Week 5 Waiver Wire Adds

New York Jets Quarterback Sam Darnold. Photo Credit: slgckgc | Under Creative Commons License
New York Jets Quarterback Sam Darnold. Photo Credit: slgckgc | Under Creative Commons License

Whether you’re looking for a bye week Band-Aid or someone to mend into your lineup while waiting for a player to recover from injury; the waiver wire is the place to go. This week the Lions and Dolphins have a bye, so if you have Kenny Golladay, Matthew Stafford, or Kerryon Johnson it might be time to look to the wire. Hopefully you stacked your team during the draft, because everyone reading is a fantasy connoisseur, but if you didn’t, fear not. I will be your guide today for this week’s tour.

Week 5 Waiver Wire Adds

Quarterback Pick Ups

Teddy Bridgewater – New Orleans Saints

Owned in 7% of leagues.

Surprisingly enough, after Tampa Bay and Los Angeles’s offensive shootout on Sunday, Tampa Bay still has fewer TDs scored on them then league leader Miami Dolphins with 12. Tampa, nonetheless, is atop the board when it comes to giving up receiving yards per game. Right now they’re sitting at 338 yards with 12.2 yards per completion. Let’s face it, Jared Goff might have boosted their stats a little with 517 yards last week but because of the high pace scoring, he threw three picks.

Sir Teddy, on the other hand, hasn’t really had that type of game yet but has also only had one game where his completion percentage has been less than 56%. That was his Week 2 stat after Drew Brees went down. Since then his completion rate has been an increasing 70.4 in Week 3 to 76.7 in Week 4 against a stout Dallas defense. This week Teddy has Tampa so it would be interesting to see his completion rating versus the Bucs puckered secondary.

Chase Daniels – Chicago Bears

Owned in 0% of leagues.

Chase Daniels falls under one of those because of injury clauses. He stepped in after Mitchell Trubisky’s shoulder injury and did not fail to impress. Overall, he threw 30 attempts for 22 completions, 195 passing yards, and one TD. Like Bridgewater, Daniels took advantage of the Minnesota defense with a passer rating of 73.3% and no interceptions.

This week the Bears take on the Raiders in London. The Raiders just let Jacoby Brissett have a fantasy day with 3 TDs and a single pick for 27.2 points. It should be mentioned that the Raiders currently sit 27th when it comes to giving up passing yards to opposing QBs with an average of 281.0 yards. Not only that, they have only one interception in the books and it was from Brissett. Daniels has a cushy defense this week so he may be able to fil a hole in anyone’s lineup.

Sam Darnold – New York Jets

Owned in 13% of leagues.

My last QB who might be on the wire is Sam Darnold. He’s coming back from a medical issue but with that injury comes an abundance of rest. Lord knows Darnold needed it after his team’s debut with four sacks on the man. If he plays this week it will be against a Philly defense that barely defeated Green Bay. Although it was ultimately a win and a good defensive display, there can be speculation made that some of the Packers’ play-calling was super suspect. Why would they pass the ball four times on the goal line? Who knows.

The point I want to make is that Aaron Rodgers was in a slump before his game against Philly, but now he might begin his usual incline to success. Darnold last saw game time Week 1 against Buffalo and in that game, Darnold threw the ball 41 times and completed 28 of them. This should have some meaning to us because that means they aren’t afraid to sling the ball and hit their players in the air. Us fantasy coaches love that. Feed our receivers and make the Jets relevant again Sam Darnold!

Running Back Pick Ups

Jaylen Samuels – Pittsburgh Steelers

Owned in 31% of leagues.

In PPR leagues, handcuff running backs can help fix some bye week problems. Jaylen Samuels, for example, helped whoever played him last week to get a fat stack of points with 22.3. There is no doubt James Conner is the lead back in Pitt but when it comes to their receiving back, both RBs seem to split the time. Both Conner and Samuels had 8 targets for 8 receptions on Monday night. Samuels even accumulated 10 rushing attempts which were the exact same as Conner. There might be something brewing in Pittsburgh where they are becoming more of a two-headed attack in the backfield.

Nyheim Hines – Indianapolis Colts

Owned in 19% of leagues.

Speaking of handcuffs, Hines might be the squire before becoming the lord of handcuffs. Marlon Mack doesn’t seem to be a factor whatsoever in the passing game, and this is where Hines begins to flourish and show us his loyalties in the fantasy realm. Last week Mack only ran the ball, leaving the passing downs to Hines and Jordan Wilkins. Wilkins is the clear third-stringer and with Indy heading into Arrowhead Stadium, Hines might have some playability. If the Colts fall behind early, they will be forced into constant passing situations, meaning that Mack will be on the sidelines and Hines will be catching the ball out of the backfield.

Chris Thompson – Washington Redskins

Owned in 66% of leagues.

