Fantasy Football Week 5: Waiver wire pickups

If you’d been thinking the fantasy landscape was a mess, just wait. Byes are about to hit in Week 5, which means lineup-setting will become an even more uncomfortable process. In the week ahead, we’ll be without the Lions, Eagles, Chargers and Titans.

Lucky for you, we’re here to help. Each week, we highlight the top potential fantasy football waiver wire pickups who remain available in at least 50% of Yahoo fantasy leagues. If you find yourself with significant roster needs, the names below deserve your attention.

Quarterbacks

Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers (31%)

Fields is no longer undefeated after Sunday’s visit to Indianapolis, but he’s surely done enough to remain the Steelers starting quarterback, at least for another week. He passed for 312 yards and one score against the Colts while rushing for 55 yards and two additional touchdowns. It wasn’t a flawless game, as he lost a fumble under ugly circumstances and was sacked four times, yet the comeback effort was still plenty impressive.

We had not yet seen the full dual-threat Fields fantasy experience this year, but Sunday’s early deficit created ideal scoring conditions. His weekly ceiling is obviously as high as anyone’s. Fields is at home against Dallas this week, a matchup that’s been unexpectedly friendly over the season’s first month. The Cowboys lost a few essential defensive pieces on Thursday night, too.

Recommended FAB offer (assuming $100 budget): $7

Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks (44%)

This will simply serve as your weekly reminder that Smith is at the controls of a loaded offense, featuring multiple upper-tier weapons. Entering Monday night’s game at Detroit, he’s averaging 262.3 passing yards per game and completing a ridiculous 74.8% of his attempts.

Smith already has a season on his resume in which he’s finished as the overall QB5, so we don’t need to question whether he can sustain a high level of play over a full 17-game schedule. We’ve seen it happen. He’s fully approved for use against the Giants in Week 5.

FAB: $5

Additional QB options:

• Andy Dalton has tossed five touchdown passes over the past two weeks, heroically dragging Diontae Johnson back to fantasy relevance. The upcoming matchup at Chicago is a challenge, but Dalton then gets Atlanta and Washington in Weeks 6 and 7.

• It’s gotta be Drake Maye time soon, right? New England currently ranks dead-last in total offense (238.8 YPG) while averaging just 13.0 points per game. There’s no way things would look worse with a dynamic rookie running the show. Miami, Houston and Jacksonville are on deck for the Pats, so it’s not as if Maye would be facing a series of impossible matchups.

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Running backs

Kareem Hunt and Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City Chiefs (36% and 8%)

Kansas City’s backfield is full of sketchy names and bad ideas at the moment. Carson Steele cannot reliably hold onto the football, which led to his minimal workload on Sunday (three touches). Samaje Perine and Hunt are covered in dust, but they handled most of the heavy lifting for the against the Chargers. Hunt ultimately led the backfield in touches (16) and scrimmage yards (85), although there wasn’t much elusiveness to his game. None of these guys are capable of approaching Isiah Pacheco-level production, which is a serious problem for a team running low on playmakers.

Hunt is certainly worth chasing on waivers based on Sunday’s usage, but keep Edwards-Helaire in your plans as well. CEH is set to parachute into this rogue’s gallery of running backs, returning soon from the NFI list, and he could get interesting in a hurry. Whenever he’s good to go, he’s gonna play. His services are urgently needed.

We can’t treat the KC backfield as an empty-the-wallet FAB situation these days, so we will not advise you to do anything reckless.

FAB: $18 and $8

Rico Dowdle, Dallas Cowboys (48%)

Dowdle has established himself as the one player in Dallas’ backfield who needs to be rostered in nearly all fantasy formats. He continues to out-snap, out-touch and out-gain Ezekiel Elliott.

Dowdle made his first house call of the season on Thursday night, finishing with 61 yards on a dozen touches. He’s also drawn the start in three straight games, for what it’s worth.

The upcoming matchups for the Cowboys are less than ideal (at Pit, Det), but this team has a layup line of user-friendly run defenses ahead in November and December.

FAB: $12

Various other RB adds:

• Jonathan Taylor was an unstoppable force on Sunday per his usual, but he suffered a late-game ankle injury that will have us worried all week. Trey Sermon is the clear No. 2 in this team’s backfield hierarchy, so he’s definitely worth an add.

