Waiver Wire Pickups Week 5 – Fantasy Football
Welcome to this week’s edition of fantasy football waiver wire pickups for your fantasy football leagues. Today, we’re taking a look at Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season. Whether you have the top waiver wire priority this week or you’re not sure how much FAAB to spend, we’ve got you covered.
Waiver Wire Pickups – Week 5 Fantasy Football
With our expert fantasy football advice, you’ll be able to determine who to pay up for on the waiver wire and who to avoid. Follow along with us all NFL season long and we’ll help you win your fantasy football league this year. Continue reading for our top waiver wire pickups as we head into Week 5 of the fantasy football season.
Keep in mind, that rostered percentages are from Monday night.
Quarterback
Justin Fields – Pittsburgh Steelers (42% Rostered on Sleeper)
There is no way the Steelers go to Russell Wilson, given how the Fields has led the team to a near 4-0 record this season. He is coming off his best fantasy performance this year, totaling 312 passing yards, one touchdown, and 16.5 fantasy points with his arm. More importantly, Fields finally started to make plays with his legs, rushing 10 times for 55 yards and two touchdowns, totaling 17.5 fantasy points on the ground.
He faces a Dallas Cowboys defense that has struggled this year in Week 5. They have given up 21.5 or more fantasy points to quarterbacks in two of their past three games. Furthermore, the Cowboys will be without Demarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons because of injury. Fields is a must-add this week, especially for fantasy players needing a bye-week replacement. – Mike Fanelli @Mike_NFL2
Andy Dalton – Carolina Panthers (19% Rostered on Sleeper)
Dalton stepped in for the struggling Bryce Young and instantly revived this offense. Last week against the Raiders he threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns. This week against the Bengals he had another productive game throwing for 220 yards and two touchdowns.
Overall, Dalton is strictly a streaming quarterback option. However, he will likely remain in good game scripts almost every game because the Panthers defense is playing so poorly. – Steve DeAngelo @FantasySavvy
Running Back
Trey Sermon – Indianapolis Colts (3% Rostered on Sleeper)
Sermon is not a sexy running back to pick up. However, with bye weeks coming up, you may be in a rough spot. Jonathan Taylor sprained his ankle against the Steelers and there’s a chance he does not play in Week 5. All in all, he’s taking a flier in case he winds up being the RB1 this week.
Sermon and the Colts take on the Jaguars in Week 5. Notably, they were able to hold Cam Akers to 53 yards on 13 carries. Also, the Jaguars are 6th in points allowed to the running back position. All things considered, Sermon is a solid waiver wire pickup for Week 5. – Pete Nova @Superrnova38
Kareem Hunt – Kansas City Chiefs (37% Rostered on Sleeper)
From off the couch to the active roster in two weeks, Hunt is already the best running back on the Chiefs’ active roster. The veteran had 14 rushing attempts for 69 yards and two receptions for 16 receiving yards in Week 4, totaling 9.5 half-point PPR fantasy points. More importantly, he led the backfield in rushing attempts and targets (three). By comparison, Carson Steele and Samaje Perine combined for seven rushing attempts and three targets last week.
The veteran accounted for 66.7% of the backfield touches, including two of three red-zone touches against the Los Angeles Chargers. Furthermore, Hunt’s 10% target share was a nice bonus. More importantly, he averaged 4.9 yards per rushing attempt. By comparison, Hunt didn’t have a single game in 2023, posting a 4.1 or higher yards per rushing attempt average. While Clyde Edwards-Helaire could come off the NFI list this week, Hunt is the Kansas City running back you want on their team. – Mike Fanelli
Justice Hill – Baltimore Ravens (28% Rostered on Sleeper)
Justice Hill had one of his best games as a pro Sunday night against the Bills, showing off his talent by catching six balls for 78 yards and a TD leading the Ravens in receiving. Hill should remain a solid low-end flex the rest of the way with a safe floor of 8-10 points every week. – Steve DeAngelo
Kendre Miller – New Orleans Saints (14% Rostered on Sleeper)
Miller is going to practice this week and could return to game action. If you are an Alvin Kamara owner, he’s a good stash and handcuff, but even if you are not he’s a worthy add. Kamara certainly is the workhorse in this offense, but if there is an injury, Miller will step into an ideal situation. This is still a talented running back who was selected in the third round last year, he has just struggled with injuries ever since he came into the league.
Roschon Johnson – Chicago Bears (48% Rostered on Sleeper)
The Bears finally got their ground game going on Sunday, and while D’Andre Swift showcased his elusive running style, Roschon Johnson was also involved. Although Johnson clearly played the No. 2 role behind Swift—logging 33 snaps to Swift’s 67—he made the most of his opportunities. Johnson carried the ball seven times for 26 yards and a touchdown, including two crucial red zone carries, one of which was a score from inside the five-yard line.
Now is the time to act on Johnson before his value skyrockets. Despite being rostered in just 48% of leagues, he should be picked up everywhere. The Bears have a favorable stretch of matchups ahead, facing six teams in the bottom half of the league in fantasy points allowed to running backs, including four that rank in the bottom 10. Johnson offers standalone value, but his upside is enormous if Swift were to miss time due to injury. With Swift’s early-season struggles, he could also see a shorter leash moving forward—making Johnson an even more valuable stash.