Thompson might be a little tougher to get your fingers on because of Derrius Guice going down weeks ago. But with Adrian Peterson being the lead back, Thompson takes on the receiving role in their dynamic duo. Last week Thompson had five targets and four receptions for 56 yards. You might think, “Hurrah?,” but this week the Redskins visit the Patriots. Thompson’s value increases because of the upcoming usage that is inevitable. With Jay Gruden unsure of who to play at QB, it is clear that Thompson’s playtime will not be affected. So far this season Thompson has had 28 targets for 20 receptions and 251 yards.

Wide Receiver Pick Ups

Cole Beasley – Buffalo Bills

Owned in 12% of leagues.

The Bills just played the Patriots and one of the only players who didn’t make out too bad was Cole Beasley. Beasley had 13 targets for 7 receptions and 75 yards; not a bad haul against the league-leading defense. This week the Bills take on the Titans. They haven’t had the worst season but the Titans have been giving up an average of 10.6 yards per completion to receivers. Right now Beasley has been averaging nine targets a game with six receptions. Not only that, there has been only one week where Beasley didn’t find himself scoring double-digits for us coaches. He is definitely someone to consider.

Diontae Johnson – Pittsburgh Steelers

Owned in 7% of leagues.

Slowly but surely Diontae Johnson is becoming relevant to the Pittsburgh offense. Mason Rudolph hasn’t exactly been elevating the potential that Juju Smith-Schuster can succumb too, but that might be because of Johnson’s recent successes. With Rudolph manning the helm, these past two weeks have been great for Johnson’s value. Each week he has had six targets and scored; this is more than likely because of some connection that has sparked recently between the QB and WR. No matter the QB, Johnson has been getting some consistent looks throughout the season. This is no doubt because of the focus that Smith-Schuster has been receiving with AB gone. Either way, let’s get Johnson from the wire and onto your roster.

Ted Ginn Jr. – New Orleans Saints

Owned in 8% of leagues.

Is it a coincidence that each game Ted Ginn plays, the Saints win? I think so. This New Orleans lucky charm has only played in three games this season but in each of these appearances, the Saints win. Overall, Ginn has 17 targets with 12 receptions and because he has been active in three games, he has averaged a little more than six targets a game. This week Ginn has the pleasure of being a worthy add because of the Bucs lackluster secondary. Not only that, if Michael Thomas is on the field you know other receiving weapons on the team are getting more looks. Sounds like the job for the Saints good luck charm. If you need a receiver in a pinch this week, Ted Ginn has some upside.

Tight End Pick Ups

Jimmy Graham – Green Bay Packers

Owned in 37% of leagues.

We all remember Jimmy from the Saints. He and Drew had quite the duo before the split to the Seahawks. Now Mr. Graham is playing TE for Aaron Rodgers which should have increased his worth in the fantasy football world. Last season Graham didn’t connect with Rodgers on a notable level, which makes this season just as suspect. Though his usage isn’t great, each time Jimmy Graham catches a ball, he scores a TD. This might seem subpar to his New Orleans days but Graham might be inching closer to making his name on the Packers. The Packers are visiting the Cowboys who just had a defensive matchup against the Saints. As stated before, Teddy Bridgewater didn’t fair too bad against the D and had his best completion rating, making the Rodgers and Graham combo even more tempting.

Gerald Everett – Los Angeles Rams

Owned in 5% of leagues.

If having a receiving player on the Rams wasn’t interesting enough, Everett should now be a part of the conversation on getting his share of the ball. Everett hasn’t had all the looks in the world with the abundance of talent on the Rams offense, but what he has had is reliability. In 15 targets, Everett has had only one incompletion. Dump Off City baby. You cannot mess up the dump-off pass and with Jared Goff being less spectacular than expected, Everett could soon become a front runner to get more short-yardage work. This week the Rams face Seattle, a division rival and pretty solid defense. Expect Everett to get his fair share of glances when no one downfield is open.

D/ST Pick Ups

San Francisco

Owned in 26% of leagues.

Frisco had a bye week last week so they have been super quiet and laying low on the defensive radar. Currently they are ranked 6th in pass defense and 5th against the rush. Supposing that last week’s victory against Baltimore was a fluke, the Browns have no way of repeating their offensive feat. Nick Chubb is an amazing RB but it is unlikely he will have such luck against a rested Frisco defense. Not only that, Baker Mayfield has been showing us that he is fairly loose with the football. He throws the ball a bunch during the game and has no shame in giving it to the other team in the form of interceptions. I expect the same this week against San Francisco.

New York Jets Quarterback Sam Darnold. Photo Credit: slgckgc | Under Creative Commons License

New York Jets Quarterback Sam Darnold. Photo Credit: slgckgc | Under Creative Commons License