Big Blue View
Welcome to the Fantasy Football Waiver Wire for Week 5. Injuries continue to pile up, and with the Bye weeks now upon us, lots of fantasy managers are going to be scrambling to field decent lineups this week. I know I am.
The waiver wire doesn’t have a ton of great answers at the moment, but there are definitely players who can help you bolster not only your roster, but also your starting lineup.
Note: I’ll repeat something I said last week. When managing through the Bye weeks, it never hurts to look ahead a week and get a jump on the competition, and especially at the “onesie” positions (QB, TE, PK, and D/ST). Getting your pick of the litter beats fighting for scraps.
The Process***:*** Each week, I try to identify the top Waiver Wire targets and evaluate the short- and long-term prospects of those players. I also do my best to reveal which players who are coming off a big week are fool’s gold. Finally, I look at streamers who might help you in a pinch (this is usually more important during Bye weeks). Note that I’m writing this column BEFORE the two Week 4 Monday night games (NYJ@MIA, CIN@DEN).
Some players discussed won’t be available in your league. I try to list players who are available in more than 50% of leagues. But what does that even mean? A 10-team league with six bench spots will have a much larger Free Agent pool than a 14-team league with eight. Most leagues fall somewhere in between. This isn’t “one size fits all.” By way of example, I won’t list any of the Commanders’ RBs, Wan’Dale Robinson, Brenton Strange, or Hunter Henry this week, among others who probably aren’t available in any of your leagues.
WEEK 5 BYES: ATL, CHI, GB, PIT
Week 5 Waiver Wire
Quarterback:
I’d feel a lot better about Jaxson Dart if Malik Nabers didn’t go down with a torn ACL on Sunday. Losing one of the top receiving weapons in the game is tough for any QB, much less a rookie making his first NFL starts. Still, Dart showed his dual-threat prowess, didn’t turn the ball over, and ran the offense decently well on the way to a big upset win over the previously unbeaten Chargers. He’s got some upside for fantasy and is worth a pickup in Superflex or deeper 1-QB leagues. He’s also a decent streaming option in Week 5 (@Saints) if your QB is out.
Beyond Dart…The availability of QBs is going to vary widely between 1-QB and Superflex leagues. Sam Darnold, Michael Penix, Jr., Tua Tagovailoa, Bryce Young, Spencer Rattler, C.J. Stroud, Aaron Rodgers and Geno Smith aren’t going to be available in most Superflex leagues. They’re the obvious places to start if you need longer-term help in a 1-QB league. I like them roughly in this order for the rest of the season, but in terms of streaming them, check the matchups for a given week and target them...
