RADIO
Time flies in the NFL. It seems like the season just started, but now five weeks of football action are behind us.
Sunday was a day headlined by some of the league's heavy hitters. The top 11 scoring wide receivers from Thursday and the Sunday noon slate were 70 percent owned or better, so this probably isn't the week to be needing wide receiver help. But there's still some value to be found out there, so let's dig through things and see what that value is.
Not all options are the same. Some players may be better in PPR or deeper leagues, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all comparison. Use your best judgment when deciding which of these players is the right fit for your roster. Check here for a complete list of our Waiver Wire Adds for Week 5 for help at all the skill positions. All players on this list here are around 30% owned or below.
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WR Waiver Wire - Free Agents To Consider Adding
Anthony Miller, Chicago Bears - 27% owned
Miller has a bye week coming up, but the available players who are owned in under 30 percent of leagues is shallow enough that Miller may be worth claiming and holding through the bye week.
The Bears targeted their wide receivers 16 times on Sunday, with 15 of those targets split between Allen Robinson and Miller. Miller had seven of those, turning them into four catches for 52 yards. Miller was a popular sleeper option before this season began, but he'd been a nonfactor so far. But Sunday showed us what Miller can be, and he's worth a roster spot in a 12-team league as long as you can afford to wait for Week 7.
Keke Coutee, Houston Texans - 17% owned
Coutee had his best game of the season, catching three passes for 72 yards in Sunday's win over the Falcons. This was aided by Kenny Stills being out, so temper expectations with Coutee, but if A) Stills misses more time or B) Sunday's game convinces Houston to get the ball to Coutee more often, then he can have fantasy value. Not sure if he's worth getting grabbed with a high waiver pick, but there's value in Coutee.
Auden Tate, Cincinnati Bengals - 22% owned
With John Ross and A.J. Green sidelined, Tate is now the number-two receiver in Cincinnati. This team is likely going to be playing from behind for most of the season, so Tate should continue to have opportunities in this offense. On Sunday, he caught three of his six targets for 26 yards and a score. It wasn't necessarily a great day, but he's a number-two receiver on a team that will be throwing, which is enough reason to think about him.
Devante Parker, Miami Dolphins - 9% owned
Back in Week 4, Parker had four catches for 70 yards and a score. Miami was on a bye this week, so people might have forgotten about Parker, but he's the WR2 on a Dolphins team that appears to be trending up from a fantasy perspective now that Ryan Fitzpatrick has been replaced by Josh Rosen. Parker is one of my favorite options on this week's wire as he has a good combination of talent and opportunity.
Demaryius Thomas, New York Jets - 3% owned
I'm sure that there are people who expected Thomas to bounce back this year, but I doubt those people thought he'd do it as a member of the New York Jets. But Thomas was targeted nine times on Sunday, while the other wide receivers on this Jets team combined for six targets. That level of involvement is a potential sign of future success, though I understand that the Jets offense is...bad. Sam Darnold will be back at some point soon, though, and Thomas gives him a consistent player to toss the ball to. Plus, the Jets passing game is bound to improve with Darnold back, right?
Keesean Johnson, Arizona Cardinals - 2% owned
Maybe when Christian Kirk comes back, Johnson will be back to being irrelevant. Maybe he was pretty irrelevant anyway, catching just three passes for 22 yards. But he was targeted seven times, his most since a 10-target Week 1. If you believe in targets and are in a 14-teamer, maybe you think about KeeSean Johnson?
Duke Williams, Buffalo Bills - 1% owned
Like Anthony Miller, Williams is on a bye this week, so you don't need to go rushing out and wasting a waiver claim on him, but he could be worth grabbing in a very deep league as a post-waiver free agent pick up, or in a dynasty league. Williams was just called up from the practice squad and in his NFL debut he saw four targets, bringing in all four for 29 yards and a score. I admittedly don't know much about Duke Williams, but he was on the field enough to warrant some fantasy interest.
Byron Pringle, Kansas City Chiefs - 0% owned
Pringle was the only receiver to make much of an impact in Sunday's game, catching six passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. He could have had a bigger day, but Patrick Mahomes spent a huge part of the game hobbled by what appeared to be a foot injury that slowed the Chiefs down a ton.
With Tyreek Hill out and Sammy Watkins now hurt as well, Pringle could be in line for a huge increase in usage should Watkins miss time. On Sunday, he showed that he can be a major factor in this passing game and can be more than just a "throw it deep and hope he runs by everyone" threat like some of the team's other backup wideouts.
Darius Slayton, New York Giants - 0% owned
Look, it's fair to just say I trust no one on the Giants and move on, but Slayton really piques my interest. He's had 12 targets in three games and was still involved even with the addition of Golden Tate, who returned from suspension. Slayton had four receptions for 62 yards and a score on Sunday. He has the ability to stretch the field for rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, and while consistency is an issue, I'll likely be grabbing Slayton in my deepest leagues.
More Waiver Wire Pickups and Advice
