Week 5 Waiver Wire

Some new faces join the Week 5 waiver wire and we are here to help you decide who to go after and how much FAAB to allocate to each player. We tend to stay away from repeating names so guys like Kenneth Gainwell, Hunter Renfrow, can be found in previous waiver wire articles!

Damien Williams, RB

Damien Williams did a fine job filling in for David Montgomery, who left with a knee injury, going for 70 yards and a TD. While it appears Monty escaped a torn ACL, he was in quite a bit of pain, and Monty owners need to expect a few missed weeks from the Bears starting RB. Damien Williams, for the foreseeable future, should be viewed as the RB going forward, especially with matchups against the Raiders and the Packers (at home). The Bears seem committed to running the ball, and with their QB situation being less than ideal, I am going to put Damien Williams in the RB2/RB3 tier until Monty returns. Until we hear otherwise, Williams is a priority add as we head into Week 5.

Week 4 stats: 14 points (8 carries 55 yards 1 TD 2 catches 15 yards)

FAAB Bid: $16 – $26

A.J. Green, WR

At this point a 24% ownership share is a slap in the face to what Green and the Cards have been doing this season. He has been involved week after week, and has now made our adds list two week in a row. This means, one more good week and you’ll be paying a premium for a guy you could have had now at a discount. Don’t wait. Be smart. Add Green.

Week 4 stats: 15.2 points (5 catches 67 yards 1 TD)

FAAB Bid: $5 – $11

Samaje Perine, RB

Joe Mixon missed the final drive of the Bengals Thursday Night tilt with the Jaguars with what is being called a “low grade ankle sprain” by his coach. It does not immediately appear that Mixon will miss significant time, and the 10 days to recover between games certainly helps, but Mixon has dealt with nagging lower extremity injuries seemingly his whole career. If he aggravates it in practice or is downgraded to limited participation all week, Perine is the logical next man up, and thus worth a safety stash. And even if Perine only subs in for one week, if you are the Mixon owner he is in the must add territory this week.

Week 4 stats: 2.7 points (3 rushes 7 yards 1 catch 15 yards)

FAAB Bid: $5 – $10

Quintez Cephus, WR

Back into double digit points this past week, Cephus will look to make that 1.30 point game against the Ravens look like a fluke. He has been in double digits 3 out of 4 weeks on the season, and pulls a juicy matchup with Minnesota this week, and they can’t stop a nosebleed. With the Lions still struggling to beat anyone, they should be behind and throwing the ball often. Cephus, while not always the primary target for Goff, is the most talented WR on this team and they should look to use him as such if they plan to have any success this year at all.

Week 4 stats: 10.3 points (4 catches 83 yards)

FAAB Bid: $5 – $8

Darnell Mooney, WR

Another year, another QB, another game where Mooney appears to be the favorite target over Allen Robinson. Don’t ask my why, because I can’t tell you, but someone in Chicago loves Mooney and he’s getting a lot of good looks lately. Maybe it’s defenses keying on ARob and opening more stuff up for Mooney over the top, who knows for sure? But whatever it is, Mooney is putting up solid numbers, and now with a QB like Fields who can actually reach him downfield? Sky is the limit for the second year burner.

Week 4 stats: 16 points (5 catches 125 yards)

FAAB Bid: $4 – $8

Jamison Crowder, WR

If you have not read the ‘Players To Pick Up Now’ articles this season, we advise you do so, as we have already had a few players hit. The point of the article is to list some players that you can pick up before kickoff on Sunday to stash on your bench in case they go off. The reason for this is to get that player now before you have to pay FAAB for him the following week. Crowder made our list last weekend and should be a top waiver add heading into Week 5. In his first game with a new, young QB, Crowder was targeted 9 times and caught 7 of those for 61 yards and a TD. With a rookie QB, Crowder should be viewed as a security blanket and should have a safe floor as a flex player as long as he stays healthy.

