Deeper Sleepers Heading Into Week 5

October 3, 2018

Frankie Soler takes an look at some deep sleepers heading into Week 5 of the fantasy football season with players owned in 15% or fewer of fantasy leagues that should be available on the waiver wire.

Josh Bellamy. Logan Paulsen. John Ross. Those are just three of the random players who scored early touchdowns during Sunday afternoon's Week 4 slate. You won't find those names on the list of deeper sleepers below, but I just want you read them over a few times before we proceed. No one in their right mind would have ever thought to add, let alone start them in fantasy. Try to keep that in mind the next time you're angry about your team. Football is impossible to predict, and this year is just as wonky as it's ever been.

With my philosophical fantasy football statement out of the way, now we can focus on the reason we're all here. This past week's games produced some seriously bizarre results. We had three (three!) games that almost ended in a tie and multiple offensive shootouts. The roller coaster that is tight end was enough to produce a bunch of "what the?" moments sprinkled throughout the day. I would say the waiver wire should provide instant relief but we all know things can change at the drop of hat regardless of who is or isn't in your lineup.

Remember, the rule of thumb here is that players cannot be owned in more than 15% of Yahoo fantasy leagues. It's another shallow list with a repeat name from last week as well. Here's hoping you can find someone helpful.

Deeper Sleepers For Week 4

Antonio Gates - TE, LAC (6% Owned)

Figured it'd be best to start out with the aforementioned tight end position. It is seriously such a crapshoot at this point that Antonio Gates fully deserves to be considered simply based on name and reputation alone. That said, Gates did have a solid outing against the San Francisco 49ers, reeling in his first touchdown of the season. Gates hasn't produced much in terms of yardage, but a score is all you can really hope for from a tight end anyway. Other than Rob Gronkowski, Travis Kelce, and Zach Ertz, you're looking to start someone who has an above average chance at a touchdown. Gates is the guy that best fits that bill on waiver wire. He's in a good offense that can put up points in bunches. Oh, and it certainly helps that Gates is already a first ballot hall-of-famer. If you lost the likes of Tyler Eifert, Will Dissly, or O.J. Howard, look into scooping up Antonio Gates.

Christian Kirk - WR, ARI (12% Owned)

It appears a quarterback switch was the spark the Arizona Cardinals desperately needed. Even though they didn't actually pull off the upset of the Seattle Seahawks, the Arizona offense showed signs of life with Josh Rosen under center. Christian Kirk was Rosen's favorite target in limited action two games ago, but Larry Fitzgerald did lead Sunday's matchup in targets. Still, Kirk was second with five and he doesn't need all that many to net you a return on fantasy value. Kirk can be their big play guy while Fitzgerald is soaking up receptions in the middle of the field. Look for Rosen and Kirk to keep building some chemistry as the weeks roll on, putting Kirk into deep flex/WR4 territory.

Jordan Matthews - WR, PHI (3% Owned)

I can't believe it has come to this but yes, I am talking about THAT Jordan Matthews. The Eagles re-signed Jordan Matthews to bolster their banged up offense and Matthews delivered immediately. Scoring on a big 56 yard bomb, Matthews cashed in on his sole reception of the day. Granted, one reception isn't going to get it done for fantasy purposes on a regular basis, but I could see Matthews being worth a stash in the deepest of deep leagues. We're in an era where it is not unusual for teams to have up to three fantasy relevant receivers so there's logic here that supports the Eagles being one of those teams. Even with a healthy Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor around, Jordan Matthews could develop into a weekly boom-or-bust dart throw.

Frank Gore - RB, MIA (8% Owned)

Frank Gore could have retired three or four years ago and he still would have been locked into a spot in Canton, Ohio. Yet here we are in 2018 and the dude is still out there playing. Gore is by far the least exciting name on this list simply because of his age, but he needs to be owned in all formats right now. Coming off of a game in which he scored a touchdown, I don't think there will be a lot of time left to snag Gore before his ownership percentage skyrockets. Obviously Kenyan Drake is the name people are attracted to, but their usage is almost 50/50. In fact, Gore has actually out touched Drake 35 to 33. Drake simply isn't getting a full workload. The Miami backfield is every bit of a timeshare. Gore could end up with sneaky low-end RB2/flex value in deeper leagues if this keeps up.

Ito Smith - RB, ATL (4% Owned)

Ito Smith was on this list last week but with such a low ownership percentage combined with a solid showing in Sunday's loss to Cincinnati his name warrants repeating. Smith logged 10 touches against the Bengals, turning one of his carries into a score in the process. As I stated last week, the Falcons do utilize a two back system so with Devonta Freeman out, both Tevin Coleman and Ito Smith are relevant running backs. Having said that, Freeman may be back in the lineup when the team takes on the Steelers in Week 5. If that ends up being the case then Smith can be left on the waiver wire for now. Until then, however, Smith does have value at the position.

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