Week 5 brings our first scheduled bye weeks of the season with the Lions and Packers set to get some rest. As we’ve seen with the Titans, COVID-19 can also complicate matters when planning out your fantasy football lineup. As things currently stands, here are some players to consider adding off the waiver wire who are still available in the majority of Yahoo leagues.
Fantasy Football: Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups
Scotty Miller, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (84% available)
Miller excelled Sunday in a shootout against the Chargers, catching five of seven targets for 83 yards and a touchdown. Chris Godwin (hamstring) didn’t play in that contest and likely won’t play again in Week 5 with a quick turnaround against the Bears on Thursday Night Football. With the Bears likely to focus their efforts on stopping Mike Evans, Miller could shine.
Week 5 Waiver Wire Priority: 1 (10% – 15% of FAAB budget)
Gardner Minshew, Jacksonville Jaguars (54% available)
This is likely the last call if you want to add Minshew. He came through with another big performance Sunday, throwing for 351 yards, two touchdowns and an interception against the Bengals. With the Jaguars’ defense playing poorly, Minshew should be forced to throw a lot to try and keep up in games. He already has eight touchdown passes through four weeks and will look to keeping rolling against a Texans’ defense that has allowed the seventh-highest completion rate in the league.
Week 5 Waiver Wire Priority: 2 (5% – 10% of FAAB budget)
D’Ernest Johnson, Cleveland Browns (99% available)
The Browns win over the Cowboys on Sunday proved to be costly with Nick Chubb (knee) expected to be out for around six weeks. Luckily for the Browns, they also have another talented running back in Kareem Hunt to step into his shoes. Still, they have the most rushing attempts in the league, so Hunt won’t be able to shoulder all of the workload by himself. Johnson carried 13 times for 95 yards after Chubb went down and is worth a look since Hunt isn’t sitting on waivers in most fantasy football leagues.
Week 5 Waiver Wire Priority: 3 (5% – 10% of FAAB budget)
Justin Jackson, Los Angeles Chargers (95% available)
Another important running back who went down Sunday was Austin Ekeler, who is expected to miss at least four weeks with knee and hamstring injuries. That should mean a leading role is in the cards for Joshua Kelley, who has 174 yards and a touchdown on 52 carries this season. However, since he’s already rostered in more than half of leagues, you likely won’t be able to add him for help. Like the situation with the Browns, though, the Chargers are a run-heavy team who have the fourth-most rushing attempts. That should mean added work for Jackson, who could approach 10 attempts a week for however long Ekeler is sidelined.
Week 5 Waiver Wire Priority: 4 (5% – 10% of FAAB budget)
Hunter Renfrow, Las Vegas Raiders (58% available)
The Raiders were thin at wide receiver Sunday with Henry Ruggs (knee/hamstring) and Bryan Edwards (ankle) both out. That meant more work for Renfrow, who caught five of his eight targets for 57 yards. He has 17 targets across the last two games and should once again be busy if Ruggs and/or Edwards were forced to miss any more time. With a potential shootout against the Chiefs starring at the Raiders in Week 5, Renfrow is very appealing.
Week 5 Waiver Wire Priority: 5 (3% – 5% of FAAB budget)
Daniel Jones, New York Giants (66% available)
It’s been about as bad as it gets for the Giants’ offense under coach Joe Judge and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. Jones looked primed for a breakout season after throwing 24 touchdown passes across 13 games in 2019, but he only has two touchdowns through his first four contests in 2020, and both of those came in Week 1. They can’t seem to run the ball and Jones has thrown for fewer than 200 yards in both of the last two games. With that being said, this is about as good of an opportunity as Jones is going to get to be productive considering the Cowboys have allowed an average of 36.5 points per game.
Week 5 Waiver Wire Priority: 6 (3% – 5% of FAAB budget)
Zach Pascal, Indianapolis Colts (96% available)
With injuries mounting at wide receiver and T.Y. Hilton looking like a shell of his former self, the Colts are going to need Pascal to take on an expanded role. He caught three passes for 58 yards against the Bears in Week 4, but the key stat was his eight targets. That’s eight targets in a game in which the Colts were leading comfortably until the Bears scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. While he might not provide many eye-popping stat lines, Pascal has the potential to be a number three wide receiver in fantasy for Week 5 and beyond.
Week 5 Waiver Wire Priority: 7 (1% of FAAB budget)
Tim Patrick, Denver Broncos (98% available)
If you’re in a deep league, keep your eye on the Broncos’ injury situation leading up to Week 5. Tight end Noah Fant (ankle) is not expected to play, and K.J. Hamler went down with a hamstring injury against the Jets on Thursday. Patrick stepped up in that game to catch six of seven targets for 113 yards and a touchdown. If Hamler is also ruled out for their upcoming matchup against the Patriots, then Patrick should check in as the team’s No. 2 wide receiver behind Jerry Jeudy.
Week 5 Waiver Wire Priority: 8 (1% of FAAB budget)
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