Week 4 stats: 15.6 points (7 catches 61 yards 1 TD)

FAAB Bid: $2 – $7

Dawson Knox, TE

This is likely the last week we can put Knox in this as he should be rostered in well over 50% of leagues after waivers clear. I did not want to cave into Knox because I have been burned in the past with him, but he has proven to me that he needs to be rostered and starting in lineups every week. He is playing about 80% of snaps and is a favorite for Josh Allen in the red zone. He will give you some duds throughout the season as the Bills have other great passing options, but that is the TE landscape. He is currently TE4 on the season! Let that sink in! Drop Robert Tonyan and pickup Dawson Knox.

Week 4 stats: 18.2 points (5 catches 37 total yards 2 TDs)

FAAB Bid: $3 – $5

Alex Collins, RB

Chris Carson has been hot and cold this season, and without his 3 TDs, it would look a lot worse. Carson’s snap percentage has gone from 78% to close to 45% from Week 1 to now. The reason for that is Alex Collins. Sure, he did not do much to start the year, but his snaps have only gone up and he saw close to 40% of snaps in Week 4. They gave him the rock 10 times and he punched one in while adding 2 receptions for 34 yards in the air. I am not saying to pick him up to start, but stash him for now and see how it plays out with Carson. At the very least, he is a solid handcuff going forward.

Week 4 stats: 14.8 points (10 carries 44 yards 1 TD 2 catches 34 yards catches)

FAAB Bid: $1 – $4

C.J. Uzomah, TE

Listen Uzomah was my boy all offseason, and even I didn’t pick him up in a super deep 14 team dynasty league.. so I get where you’re all coming from with him being negligibly owned at 2%. But after what we saw this past week from Burrow and Uzo… he’s more than worth a speculative add to see if lightning can strike twice. The Bengals love to pass, Mixon is dinged up, and Perine/Evans likely aren’t the answer to their running back woes, so they should be turning to the air even more. Uzo is a matchup nightmare, and he showed that in spades on Thursday Night. Add him for next to nothing and watch the points pile up!

Week 4 stats: 24 points (5 catches 95 yards 2 TDs)

FAAB Bid: $1 – $3

Allen Lazard, WR

The Lizard King is back baby! Ok not really in the sense that he put any points up… but MVS has been sent to IR with a hamstring injury, and Lazard was the beneficiary of all the additional snaps last week. Lazard working opposite Davante Adams is a recipe for success, and Aaron Rodgers looks to be rejuvenated and fueled by anger as he slings the ball all over the field. Mix in a matchup with Cincy, Chicago, Washington, Arizona, KC, Seattle, and then Minnesota on the horizon and you’ll see me as a happy camper with Lazard either on my bench waiting for him to pop or in my lineup for every single one of these games!

Week 4 stats: 4.3 points (2 catches 33 yards)

FAAB Bid: $1 – $3

Taylor Heinicke, QB

Heinicke has scored over 20 points in every game he has started this season, and he had his best outing to date in Week 4 with 27.90 fantasy points. At this point, I think he needs to be picked up, especially in 2 QB leagues. He is currently QB11 on the season, and that also counts Week 1 when he came in late to fill in for the injured Fitzpatrick. Getting Curtis Samuel back is only going to help him, and he has plenty of weapons in that offense to succeed.

Week 4 stats: 27.9 points (23 completions 33 attempts 290 passing yards 3 TDs 5 carries 43 yards)

FAAB Bid: $1 – $3

Zach Ertz, TE

I know what you’re thinking, why would I want Ertz when Goedert is the guy to own in Philly! Goedert is the one scoring all the points! True, but he’s doing that solely based on TDs and the occasional big play! Ertz has out targeted and out caught him in each of the last two weeks, he just hasn’t had the fortune of finding pay dirt. But he will. It’s only a matter of time. Hurts looks to Ertz all too often for him to continue much longer without a TD. If you’re in the world of streaming TEs, you could do much much worse than Ertz. Especially as the Eagles head to Carolina next week for a meeting with a talented defense, but a talented defense who locked up most of Dallas’ elite WRs (minus a couple nig catches) and instead ceded tons of targets and yardage to the TE Dalton Schultz (and Blake Jarwin to a lesser extent).

Week 4 stats: 9 points (6 catches 60 yards)

FAAB Bid: $1 – $2