FAAB Waiver Wire Bidding - Fantasy Football Pickups to Target for Week 5

October 4, 2022

Nick Mariano's fantasy football waiver wire FAAB bidding guide for Week 5 (2022) -- how many FAAB dollars (free agent acquisition budget) to spend on waivers.

Rev up those wallets because Week 4 supplied loads of mayhem for us to react to. I hesitate to say we suddenly have any slam-dunk waiver adds even after a slow FAAB start to the year, but the injuries are piling up. Let's be honest with our team's needs and allocate resources appropriately with roughly a month of football in the books.

Joining our famous waiver wire pickups list, our weekly fantasy football waiver wire columns by position, and our free new Who Should I Pickup? Waiver Wire comparison tool, this column focuses on suggested waiver wire bidding percentages for fantasy football owners in leagues using a Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB).

As a caveat, these prices do not by any means indicate how much these free agent players will go for. Each league values players differently and will continue to do so. These values are here to provide a baseline or priority order to understand roughly how much you should be looking to spend on a particular player. Specific needs are always reasonable cause for a manual override. Here are my median FAAB bid ranges and adds going into Week 5.

FAAB Waiver Wire Pickups - Quarterbacks

Geno Smith (QB, SEA) - FAAB Bid: 1-3%
13% rostered

The Seahawks are letting Geno cook, as Smith threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns with a 7-49-1 rushing line on top. This is his second week topping 300 yards, though we must adjust for facing Atlanta and Detroit. 

The pendulum swings to a rough road date against New Orleans in Week 5, but at least it is a dome game. A suddenly pass-heavy approach benefits Smith and the Saints' front seven may stifle the run game and funnel pass attempts.

Zach Wilson (QB, NYJ) - FAAB Bid: 1-2%
10% rostered

It’s tough to make a season debut against Pittsburgh’s defense, T.J. Watt or not. Wilson only completed 18-of-36 passes but notched 252 yards and a touchdown next to two interceptions. He also caught a touchdown pass from Braxton Berrios on a clean trick play. 

He’s in the 2QB conversation with good playmakers and a questionable defense throwing him into fantasy-friendly game scripts. That said, his schedule brings Miami, Green Bay, Denver, New England, Buffalo, BYE, and New England again. No cupcakes detected so just be realistic.

Kenny Pickett (QB, PIT) - FAAB Bid: 1-2%
5% rostered

Making his NFL debut, Pickett came out as Pittsburgh’s starter at halftime against the Jets. The good news is he went 10-for-13 for 120 passing yards. The bad news is the three incompletions were all interceptions, but one of them was a last-second Hail Mary attempt and he scored two ground touchdowns!

Basically, all of his questionable attempts were punished to the maximum but he wasn’t afraid to push the ball and I’d be shocked if Mitch Trubisky took another snap in 2022. Pickett has an awful schedule with Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Miami, and Philadelphia ahead of a Week 9 bye so I’d only deploy in 2QB or Superflex formats. This is great for Pittsburgh’s pass-catchers, though!

(If you love speculating on rookies then add Atlanta’s Desmond Ridder as well.)

FAAB Waiver Wire Pickups - Running Backs

Brian Robinson (54% rostered, ~6-8% FAAB) and Raheem Mostert (50% rostered, ~8-10% FAAB) are both worthy of adds but they’re likely gone in many of your leagues.

Tyler Allgeier (RB, ATL) - FAAB Bid: 10-20%
Caleb Huntley (RB, ATL) - FAAB Bid: 5-8%
17% & 1% rostered, respectively

Allgeier and Caleb Huntley took over with Cordarrelle Patterson clearly limited by his knee injury. Monday brought us news that CPatt is headed to the IR and will miss four weeks. While Huntley took some early-down and goal-line work to his own 10-56-1 rushing line, it was Allgeier that popped with 104 total yards on 11 touches. I know his top-end speed isn't dazzling but he's got that all-around skill set.

Per PFF, Allgeier played on 6-of-8 third downs while Huntley had three goal-line looks. Perhaps consider your waiver target based on your scoring system, with a PPR lean on Allgeier and a more even consideration in non-PPR. At this point, Atlanta may be considering a move from Marcus Mariota to Desmond Ridder soon for a spark as well.

