Kenny Pickett took over in Pittsburgh, Latavius Murray showed up out of nowhere for the Saints, Michael Gallup made his triumphant return, Mike Boone registered his yearly appearance on fantasy radars, and, oh yeah, preseason darling Brian Robinson Jr. is due back just in time to coincide with Antonio Gibson losing touches in Washington. All are among our top Week 5 fantasy waiver wire pickups and free agent adds, and while they inspire various levels of excitement, they’re potential difference-makers the rest of the way.
WEEK 5 FANTASY: FAAB planner | Trade advice
Our full free agent list features more players who made impacts in Week 4, including preseason sleepers George Pickens and Tyler Allgeier, underrated contributors Isaiah McKenzie, Josh Reynolds, and Corey Davis, and breakout TEs Tyler Conklin, Mo Alie-Cox, and Will Dissly. We also have a few QBs and handcuff RBs, and as always, we also have defense streamer recommendations for next week, which can be found at the end of the list. It’s slim pickings for Week 5, so hopefully, you’re already set at D/ST.
WEEK 5 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Robinson is definitely worth a high waiver claim if you’re in one of the 46 percent of Yahoo leagues where he’s available. However, the rest of this week’s top pickups probably aren’t worth more than mid- or low-tier waiver claims. Despite two key RBs getting hurt (Jonathan Taylor, Javonte Williams), there isn’t an obvious, widely available handcuff worth bidding up. Boone will be probably claimed, but he’s not worth a top-five slot. It’s also unlikely you’re desperate enough at QB to use a high claim on Pickett, and Alvin Kamara (ribs) could easily be back next week to crush Murray’s value. The receivers are your typical assortment of inconsistent WR3 types, and there’s a new crop of those every week.
UPDATE: Williams is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL, raising Boone’s value. It was also announced Monday that Cordarrelle Patterson (knee) will miss at least the next four games, making Caleb Huntley and Tyler Allgeier valuable waiver claims, too.
UPDATE 2: Latavius Murray was signed to the Broncos’ practice squad on Monday, lowering the long-term value of Boone while also lowering Murray’s short-term value. Mark Ingram’s short-term value rises, though.
WEEK 5 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
As we’ve seen the past few weeks, though, injuries tend to pop up closer to Sunday, so having a high waiver claim for a potential late-week waiver add is important. At the very least, preserving your spot near the top of the pecking order will eventually come in handy, so don’t be in a rush to waste it on a mid-tier player. There might not be a ton of waiver movement this week, so the climb back up the waiver order will likely be slow. Focusing on free agents and trying to improve around the margins seems to be the play this week.
Top fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 5
Unless otherwise noted, only players owned in fewer than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues considered.
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