October 3, 2017

Deeper PPR waiver wire sleepers and pickups to add for Week 5 of the NFL season. Frankie Soler finds lightly owned players for fantasy football owners to target.

Sunday's Week 4 slate was absolutely brutal for fantasy owners. It's obviously never fun to see any player in the NFL go down with a serious injury, but fantasy football ends up making the heartbreak that much worse. Not only that, but there have been way too many head-scratching moments this year, and Week 4 was no different. It's still early, so there's time to save your season. Climbing out of a 1-3 hole might take a little more gusto than you would have liked, but it can be done.

One quick PSA before diving into the players. A few NFL players have come out to state publicly that they don't care about your fantasy teams. Some players are all about it, some don't get it. Totally fine either way as what they do is infinitely more significant than any of us managing a fictional team. But can we please stop sending players hate-filled tweets that you need fantasy points? I know this is a minority of folks who play fantasy, but you make us all look bad. Plus, it's just flat out uncool. Players care more about their own well being, their career, their money, their team, their actual real-life fans...all of the things that actually matter to their overall person. Show some class and decency. Root for your guys but accept that they're human beings making a living.

That's the end of my soap box rant. Apologies if that turned anyone off this week but it needed to be expressed. Back to actual football talk. Here are some deeper PPR-league sleepers for Week 5. Note: all ownership percentages are from Yahoo leagues.

Deeper PPR Sleepers For Week 5

Latavius Murray - RB, Minnesota Vikings (17% Owned)

The most obvious name of the week is Latavius Murray who steps in for the loss of Dalvin Cook. Cook's injury leaves open a huge hole within the Minnesota offense, one that Murray will struggle to fill as efficiently. There's a lot of room for opportunity and upside, however. Murray is coming off of a great fantasy year in 2016 with the Raiders, one that could have been even better if not for a split backfield. Given that his 2017 campaign has been slowed due to off-season ankle surgery, there aren't any numbers to suggest what Murray can do within this specific offense. Even with replacement pieces in Case Keenum and Latavius Murray, this team can produce enough points to make Murray fantasy relevant on a week-to-week basis. He won't bring in many receptions, but based on opportunity alone, Murray is the week's top pickup in any format.

Alex Collins - RB, Baltimore Ravens (10% Owned)

Our first repeat player of the year is running back Alex Collins of the Ravens. Collins has now been Baltimore's most productive back two weeks in a row. It isn't just the yardage either as he's seen more rushing attempts than both Terrance West and Javorious Allen over that span. He's had 82 yards in each of the last two games, significantly more than his peers. In an offense that is in severe need of significant playmakers, Collins is a bright spot in an otherwise deplorable offense.

The knock on Collins is his fumbling issues. Already at two on the year, he'll need to cut back significantly if he hopes to clinch a full featured role. Still, Collins is a solid add for teams in need of a replacement running back. Given the state of the position as a whole, he can be used as a low-end RB2/flex piece given the right roster construction.

Wayne Gallman - RB, New York Giants (3% Owned)

Purely by coincidence is this week's list chock-full of running backs. Wayne Gallman saw increased work for the Giants after fellow rusher Paul Perkins suffered a rib injury in Sunday's loss. Gallman was serviceable when called upon in the second half, finishing the day with 42 yards on 11 carries. He also added a touchdown through the air to boot, padding his fantasy day. Gallman is certainly the deepest add of this week's trio, but he's already worthy of a roster spot even after just one week of production. With the way the Giants season is going, they'd be foolish not to give Gallman another crack at giving the offense a boost. We might not know who the "starter" is for week five, but that's kind of moot at this point. Teams that feature multiple backs like the Giants, Ravens, Seahawks, and Patriots, don't necessarily need to name the "best" running back as the "starter." The most productive guy is the guy you want, and Gallman has a clear path to being that piece sooner rather than later.

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