Don’t forget about Damien Williams (IR) as well! Yes, it could be that messy in this backfield.

Rachaad White (RB, TB) - FAAB Bid: 6-10%
27% rostered

Despite fumbling the game’s opening kickoff, White earned two full series to himself and scored a rushing touchdown. With the Bucs trailing early, White only ran it three times but caught all five targets for 50 yards. If Tampa Bay is discouraged by Leonard Fournette then White could see increased usage and this premium offense demands our attention.

Isiah Pacheco (RB, KC) - FAAB Bid: 6-10%
19% rostered

Pacheco ran with authority on Sunday night against a tough Tampa front, logging 63 yards on 11 carries. The rookie ate into Jerick McKinnon’s B-side share behind Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who still owns the early downs. McKinnon didn’t convert his limited opportunities while Pacheco looked electric so follow the trend in a potent offense.

Isiah Pacheco finally had extended time to make a real impact — and he delivered

7 of his 11 carries gained at least 6 yards

— Ron Kopp Jr. (@Ron_Kopp) October 3, 2022

Mike Boone (RB, DEN) - FAAB Bid: 3-5%
1% rostered

Boone stepped up with 19 snaps, 12 routes run, three targets, and three carries in Week 4 as Javonte Williams tore his ACL. That’s ahead of Melvin Gordon III, who left for a while in the second half but did finish the game. 

MGIII will be Denver’s starter without Williams but Boone has faith as both rusher and passer in an offense meant to split the workload. Denver is on a short week, playing Indianapolis on Thursday. The Colts just got beaten up by Derrick Henry and are missing their own superstar RB, meaning Denver could lean on them with rushing+defense.

Latavius Murray (RB, DEN*) - FAAB Bid: 3-5%
1% rostered

Murray was elevated on Saturday, a clear warning sign for Alvin Kamara’s status, and delivered with 57 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. He also added an eight-yard catch on a day where Mark Ingram II left for a spell with an injury, which left Murray as the man.

These elder statesmen have something to offer and Murray’s strong showing might have leapfrogged him into the No. 2 role moving forward for New Orleans but then news struck.

We received a Monday night surprise as the Broncos signed Murray off of the Saints’ practice squad. Unfortunately, this turns two potential adds in Boone and Murray into competitors that cannibalize each other’s value. It wouldn’t shock me to see Murray be the short-yardage 1B behind Gordon while Boone leans more towards passing downs.

Gus Edwards (RB, BAL) - FAAB Bid: 0-2%
12% rostered

Edwards is still on the PUP list but is returning to practice. I doubt Baltimore wants J.K. Dobbins to be a workhorse in a run-heavy offense and Justice Hill is dinged up. This move could pay off down the stretch.

Ravens RB Gus Edwards, who is on PUP, will start practicing, coach John Harbaugh said

— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) October 3, 2022

Deon Jackson (RB, IND) - FAAB Bid: 0-2%
0% rostered

The Colts are taking it day-by-day with Jonathan Taylor’s ankle injury, which NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting as not overly serious. Nyheim Hines (62% rostered) is an obvious add but don’t let Jackson languish on waivers either. The Colts signed Jackson as an undrafted free agent in 2021 and have kept him around as depth since.

This isn’t exciting, I know, especially as Taylor’s injury doesn’t appear to be a long-term matter. But the waiver wire has been thin through football’s first month and some of you have deep, dark needs for any sort of volume. Or Indy would simply turn to Phillip Lindsay! There are deep leagues and then there are Deon Jackson-relevant deep leagues.

FAAB Waiver Wire Pickups - Wide Receivers

Isaiah McKenzie (WR, BUF) - FAAB Bid: 8-12%
47% rostered

I’ll quickly cheat the cutoff and point out that Jamison Crowder broke his ankle on Sunday while McKenzie was forced out with a head injury. Monitor McKenzie’s status but the road to a fuller slot role in Josh Allen’s offense is clear. I like Khalil Shakir on my best-ball teams but he’s still behind the trio of McKenzie, Stefon Diggs, and Gabriel Davis.