• Tyler Allgeier delivered 80 scrimmage yards on 10 touches in Sunday’s win, playing a season-high 38% of Atlanta’s offensive snaps. He definitely hot-handed his way back into the flex conversation.

• Emanuel Wilson didn’t produce a notable stat line against the Vikings, but he played 30 snaps and functioned as a full committee member.

• Tank Bigsby carried seven times for an impressive 90 yards in Jacksonville’s narrow loss on Sunday. Travis Etienne is dealing with a shoulder issue, which led to additional opportunities for his backup. Bigsby is now averaging a beefy 8.2 YPC on his 21 rush attempts.

• Buffalo’s defense was punished by the Ravens backfield on Sunday night, as Derrick Henry turned in a vintage performance and Justice Hill delivered 96 total yards and one score on 10 touches. Hill has topped 50 scrimmage yards in three of his four games this season, serving as a perfect complementary back alongside the bruising Henry.

Wide receivers and tight ends

Dontayvion Wicks, Green Bay Packers (13%)

It’s tough to say if Wicks just gave us the worst great game of the season, or the best bad game. Let’s just say it was a journey.

Wicks was targeted 13 times against the Vikings, dropping multiple passes while also catching five, including a pair of scores. He’s an excellent separator and Jordan Love looked his way early and often, so we can probably live with a few missed opportunities.

Christian Watson suffered an ugly high-ankle injury in the loss to Minnesota, which could obviously result in additional opportunities for Wicks in the weeks to come. Green Bay gets a gift of a matchup next Sunday against the Rams.

FAB: $16

Xavier Legette, Carolina Panthers (14%)

The first-round rookie looked the part on Sunday, catching six balls for 66 yards on 10 targets, with his first NFL score included:

Legette should of course see additional opportunities with Adam Thielen (hamstring) sidelined for multiple weeks, plus he’s a beneficiary of the Andy Dalton surge in Carolina. He’s still early in the development arc, but we’re talking about a 220-plus pound human with 4.39 wheels and a 40-inch vertical. Legette does not lack upside.

FAB: $8

Wan’Dale Robinson, New York Giants (26%)

Find something in this life you love half as much as Daniel Jones loves throwing to Robinson on third down.

On Thursday night, Robinson was absolutely peppered with targets, catching 11 balls for 71 yards on 14 opportunities. He’s averaging 9.5 targets per game on the season and he’s caught 18 passes for 132 yards over the past two weeks. Without question, Robinson needs to be rostered in any full-PPR league.

FAB: $8

Additional WRs and TEs to consider:

• Josh Downs snagged eight of nine targets on Sunday, thriving with Joe Flacco under center, finishing with 82 receiving yards and one score. He’s looking healthy after missing much of camp with a high-ankle sprain. We can’t promise he’ll remain a consistent fantasy option with Anthony Richardson at QB, but he’s a talented receiver who deserves significant target totals.

• Tre Tucker made a house call for the Raiders on Sunday, handling six touches and gaining 44 total yards. He’s a viable flex in deeper leagues for however long Davante Adams remains sidelined.

• We shouldn’t expect substantial volume from Tutu Atwell, but he specializes in field-flipping plays. He’s converted eight catches into 175 receiving yards over his last two games.

• Tucker Kraft continues to out-snap and out-produce Luke Musgrave in Green Bay, and he’s coming off a six-catch, 53-yard performance. In a season without a clear right answer at tight end, Kraft deserves a shot on someone’s roster in most leagues.

• Zach Ertz has caught 15 of 16 targets through four weeks, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise since his quarterback is completing an outrageous 82.1% of his throws. We’re still waiting on Ertz’s first touchdown of 2024, although he did snag a two-point conversion on Sunday.

Defense

Denver Broncos (16%)

Another week, another double-digit fantasy total from the Broncos D. This group has squashed the Bucs and Jets in back-to-back wins, allowing only 16 total points along the way. Patrick Surtain II has been erasing elite receivers while his teammates pile up sacks (12 in the last two weeks). Denver gets a home date with the Raiders in Week 5, so don’t be reluctant to spend an extra dollar.

FAB: $3