giants face a Packers defense that has allowed the sixth most fantasy points to opposing tight ends so there is some potential upside here in Tye in a game that figures to be pretty high scoring.

Lance Kendricks, LA- The Rams passing attack is certainly uninspiring but it is worth mentioning that Kendricks is averaging five targets a game over the last three weeks and in Week 4 he caught 5-of-7 targets for 52 yards.  The upside with Kendricks is fairly limited and he is only worth grabbing in deep PPR leagues as the Rams face a tough Bills defense but they did just get burned by Martellus Bennett for 109 yards and he was catching passes from Jacoby Brissett so there is a chance Kendricks and QB Case Keenum can connect this week and bring him some fantasy relevance.