Michael Gallup (WR, DAL) - FAAB Bid: 8-12%
41 rostered

Gallup had a heartwarming return to the field thanks to catching a touchdown in a 25-10 victory over Washington. He only saw three targets but a 2-24-1 line in a limited debut where he wound up running 24 routes on 39 snaps is encouraging. Dallas ran it nearly half of the time so CeeDee Lamb only ran 29 routes himself.

We’ll look for Gallup to creep above Noah Brown for the No. 2 role eventually. This may be expedited as Brown suffered a neck injury in Week 4. The return of Dak Prescott also looms in the next week or two, which will only increase the passing appeal.

George Pickens (WR, PIT) - FAAB Bid: 5-10%
39% rostered

Pickens had the best game out of Pittsburgh’s receivers on a day that saw Pittsburgh’s offense hand the keys to Kenny Pickett. Now, Diontae Johnson remains an alpha who barely missed some highlight catches but Pickens going 6-102-0 on eight targets is very notable against Chase Claypool’s goose eggs.

George Pickens saw 15 targets on Mitch Trubisky's 116 attempts in 3.5 games (12.9%).

George Pickens saw 5 targets on Kenny Pickett's 14 attempts, including penalties, in one half Sunday (35.7%).

— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) October 3, 2022

Kadarius Toney (WR, NYG) - FAAB Bid: 5-10%
Wan'Dale Robinson (WR, NYG) - FAAB Bid: 5-10%
27% & 4% rostered, respectively

The Giants’ passing attack is non-existent, which means Toney and his incredible yards-after-catch potential is our only hope. Even if Daniel Jones doesn’t miss time with an ankle injury, this team has struggled to get further downfield than Saquon Barkley can take them.

Richie James struggled to make an impact and is unlikely to plant his flag as a No. 1 option. Kenny Golladay was ghosting us and is now hurt. It may not come to fruition but the door is wide open for Toney to smash if health can hold up. Robinson remains an intriguing flier as a slot man in the wake of Sterling Shepard’s season-ending injury, but his knee injury’s timeline remains unclear.

Jameson Williams (WR, DET) - FAAB Bid: 5-10%
Josh Reynolds (WR, DET) - FAAB Bid: 3-5%
27% & 20% rostered, respectively

Just a friendly reminder to stash Williams if possible! Obviously, Reynolds makes for a good "right now" add with 18 targets for a 13-177-1 line in the last two weeks. We'll see how the injuries to Amon-Ra St. Brown and D.J. Chark progress over the next week. Then Detroit hits their bye and I'm sure the Williams buzz will build. Get ahead of the noise.

Imagine what Jameson Williams is going to do in the role that Josh Reynolds is playing right now

— Andrew Metcalfe (@drewmet_FF) October 3, 2022

Zay Jones (WR, JAX) - FAAB Bid: 4-5%
Jamal Agnew (WR, JAX) - FAAB Bid: 0-2%
29% & 0% rostered, respectively

Zay Jones couldn’t heal up in time for Week 4’s game, with the poor weather likely contributing to the call. With Jones out and Christian Kirk blanketed, it wasn’t Marvin Jones Jr. stepping up but Jamal Agnew. MJJ went without a catch on one target while Agnew hauled in a 4-50-2 line on six looks. That’s almost surely a one-off and Zay Jones should be gobbled up wherever he was let go in an injury-forced roster crunch.

Rondale Moore (WR, ARI) - FAAB Bid: 2-4%
18% rostered

Moore had a quiet day in the box score, recording just three catches for 11 yards and -4 rush yards, but he played ahead of Greg Dortch, who caught just one ball for six yards. The day was spearheaded by Marquise Brown and Zach Ertz on a day when Arizona didn’t need to push too hard.

A.J. Green’s injury forced Moore to play in a lesser perimeter role so let’s see how he and Dortch’s snap/route rates fare when they split the slot work. For now, Moore is worthy of a stash even if not startable from the jump.

Kyle Philips (WR, TEN) - FAAB Bid: 1-2%
1% rostered

Philips should come relatively cheap given his zeroes in Week 4, but Treylon Burks is dealing with turf toe. This should elevate Philips next to Robert Woods as starting WRs in a Week 5 date with the Commanders. It won’t be surprising to see the Titans roll them with Derrick Henry but Philips makes for a nice deep-league PPR add.