Tank Bigsby – Jacksonville Jaguars (18% Rostered on Sleeper)
Consistency isn’t quite the word I’d use for Tank Bigsby, so far. Efficiency is. In his two games with more than three carries, he has averaged 8.6 yards per carry while eclipsing 70 rushing yards in both affairs. Add to that a banged-up and less-efficient Travis Etienne, and you’ve got a player that could take on a bigger role going forward.
The Week 5 face-off with Indianapolis is another reason to smile. The Colts have allowed five different players with at least four carries to average more than five yards per carry with four of them amassing over 100 rushing yards or scoring. – Benjamin Ditlevson
Wide Receiver
Dontayvion Wicks – Green Bay Packers (Rostered 18% on Sleeper)
Wicks saw 13 targets in the Week 4 matchup against the Vikings. He hauled in 5 catches for 78 and found the end zone 2 times. Needless to say, finishing the week as WR3 was extremely impressive.
With Christian Watson set to miss time with the high ankle sprain Wicks is a must add. Jordan Love looked good in his first game back. Clearly, Love was still not 100%. However, he should certainly get better as the season progresses. Additionally, his next two games on schedule are smash matchups vs the Rams and Cardinals. – Pete Nova
Xavier Legette – Carolina Panthers (38% Rostered on Sleeper)
Carolina has an NFL passing attack with Andy Dalton under center. Rookie Xavier Legette stepped up in a big way for the Panthers with Adam Thielen out of the lineup, totaling six receptions on 10 targets for 66 receiving yards and his first NFL touchdown, scoring 16.6 half-point PPR fantasy points. The rookie joined Diontae Johnson (13) as the only wide receiver on the team with more than five targets last week.
Furthermore, his 31% first-read target share in Week 4 was his second-highest average this season and was second on the team to Johnson (41.4). More importantly, Legette’s first-read target share ranked 22nd among wide receivers, with at least seven targets heading into the Monday night doubleheader last week. Legette has top-30 appeal until Thielen returns from a significant hamstring injury. – Mike Fanelli
Tutu Atwell – Los Angeles Rams (16% Rostered on Sleeper)
Atwell has produced in back-to-back games, going 4/82 and 4/92 receiving. Moving forward, he should continue to be viable in this offense while both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nucua remain out.
Demarcus Robinson sort of stole his job last season, but the roles seem to have been reversed this year. With all these various wide receiver injuries, Atwell isn’t a terrible short-term option, especially on a Rams team that is going to be in a lot of higher-scoring games. Ultimately, that should make Atwell a solid waiver wire pickup for Week 5.
Tre Tucker – Las Vegas Raiders (19% Rostered on Sleeper)
Tucker was a third-round pick for the Raiders last season. Notably, he is a talented player with a ton of speed who plays with a high motor. Impressively, he has scored in back-to-back weeks, being used in a multitude of different ways.
Furthermore, Tucker is a versatile receiver who should remain a consistent option with Davante Adams pulling up lame with a hamstring injury late last week. Unfortunately, this could keep him out for a while. We also could see Adams moved at the trade deadline which would give Tucker some long-term value as well. – Steve DeAngelo
Wan’Dale Robinson -New York Giants (45% Rostered on Sleeper)
While Malik Nabers may be garnering more attention in terms of fantasy production, name recognition, and skillset, Wan’Dale Robinson is quietly making his presence felt in the Giants’ wide receiver corps. Though Robinson ranks third in snap share behind Nabers and Darius Slayton, he’s clearly becoming a favorite target in the offense. Robinson is averaging 9.5 targets per game, significantly outpacing Slayton’s 3.8 targets per contest.
Robinson also provides a solid PPR floor, delivering at least 9.8 PPR points in every game. In three of those outings, he has surpassed 11.8 points. While Robinson may not have league-winning upside, his consistent volume ensures he’s a reliable option who won’t lose you a week.
Tight End
Tucker Kraft – Green Bay Packers (8% Rostered on Sleeper)
Kraft appears to be the TE1 in the Packers offense. He impacts the games in many different ways and is really hard to bring down with the ball in his hands.
Last week, Kraft hauled in 6 passes on 9 targets for 53 yards and a touchdown. Additionally, he was also able to get into the end zone on a 2-point conversion as well. The tight end position has been volatile but I like Kraft as a solid streaming TE option off the waiver wire while Watson misses time. – Pete Nova
DST
Denver Broncos D/ST (4% Rostered on Sleeper)
The Broncos’ defense just shut down two of the better offenses in the NFL in back-to-back weeks. Impressively, they are 2nd in yards allowed per game, 2nd in touchdowns allowed, and 2nd in sacks per game.
For Week 5, Denver gets a banged-up Raiders offense at home who may not have their star wide receiver, Davante Adams. If you turn in the weekly defensive streamer show on YouTube we mentioned the Broncos as a nice stash given their schedule coming up. – Pete Nova
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