NFL Fantasy Football Week 5 Waiver Wire Adds
4 weeks into the NFL season, and your team might be on the brink. Or your team may need some reinforcements behind some injury concerns. So I'm here to give you some NFL fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 5 and people to keep your eye on in the coming weeks.
Quarterbacks
C.J. Stroud, QB, Houston Texans
48% Rostered according to Yahoo! Fantasy Sports
Photo Credit: GettyImages/AP
Fantasy wise, CJ Stroud is a top 10 quarterback as we head into week 5. The Ohio State rookie posted over 20 fantasy points against the Steelers defense. Stroud has thrown for 2+ touchdowns in 3 straight games. A lot of early season quarterback pickups like Daniel Jones, Joe borough, and Jared Goff have been shaky to start this season. If you need a QB to stream week to week, you can't do much worse than Stroud. He should be your highest priority right now.
Sam Howell, QB, Washington Commanders
19% Rostered according to Yahoo! Fantasy Sports
Photo Credit: GettyImages/AP
Sam Howell is an up and down quarterback. He shows a lot of good and a lot of bad. He followed up a poor performance against the Buffalo Bills with a solid performance against a really good Philadelphia Eagles defense. Howell was sacked 5 times against the Eagles, which increased their total to 24 sacks on the season. But he also finished the game with 290 passing yards, 1 TD and 21 fantasy points. The commanders have a quick turnaround Thursday night against the Bears, but the best thing that can happen is they're playing the Bears. This offense should be able to feast.
Jordan Love, QB, Green Bay Packers
76% Rostered according to Yahoo! Fantasy Sports
Photo Credit: GettyImages/AP
Well, Jordan love is not on the level of Aaron Rodgers or Brett Favre, he's still a pretty good fantasy option for your team. Love is averaging over 22 points per game through four games, which is right where you need to be for a fantasy quarterback. I love Jordan's matchups in the next three weeks. Love faces the Raiders, then has a bye week, the Broncos and finally the Vikings. There's an opportunity for love in the Packers to put up some points, and if you have love I would sell him high to a team that really needs a quarterback. He's a much better DFS option as he is heavily rostered.
Running Backs
Jaleel McLaughlin, RB, Denver Broncos
5% Rostered according to Yahoo! Fantasy Sports
Photo Credit: GettyImages/AP
Okay so I never heard of Jaleel McLaughlin until Monday. But every fantasy article that I've combed through has this guy as a must pick up. McLaughlin looked very good against a poor Bears defense. He had 10 total touches on his way to 104 yards and a touchdown. Now because of Javonte Williams‘ injury, this is a pickup that you need to shore up your team until Williams can get back on the field. But in deep stream leagues you might want to hang on to him and sell after a few weeks.
Tyjae Spears, RB, Tennessee Titans
24% Rostered according to Yahoo! Fantasy Sports
Photo Credit: GettyImages/AP
A few weeks ago I said that you should be interested in picking up spears as he looked more explosive than Derrick Henry in the Titans offense. But then Derek Henry showed why he is one of the best running backs in the league. Regardless, Spears gets a lot of carries and if you're in a deep league you might want to consider grabbing him. Against the Bengals this past Sunday, Spears received 53% of the offensive snaps. If nothing, he's a handcuff, but you should also think about him as a flex option if you have nothing else to grab in your waiver wire. He gets a lot of snaps in the passing game, so I confidently put him in the starting lineup if I need points.
Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers
25% Rostered according to Yahoo! Fantasy Sports
Photo Credit: Pro Football Network
Chuba Hubbard Is one of those backups that can always outplay the starters? At some point. He was a solid pickup option behind Christian McCaffrey and now behind Miles. Sanders still gets opportunities to make plays. He had a season-high 16 touches on Sunday, but he only got 53 yards. Eventually he's going to get into the end zone and convert those touches. I like the chances of him. Still getting some impressive snap share because Miles Sanders is playing through a groin injury.
Wide Receivers
Romeo Doubs, WR, Green Bay Packers
54% Rostered according to Yahoo! Fantasy Sports
Photo Credit: GettyImages/AP
The Packers’ receivers see a lot of action as Jordan Love spreads the ball out. But as I noted above the Packers do have some favorable matchups coming up. In his last two games, Doubs has 25 targets, 14 catches, 168 yards and a touchdown. I like his targets, but he needs to really take advantage as he should have a few more catches. Regardless, until further notice he should be on your roster and in the flex spot if you really need production.
Curtis Samuel, WR, Washington Commanders
9% Rostered according to Yahoo! Fantasy Sports
Photo Credit: Pro Football Network
Samuel is in a guy that's going to get a lot of targets. He's the third receiver on a team with two really good receivers. But his performance against the Eagles should be noted. He finished the game with seven catches for 51 yards but added in a rushing touchdown. Samuel finish with 18+ fantasy points as he can really take advantage of a good matchup against the Bears. He's a deep-league consideration because he can still find the end zone, and everyone finds the end zone against the Bears defense.
Michael Wilson, WR, Arizona Cardinals
4% Rostered according to Yahoo! Fantasy Sports
Photo Credit: GettyImages/AP
Here's a deep League fantasy waiver pickup that I've seen floating around. Wilson has been getting a lot of run with the Cardinals as he has played 67% of the Cardinals' offensive snaps. Well he's not overly productive, he gets opportunities because of all the attention Marquise Brown draws. Wilson has gained over 50 receiving yards in his last 3 games. Last week against a really good 49ers defense, Wilson generated 7 catches for 76 yards, two touchdowns on his way to 26+ fantasy points. It's time to get him now before someone snags him.
Tyler Boyd, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
37% Rostered according to Yahoo! Fantasy Sports
Photo Credit: GettyImages/AP
The injury to Tee Higgins now puts Tyler Boyd in play for an increase in targets and production. However, the Cincinnati offense is struggling to score points. But if you need any reason not to put Boyd in your lineup, I can't give it to you. Tee Higgins has a rib fracture that could sideline for weeks. He's also received 24 targets over the past three weeks, so he's definitely a WR2 option in your league for the next month.
Tight Ends
Jonnu Smith, TE, Atlanta Falcons
1% Rostered according to Yahoo! Fantasy Sports
Photo Credit: Pro Football Network
If you have Kyle Pitts on your fantasy team, you must be the angriest person alive outside of Giants fans. Pitts is so talented but just cannot get you fantasy points. I don't ever see that changing as defenses look to shut down Drake London and Pitts. Add into the fact that Desmond Ritter struggles too often for me. But one thing I have come across is that Smith gets a lot of run in two tight end sets because Pitts is not your typical tight end, he's more of a receiver. Smith has been slightly productive, catching 15 passes for 179 yards in his last 3 games. The tight end position is one of the hardest to roster if you don't get the top 5 to 10 in your draft. So you can't do much worse than Smith if you're hurting for a tight end right now.