FAAB Waiver Wire Pickups - Tight Ends

Hayden Hurst (TE, CIN) - FAAB Bid: 2-3%
21% rostered

Those who looked past his injury-marred Week 3 numbers were rewarded with a touchdown in Week 4. I don’t love only four targets and playing 36 snaps (out of 64), but he ran a route on 25 of those. 

For context, Tyler Boyd ran 28 routes, Tee Higgins had 30, and Ja’Marr Chase had 35. That’s still a healthy tally on a day they volume-smashed with Joe Mixon so I’m encouraged ahead of a fireworks show with Baltimore in Week 5.

Robert Tonyan (TE, GB) - FAAB Bid: 2-3%
32% rostered

I’ll keep it brief because while Tonyan scored a TD in Week 4, he only caught two passes for 22 yards total in a meat-grinder win over New England. It’s great to see him get red-zone attention with his size ahead of a friendly schedule stretch (NYG, NYJ, at WAS, at BUF, at DET).

Logan Thomas (TE, WAS) - FAAB Bid: 1-2%
24% rostered

Thomas only caught five balls for 19 yards on six targets but we could see much more involvement in Week 5 if Jahan Dotson’s hamstring injury keeps him out. On the whole, Thomas was third on the Commanders in snaps (55) and routes run (32). Their Weeks 5 and 6 games against Tennessee and Chicago don’t project to be shootouts but more volume may be on the horizon.

Mo Alie-Cox (TE, IND) - FAAB Bid: 0-2%
5% rostered

We’ve seen Kylen Granson get steamed only for Jelani Woods to get two touchdowns, so naturally, MAC emerges from Week 4 with his own two-TD week. I do believe the Colts will lean on their TE room with Jonathan Taylor dinged up but have fun spinning a wheel between Alie-Cox, Woods, and Granson.

Greg Dulcich (TE, DEN) - FAAB Bid: 0-2%
1% rostered

Dulcich opened the season on IR but may practice this week and generate buzz with Albert Okwuegbunam ghosting us in Week 4. Okwuegbunam’s snap share has fallen in every week following the opener, tumbling to one measly snap on Sunday. Denver may rotate TEs but Dulcich is the ceiling dart throw.

Broncos are "working through" whether or not Greg Dulcich will play against the Colts on Thursday

— Sayre Bedinger (@SayreBedinger) October 3, 2022

FAAB Waiver Wire Pickups - Defense/Special Teams

Miami Dolphins Defense (at NYJ) - FAAB Bid: 1-2%
22% rostered

Miami has faced Baltimore, Buffalo, and Cincinnati in the last three weeks. With an early-season small sample in hand, you may forget that they destroyed the Patriots in Week 1 with just seven points allowed, two sacks, three turnovers, and a TD.

They'll face Zach Wilson, who threw several questionable passes around and may be backed into more risky situations in Week 5. Teddy Bridgewater and those elite playmakers on offense should still roll the NYJ defense into a tilted score.

Minnesota Vikings Defense (vs CHI) - FAAB Bid: 1-2%
39% rostered

The Bears gave up two sacks in Week 1, then three in Week 2, five in Week 3, and six in Week 4. So naturally, we'll just pencil in Minnesota for 7-8 sacks in Week 5, yeah? In all seriousness, this offense is averaging 16 points per game and makes for a solid plug-and-play stream opponent.

Jacksonville Jaguars Defense (vs HOU) - FAAB Bid: 0-1%
13% rostered

The Jaguars are a top-five defense through four weeks of action, which is something we all had in our draft notes, right? With nine sacks and nine turnovers in their back pocket, the Jags should pound a conservative Texans offense with relative ease. Houston has surrendered three or more sacks in three of their four games in 2022.

Indianapolis Colts Defense (at DEN) - FAAB Bid: 0-1%
41% rostered

You may not like it but Denver is clearly struggling for an offensive identity and is now reeling from the loss of Javonte Williams on a short week. The onus will fall on Russell Wilson and the passing attack to move the ball, which some of you are keen to bet against.

More Waiver Wire Adds and Pickups