Week 5 Waivers and Targets 2021/2022 Season 

Week 4 saw a few injuries and players finding their way into larger roles for their teams.  While there isn’t one standout waiver wire pickup this week, there are a lot of potential pickups that could help your fantasy roster. This comes to the point in the season where we start to see a lot of injuries that could put players out for a few weeks here and there and their backups will benefit from it. In this one let’s take a look at some of those pickups for the week, some players to sit and start, and compare some players for your lineup construction in week 5 wavier wire.

Players That Could Be On The Waiver Wire

We’re going to start out the week looking at some of the players that could be on the waiver wire in your league.  Usually the best waiver wire pickups each week come from the running back position because if a starter gets hurt that week, the backup will automatically be playable that next week and someone will always need a running back for their lineup.

This week it’s David Montgomery.  Montgomery went down with what the Chicago Bears were afraid was a torn ACL but he has seemed to have avoided that.  Still, Montgomery should be out at least one week if not multiple.  That leaves the window open for Damien Williams.

After Montgomery got 23 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns, Williams was able to fill in the rest of week 4 while he was out and got 8 carries for 55 yards with a touchdown.  Williams is also a better pass catcher than Montgomery with 10 catches on the year.  Williams should be the number one waiver wire pickup this week as they face the Raiders porous run defense in week 5.

Another to consider is Eagles backup Kenneth Gainwell.  He is a touchdown vulture with two rushing touchdowns on the year in four games but also a good pass catching back with 13 catches already.

A stash pickup could be Jeff Wilson of the 49ers.  If you don’t have any pressing needs this week, consider stashing Wilson for when he returns as he could be the lead back in San Francisco for a few weeks.

Wide Receivers

Looking at wide receivers we can stay with the Bears.  Justin Fields had a special connection with Darnell Mooney in week 4 as he had five catches for 125 yards.  Mooney has had 7, 8, 4, and 7 targets in his games this year.  With teams focusing on Allen Robinson, Mooney should see continued opportunities in the pass game.

Jamison Crowder made his return to the lineup for the Jets Sunday and left off where he did last season racking up the targets.  He had nine targets and seven catches including a touchdown catch in week 4.

Crowder is just 20% owned on most sites and was one of the best fantasy receivers in 2020 in just 12 games getting 700 receiving yards and six touchdowns.

AJ Green hopefully is owned in your league by now but he has appeared on waiver wire articles for the past three weeks now and continues his solid play.  Still he is only about 36% owned on most sites and had another good week 4 with five catches for 67 yards and a touchdown.

Quarterback

This week may mark the week that the most impactful fantasy quarterback is available on the waiver wire.  For the San Francisco 49ers Trey Lance came into the week 4 game in the second half to replace an injured Jimmy G.  In just one half of football Lance threw 157 yards with two touchdowns and also ran for 41 yards.  Obviously if you double those numbers he would have been one of the highest scoring quarterbacks in all of week 4 but it is a good sign of what he can do.

Lance has a similar skillset as Jalen Hurts who is the number three scoring fantasy quarterback this season only behind Patrick Mahomes and Kyler Murray.  He even has better weapons in San Francisco than Hurts does with Deebo Samuel probably being better than Devonta Smith at this point in his career and George Kittle being better than Dallas Goedert.  One thing that Hurts does have is the ability to stack up yards in garbage time which Lance won’t get as much of.

Other quarterbacks to consider are Sam Darnold who is just 27 owned in most leagues or Daniel Jones who is just 40% owned.

Tight End

At tight end we actually have some of the best options of the year so far.  Dalton Schultz had his second straight big game with six catches for 58 yards and a touchdown that followed his week three performance of six catches for 80 yards and two touchdowns.  Schultz is still owned in just 31% of most leagues.

Dawson Knox continues to be a favorite red zone target of Josh Allen with four touchdowns now in four weeks.  He saw a season high eight targets in week 4 and looks like a good option going forward.

Lastly, we have Maxx Williams who has now had two big games in 2021.  While the targets aren’t always there, Williams has been a big play tight end who has converted 16 targets on the year into 15 catches and has a 94 yard game as well as a 66 yard game.

Running Back To Start

For the sit and start portion we will start back at the running back position.

