RADIO
Bye-weeks are here, and this is the most important time to work the waiver wire. If you set your roster up during the draft to deal with bye-weeks, then you may be in good shape. However, injuries and changing rosters for most owners haven’t left them in a situation that is as comfortable. Now they need to grab role players who will help get them through some thin weeks at positions. These players won’t be starters for you all year, but they will help when needed.
I split this article into a few different sections. Waiver wire priorities will range from players you should try to add with some urgency all the way to players you should keep your eye on, but don’t make the move just yet unless you are in a deeper league. I’ll also sprinkle in a few guys you can potentially move on from.
Check here for a complete list of our Waiver Wire Adds for Week 5 for help at all the skill positions. As always, RotoBaller has you covered!
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Front Runners for Week 5 - Wide Receiver Additions
This group consists of wide receivers that I would recommend adding if they are available on your waiver wire. Some are more viable for PPR formats, so take note of that. These players have either earned a greater workload due to injury/performance issues or have shown that they can be weekly contributors to their NFL teams. All players listed have 50% or less ownership levels across fantasy leagues.
Geronimo Allison, Green Bay - 47% owned
Some way, somehow, Geronimo Allison continues to make his way into this article. I wasn’t very high on him heading into the season because I didn’t think there was enough volume to go around. With Randall Cobb out this past weekend, Allison caught six balls for 80 yards, the most receiving yards for him in a game this season. Allison has solidified himself as the WR2 in this offense.
Since Cobb hauled in nine catches for 142 yards in Week 1, he has eight catches for 52 yards combined since then. Now that he has also missed a week with an injury, his value is falling quickly. Allison is now averaging 7.25 targets per game this season. If Allison is on your waiver wire still, run, don’t walk, and put a claim in for him. I wouldn’t use a top claim, but I would be aggressive because he has more than enough value to help through the bye-weeks that are approaching.
Taylor Gabriel, Chicago - 5% owned
Taylor Gabriel was an off-season favorite of mine before heading into the 2017 season, but he just didn’t put together the performance I had anticipated. When he signed with the Chicago Bears, it seemed like a perfect situation as a safety blanket playing in the slot to help a growing Mitchell Trubisky. That was until the Bears drafted Anthony Miller who won the slot job in the pre-season. Now that Miller is out with a shoulder injury, Gabriel gets a nice bump in value and it showed on Sunday.
Gabriel caught all seven of his targets for 104 yards and two touchdowns. The Bears won’t play the Buccaneers, who have given up the fifth most points to opposing receivers this season, every week so I wouldn’t expect performances like this very often. Gabriel still has sneaky value in PPR leagues even when he doesn’t have a monster performance and there is a chance you could add him after waivers process. If you are thin at wide receiver and have several guys on the same bye, you can grab Gabriel and stash him.
In the Running for Week 5 - Wide Receiver Additions
This group consists of wide receivers widely available on the waiver wire who aren't must-adds but could be worth stashing or streaming if the above options are already taken or if you are dealing with injuries.
Ryan Grant, Indianapolis - 4% owned
Do you know what 464 yards and four touchdowns means? It means we need to stop worrying about Andrew Luck because he is healthy and can still sling it all over the field. That also means we need to give attention to more than just T.Y. Hilton as a playmaker in that offense.
Grant had his best performance of the season on Sunday with 64 yards on five catches. The best is yet to come with Grant because the connection with Luck continues to grow every week. The one thing you can bet on with the Colts is they will most likely need to throw a lot all season long due to their below average defense. There will be volume for Grant on any given week. Add him to your watch list in shallow leagues and now in deeper leagues.
Mohamed Sanu, Atlanta - 14% owned
You can find a share of Mohamed Sanu on almost all my deep dynasty league rosters. He has always made for great depth and can offer some decent numbers as an injury replacement or bye week fill in. Even on a team with Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley, Sanu still somehow finds the ability to offer up some value each week and in redraft, he is someone we should keep our eye on.
Over the past two weeks, Sanu has 10 receptions on 16 targets for 147 yards and one touchdown. We always knew there was a possibility that Jones would draw attention away from Ridley to make him productive, but now that Jones and Ridley are both extremely productive, it’s possible that they both take so much attention away from Sanu that he also offers weekly flex play appeal. With as bad as the Falcons defense is, it’s not hard to imagine that Matt Ryan will throw enough this season to support all three of these guys.
Dede Westbrook, Jacksonville - 17% owned
Dede Westbrook was considered one of the favorites to be the Jacksonville Jaguars WR1 this season, but he just hasn’t been as flashy as Keelan Cole. When you think about the Jaguars, you think defense and pound the ball with the run game. There is also the issue of Blake Bortles and whether we feel he can support multiple wide receivers with fantasy value. There are a lot of reasons as why we have forgotten about Westbrook this season, but it’s time to put him back on our radar.
Westbrook had nine catches for 130 yards in Week 4 and even leading up to that, Westbrook has averaged four catches for 54 yards the previous three weeks. It doesn’t scream value right now, but the Jaguars face an interesting crossroads with their offense right now. Leonard Fournette is not healthy, and he is the main cog in that system. The offense may need to pass more than they want coming up and that only helps increase Westbrooks value.
Dark Horses for Week 5 - Wide Receiver Additions
This group consists of wide receivers who need some more time to show us what they have but should be on our radar still. Don’t jump to add them yet, but another week or two could prove to be fruitful.
Zay Jones, Buffalo - 1% owned
In the right matchup, Zay Jones has some flex appeal in PPR leagues. Most owners will probably gloss over this because it’s the Bills and there isn’t much to like about them. The Bills are really bad and because of that, Josh Allen will be throwing the ball a lot. Jones led the Bills in targets in Week 4 and given how difficult it has been for Kelvin Benjamin to catch, he could be the WR1 in Buffalo by the end of the season.
Keke Coutee, Houston - 1% owned
There are a few things that are always a given in life. Death, taxes and Will Fuller injuries. Fuller left the Texans Week 4 contest early with a hamstring issue and Keke Coutee took advantage in his first regular season game. Coutee had 11 receptions on 15 targets for 109 yards in his debut. In this offense, he is going to see some volume. If Fuller misses time, he become an even bigger factor. We need to add Coutee to our watch list and if you own Fuller, you may want to consider adding him now.
Say Goodbye for Week 5 - Wide Receiver Drops
This group consists of wide receivers who don't need to be owned. They aren't necessarily must-drop players, but if you need the roster space for one of the above players, don't hesitate to cut bait to chase upside.
Brandon Marshall, Seattle - 25% owned
With Doug Baldwin back and Tyler Lockett locked in as the WR2 in Seattle, Brandon Marshall is all but long gone now. He wasn’t nearly the factor we thought with Baldwin out and since the offense has a whole hasn’t functioned well in Seattle, it’s hard to trust him at this point. He should be heading to the waiver wire now that Baldwin is back.
More Waiver Wire Analysis
Check out RotoBaller's famous fantasy football draft sleepers and waiver wire pickups list, updated regularly!
