Welcome to the Week 5 waiver wire watch! Consider making a waiver claim in your fantasy football leagues for the following players (available in at least 50% of ESPN leagues).
Justin Fields, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Emanuel Wilson, RB, Green Bay Packers
Fields and Wilson appeared in last week’s edition of this column. On Sunday, the former passed for 312 yards and 1 touchdown with 55 yards and 2 scores on the ground. The latter only had 8 carries for 27 yards in a lopsided loss, but he did play over 40% of offensive snaps. Both remain priority adds this week.
Tank Bigsby, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
After being prematurely labeled as a bust by some, Bigsby has carved out a noteworthy role in Jacksonville. A shoulder injury limited him in Weeks 2-3 but he played 17 snaps in both the season opener and last Sunday. Bigsby toted the rock 19 times for 163 yards combined in those two contests — his 8.2 yards per carry on the season leads all players with 20-plus attempts. The asterisk with Bigsby is his receiving role, or lack thereof: he has 0 targets this year because he isn’t trusted by the coaching staff in passing situations. That role, and the starting gig, goes to Travis Etienne. Bigsby won’t be a factor in fantasy football unless Etienne misses time. Still, fantasy managers may want to get ahead of a possible Etienne injury (he’s yet to finish a season fully healthy) and stash Bigsby in case the talented second-year pro gets a bigger opportunity.
Kareem Hunt, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs will deploy a committee backfield until Isiah Pacheco (fibula) returns from injured reserve. Samaje Perine saw the only goal line carry and all the two-minute situations, Carson Steele is still lingering, and the Chiefs play the New Orleans Saints next week before entering its bye week. That said, Hunt is worth mentioning after leading the team with 14 carries for 69 yards in Week 4. Fantasy managers desperate for short-term production at running back could do worse than adding Hunt.
Trey Sermon, RB, Indianapolis Colts
Jonathan Taylor sustained a mild ankle sprain in the fourth quarter against the Steelers after tallying 88 yards and 1 touchdown. Shane Steichen told reporters Monday that Taylor wasn’t a candidate for short-term injured reserve, but if the star running back is forced to miss time, Sermon will be the next man up. He only had 5 carries for 8 yards on Sunday and he’ll split some time with Tyler Goodson — yet he’ll immediately be an RB2/3 option if/when he gets the starting nod.
Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Green Bay Packers
The top waiver claim in every fantasy league this week should be Wicks. After Christian Watson left with an ankle injury in the first quarter, Wicks stepped up as the Packers attempted a comeback against the Minnesota Vikings. He caught 5 of 13 targets for 78 yards and 2 touchdowns — good for the third-best PPR performance of any wideout last week on the sixth-best usage. Watson has yet to be placed on injured reserve as of this writing, but as long as he’s out, Wicks is a borderline must-start. Last year he became the 10th rookie receiver since 2020 to average over 2.00 yards per route run. Despite having 2 drops on Sunday, his team-high 13 targets demonstrate his good standing with Love in an offense that ranks second in yards per play.
Dontayvion Wicks has reached a 70% route participation or higher in three games.
2023 Week 15: 15.7 fantasy points
2023 Week 18: 24.1 fantasy points
2024 Week 4: 23.8 fantasy pointsIs it a small sample? Yes.
Should you be tentative on the waiver wire? No.
Wicks is a baller.
— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) September 30, 2024
Xavier Legette, WR, Carolina Panthers
In Carolina’s first game with Adam Thielen (hamstring) on injured reserve, Legette ran a route on 37 of Andy Dalton’s 42 dropbacks and caught 6 of 10 targets for 66 yards and 1 touchdown. The 32nd overall pick’s otherworldy athleticism is being maximized in an offense that’s scored 24-plus points in each game with Dalton as the starting quarterback. Rookie receivers usually have a jump in production after their bye week, but Legette could be a valuable fantasy asset sooner than anticipated.
Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts
In hindsight, I got carried away when I wrote “the second-year slot man won’t be available in fantasy leagues for long” in the Week 3 edition of this column. But that take could come to fruition as soon as this weekend when the Colts face a Jaguars defense that’s struggled against the slot all season. Joe Flacco is expected to start in place of Anthony Richardson (hip), and while the 39-year-old isn’t a significant upgrade over the second-year pro, the offense may call more dropback passes now. Downs caught 8 of 9 targets for 82 yards and a score last week when Flacco subbed in for Richardson, and he ranks fifth among all receivers in first downs per route run this year (15.4%).
Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, New York Giants
Robinson emerged as the clear no. 2 receiver in New York’s passing game on Thursday Night Football. While Malik Nabers continued his historic rookie campaign with 12 catches for 115 yards, Robinson grabbed 11 balls for 71 yards; all other Giants combined for 6 catches and 95 yards. His low aDOT role will limit his ceiling but the former second-rounder out of Kentucky is worth a look in PPR formats.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
Rashee Rice was sadly carted off with a knee injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s game. The budding star for the Chiefs ranked first in catches (24) and second in receiving yards (288) entering the week. Filling in is Smith-Schuster, who was held catchless in Week 4 but played 32 offensive snaps. He also played 41 snaps in Week 3 when he scored a touchdown in place of Rice (who was getting a breather). Though Smith-Schuster has lost some juice over the years, he could become a viable fantasy option given his role in Kansas City’s offense.