A start this week is Deandre Swift for the Detroit Lions against the Minnesota Vikings.  He gets a much better matchup in week 5 than he did in week 4 against the Bears.  Swift saw a season low in carries with just eight against Chicago who dominated the ball but now playing against the Vikings he should be in line for 11 to 15 carries.  Swift also was still involved in the pass game with six targets and four catches for 33 yards but that was the lowest receiving yardage output this season.

Another running back to start this week is James Robinson.  Robinson continues his strong play recently; after not being involved in week 1 he now has three touchdowns in the last two weeks with 40 total touches in those games.  A sit this week may actually be 49er Trey Sermon who had his best rushing performance of his rookie year.

Sermon had 19 carries for 89 yards but failed to record a catch or score a touchdown.  Now he will face Arizona who is one of the toughest defenses in the league right now.

Two running backs on the same team to sit this week are Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams who face the Steelers.  The Steelers are tough on running backs and both of them failed to do anything against a tough defense last week in the Ravens.

With Bridgewater likely out for week 5, teams may stack the box with Drew Lock back there.

Wide Receivers That Could Be Starts In Week 5 Wavier Wire

Starting out wide receivers that could be starts this week we’re looking at the Buffalo Bills. The Bills face the Kansas City Chiefs in what should be one of the highest scoring matchups of week 5.

The Bills didn’t need much out of their wide receivers after the third quarter in week 4 with Josh Allen and starting wide receivers getting rested the last 11 minutes of the game.  They will definitely all be needed against the Chiefs and Cole Beasley and Emmanuel Sanders should both benefit. Stefon Diggs is a no-brainer start every week but these two should also be highly involved in week 5.

A team that had a breakout week 4 was the Jets picking up their first win of the year against a good Titans team.  Now they get the Atlanta Falcons who have been getting beat up on all year.  Before mentioned Jamison Crowder is a good ppr start as well as Corey Davis is a good start in any format with his big play and touchdown ability.

Running Back To Sit

A sit again this week is Allen Robinson. Robinson has yet to have more than 63 yards receiving in any game this year and only has seven catches in his last three games combined.  Also, Mooney has seemed to eclipse Robinson in fantasy value this season.

A fringe top 10 quarterback every week has been Kirk Cousins.  He should be a start this week, depending on who your other quarterback is, but Cousins gets a great matchup to get back to what he and the Vikings were doing the first three weeks of this season.  There are alot of good quarterbacks for fantasy this season but Cousins should end the week in the top 10 of all of them.

A player to sit this week who has been outstanding so far this year is Derek Carr.  Carr also is a guy who is a fringe top 10 quarterback every week in the weekly rankings but this week could be outside of the top 15.  Carr only had 196 yards passing against a good defense in the Chargers who put pressure on him.  The Chicago Bears in week 5 will continue to put that pressure on Carr which may limit his fantasy upside this week.

Tight Ends

One of the top tight ends drafted in George Kittle has been a big disappointment so far this year.  Kittle is without a touchdown in four games and only has 19 total catches.  Stick with Kittle this week as he is getting the volume of targets to have a breakout game soon.  He also is still one of the best run after the catch players in the NFL and it will pay off sooner than later.

The 49ers will have to throw a lot this week to keep up with Arizona and Kittle should be a big part of that.

A guy that can be benched, especially in ppr leagues, is Robert Tonyan.  Tonyan was a 10 tight end picked in most drafts but is so touchdown dependent on his fantasy value.  He hasn’t had more than three catches in a game this year and besides one 52 yard game, his next highest yardage total in a game has been eight yards.

1 On 1 Comparing Of Players For Week 5 Wavier Wire

Now you may have some other roster questions on whether to start this player or that player. This is where we get into comparing players 1 on 1 deciding who is a better play in week 5.

Chris Carson

Starting out with running backs, we are going to look at Chris Carson.  Carson was a highly drafted running back in the second or third round in most drafts.  He has been solid on the ground but has been almost non-existent in the receiving game which hurts his value going forward.  Carson only has six catches in four games but has been effective running with three touchdowns and is averaging 58 rushing yards per game.  The Seahawks and Carson get the Rams in week 5 which will be a tough matchup.

