Week 5 of the fantasy football season is here but we didn't get out of Week 4 unscathed following injuries to key running backs such as Jonathan Taylor and Javonte Williams. While the Taylor injury was less severe, those with Javonte Williams on their roster for the unfortunate news this morning that the Denver Broncos running back suffered a torn-ACL which will end his season. With this injury news many are quickly looking at Melvin Gordon to be the lead back and Mike Boone is a name everyone is looking to grab as their fantasy football week 5 waiver wire pickup but what if another running back on the Broncos roster is the one that should really be getting the attention? Following Williams knee injury the Broncos signed Latavius Murray from the Saints practice squad on Monday. Should Murray be the name more fantasy football managers are looking to grab this week off the wavier wire? Lets break it down!

 

Should Latavius Murray Be the Fantasy Football Week 5 Pickup To Target?

The Broncos backfield has been a pretty even split for most of the season, with Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon finding themselves generally in a 60/40 snap share most weeks. The team's running game hasn't been great and Melvin Gordon has had trouble holding onto the football. When Williams was injured in Week 4 it was Mike Boone that actually saw the larger snap share over Gordon, playing 19 snaps to Gordon's 10. Boone is more of the pass catcher and this is a role he could very well hold down now that Williams is out. Gordon's struggles and lack of depth now on the roster is more than likely the reason the Broncos made the move to add Latavius Murray to their roster on Monday. Murray saw action in Week 4 as he was put on the Saints active roster following the news that Alvin Kamara was not going to play Sunday against the Vikings. Murray immediately stepped in and made an impact, outperforming Mark Ingram who started the game. Against Minnesota Murray finished with 11 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown. He also added one catch for eight yards.

Murray spent the 2021 season as part of the Ravens rotating backfield. He appeared in 14 games and rushed for 501 yards and six touchdowns. He also added 10 catches for 75 yards. The one thing Murray has always been good at is scoring touchdowns, despite never really holding down a full-time job, he has 50 career rushing touchdowns over 123 games played. 

Now, the Broncos play on Thursday this week and with the short week the team's offensive coordinator has already come out and said that Gordon will be the lead back against the Colts with Mike Boone getting mixed in. Given the short week it is likely that Murray may not even be active for this game, or, if active, will only see a handful of snaps. 

So, when it comes to the Week 5 fantasy football waiver wire, should you be looking to add Murray? If you need someone for your lineups this week then Mike Boone is likely the better choice but if you want a possible longer term play that could take early down and red zone work, then I think Murray is worth the pickup this week.

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