Antonio Gibson and Chase Edmonds

Some running backs who are in better spots week 5 are Antonio Gibson who has put together two good fantasy weeks and Chase Edmonds.  Edmonds not only has been more effective running than Carson with 64 yards per game but already has 20 catches for 103 yards as well.  The only thing Edmonds hasn’t done is score a touchdown this season but that should be changing soon with his explosive plays one is sure to break out for a score.

Carson

Carson should still be played before some guys like Jonathan Taylor against Baltimore and Miles Sanders against the Panthers, both in tough matchups.

Najee Harris

Najee Harris continues to be ranked fairly high on most experts weekly running back rankings but here are some surprise players who could be better plays than him in week 5.

Harris has been great catching the ball but is only averaging 46 rushing yards per game.  The Broncos may take him out of this game and that should make two guys mentioned before in James Robinson and Deandre Swift better plays with higher upside this week.  Harris is still a better play than some other running backs ranked and drafted around the same as him in Nick Chubb against the Chargers and Saquon Barkley who has had a resurgence but now faces the Cowboys.

Deandre Hopkins

Deandre Hopkins has not looked like himself so far this year.  Last season he was a guy that Kyler Murray would constantly be throwing at on short, medium and deep passes.  This year the most targets he has had in a game is only eight, which may be due to the other weapons in Arizona stepping up such as Edmonds, Rondale Moore, AJ Green, and Christian Kirk.

However, this week Hopkins may break out and he should be used in your lineups ahead of some big names this season in Ceedee Lamb, Jammarr Chase, and Brandin Cooks.  The upside for Hopkins is still really high and those three players mentioned have been inconsistent or are in tough matchups this week.

Some receivers to play ahead of Hopkins if it comes down to that, is DJ Moore who has been incredible with Sam Darnold and Mike Evans who has been coming alive the last three weeks and been Brady’s favourite target with 9, 10, and 12 targets.

Odell Beckham Jr

A wide receiver who is always hard to predict is Odell Beckham Jr. for the Browns.  He was considered a top 5 wide receiver not too long ago but has had injuries recently that slowed him down.  His return to football in week 3 went pretty well getting nine targets and 77 yards but his follow up performance was dreadful with just 27 yards and two catches.  Now he gets a tough Chargers matchup in week 5.

Deebo Samuel

Deebo Samuel looks like a better play than Beckham even against the Cardinals defense he should still put up numbers.  Jammarr Chase also looks like a better play for his touchdown upside even if he is in a tough matchup.  Those two seem more matchup proof than Beckham.  The upside of Beckham can’t be ignored though and he would still make a better play than some receivers such as Antonio Brown or Devonta Smith against the Panthers.

Most Interesting Quarterbacks To Look At

One of the most interesting quarterbacks to look at this week is the Seahawk’s Russell Wilson.  He was drafted as a top 5 quarterback in most leagues but currently is just 10th in fantasy quarterback points.

Wilson has one game over 300 passing yards and threw just 149 yards last week but made up for it with his first rushing touchdown of the year.  The run game hasn’t been there for Wilson this year and some quarterbacks who you may have drafted as your backup look like better plays in week 5.  This includes Kirk Cousins who we mentioned earlier is in a great matchup against the Lions.

With Wilson playing the Rams, another quarterback who looks better this week and is available in about 27% of most leagues is Sam Darnold who also is the 5th highest scoring quarterback so far this year.  Wilson still would be a quarterback to start over Joe Burrow against the Packers and Derek Carr against the Bears.  This week Wilson should come in at about the 10th ranked quarterback based on his matchup and recent performances.

Kyle Pitts is a rookie who was expected to have one of the biggest impacts offensively in this class but has yet to live up to that.

Could this be the week?

The Falcons and Pitts get the New York Jets in week 5 who they should be able to move the ball on and it looks like a great opportunity for Pitts to break out.  He should still be played over a guy like Dawson Knox who is extremely touchdown dependent and not as explosive as Pitts and also Cameron Brate who will fill in for Gronkowski.

Some tight ends who are safer plays than Pitts on the week are Dalton Schultz who has had two great weeks in a row and also TJ Hockenson who is coming off of two not so good performances but he will look to bounce back against a beatable Vikings defense.  In a game where not a lot of defense will be played, look for Pitts to step up for his fantasy owners.