by Nate Polvogt
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If you like winning, come back every week for under-the-radar fantasy waiver wire pickups to keep you in contention until the final contest. We leave no stone unturned to ensure we give you the BEST chance to win week in and week out. Let’s get to it with our Week 5 waiver wire pickups.
The 2024 NFL season is drunk. Or maybe we need to unplug it and plug it back in? Whatever it is, someone please fix this ASAP.
Being a fantasy manager this season has tested patience and maneuverability. I have always, and will always, preach fluidity as a fantasy football team owner, and these first four weeks of football highlight why. You’re dead in the water if you refuse to move and shift gears in a landscape like this. Don’t be that guy.
Week 4 dropped more injury bombs on us, with QB Anthony Richardson (hip) and WR Rashee Rice (knee) the latest casualties. Then there was the Ravens’ Mark Andrews getting one target. At the same time, RB Justice Hill feasted on six targets against Buffalo, an example of the erosion of the TE position as a viable fantasy football fixture. But I digress.
It’s time to get moving, and move we will. Let’s get down to business with my Week 5 waiver wire pickups and streaming D/STs.
Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups
~ Check out our Week 5 Fantasy Football Rankings ~
Waiver Wire QBs
Joe Flacco (QB – IND) | 0.2%
In 2024, the ageless vagabond QB Joe Flacco has yet again found his way onto the pages of waiver wire columns across the country. In relief of the Colts’ wunderkind Richardson, Flacco went 16 of 26 for 168 yards and two TDs on the way to an Indianapolis victory over the previously undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers.
While Flacco is unlikely to be a full-time starter this season, when called upon, he delivers. Last season in Cleveland, he averaged 21.78 fantasy points per game (FPPG) in relief of Deshaun Watson, nearly getting the Browns into the playoffs. In that five-game span, Flacco was the overall QB2 in fantasy.
Richardson is listed as day-to-day, and there is no doubt he will get the starting nod when healthy. However, hip injuries can linger, and for a QB who relies on mobility, that presents a big issue. If you’re a Richardson manager, Flacco is an almost must-have handcuff. If you’re looking for a steamer in Superflex or 2QB formats, he could be a spot-start candidate should Riochardson’s injury linger. He isn’t likely a hot commodity on this week’s waiver wire, so don’t spend a dime of your remaining FAAB unless you’re desperate.
Andy Dalton (QB – CAR) | 8.8%
The Pale Squirtgun rides again! Two weeks into the Andy Dalton experiment in Carolina, the veteran QB finds himself a viable option for fantasy managers again in 2024.
Dalton’s taking the reigns early in the season, replacing the Week 1 starter, is giving us all deja vu. The last time he found himself as the full-time signal caller was in 2022 in New Orleans. That season, Dalton took over for the Saints in Week 3 and wrapped the season as the overall QB22, despite playing only 14 of 17 games.
Dalton isn’t going to light the world or your fantasy rosters on fire. If you’re in a 1QB league, Dalton should be a last-resort, break-in-case-of-emergency roster option. However, in 2QB and Superflex formats, Dalton is a viable option to put into your lineup every week. With things looking dire at the QB position, there will be some competition for the 36-year-old on your league waiver, so plan appropriately. A $5 to $7 FAAB bid should get the Red Rider on your fantasy rosters for Week 5 action.
Waiver Wire RBs
Justice Hill (RB – BAL) | 9.8%
When you think you know, you realize you don’t. And maybe we still don’t, but for this week’s column, Hill seems to be someone to know.
The sixth-year RB out of Oklahoma State started the season by opening a few eyes, logging 11.5 PPR points and finishing at the PPR RB29. That doesn’t sound impressive until you realize he does his backfield work behind RB Derrick Henry, who just blew the top off the Buffalo defense with 199 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Hill cooled off in Weeks 2 and 3, totaling 12.6 fantasy points, seeing many managers and analysts abandon Hill as a possible asset. However, while Henry destroyed the Bills, Hill quietly put together a solid game. The veteran logged six catches on six targets for 78 receiving yards, a TD and 21.6 PPR points.
Will Hill continue to be relevant to fantasy every week? Probably not. However, Hill is worth a roster spot in a season that has watched our rosters’ IR slots fill up and bench spots empty. This Ravens offense is a mystery at times, and Hill could become a reliable flex play down the road. Look to spend $3 to $5 worth of your FAAB to roster Hill ahead of Week 5.
Antonio Gibson (RB – NE) | 29.2%
I have never been a massive fan of RB Antonio Gibson. Some players seem to have far too much hype behind them, and Gibson was always one of those players for me. However, beggars can’t be choosers in fantasy football. With fellow RB Rhamondre Stevenson having ball security issues, Gibson could see an uptick in volume in the New England offense.
New head coach Jerod Mayo, while not Bill Belichick, is a disciple of the Belichick system, which preaches ball security. Stevenson has lost the ball four times in four games this season, which doesn’t likely sit well with Mayo and his staff. It’s reduced Stevensons’ snap share, going from 78 percent in Week 1 to 55 in Week 4, where he saw only 13 carries in the backfield.
With the dip in opportunity and overall production from Stevenson, Gibson is the next man up in New England. While his seven run-play snaps this past Sunday aren’t impressive, his 22 overall snaps were his highest total of the season.
There’s no guarantee Gibson sees an uptick in work. However, with Stevenson’s butter fingers proving to be a liability, it stands to reason we’ll see the former Washington and Memphis RB get more looks. Recency bias and name association probably have most managers scoffing at rostering Gibson. Let them. Drop a $1 FAAB bid and walk away with a potential season-long waiver wire steal.
Waiver Wire WRs
Justin Watson (WR – KC) | 0.3%
Wait, this isn’t Juju Smith-Schuster!?!?
No, it’s not. And I am as shocked as you are.
Now, this isn’t a guarantee – or even an insinuation – that 29-year-old WR Justin Watson will absorb Rashee Rice’s volume or come even remotely close to replicating his production. Rice is a highly athletic talent. However, of the receiving options likely to see an uptick in opportunities, I believe Watson is the biggest benefactor not dating Taylor Swift.
In his seventh year of NFL service, Watson has quietly been a football-relevant player for Kansas City this season. While he has only seen eight targets through four games, he has been on the field for 129 of 255 offensive snaps, which bests both Moore (43) and Smith-Schuster (98).
When there isn’t much to go off of, gauging trust is a good fallback. With Rice done for the 2024 season, Watson presents a familiar, reliable target. Since joining Kansas City in 2022, Watson has earned 105 targets from QB Patrick Mahomes and got more than halfway to 1,000 receiving yards (550) last season.
While everyone else zigs to Smith-Schuster and Moore, zag to Watson for a fraction of the cost. You won’t need to drop anything but a security blanket $1 FAAB bid to roster him and see what happens.
Tre Tucker (WR – LV) | 10.2%
It shouldn’t be surprising that Tre Tucker made my Week 5 waiver wire column. In his second year out of Cincinnati, Tucker has drawn 14 targets in the last two weeks in Las Vegas, hauling 12 catches for 137 yards and a TD.
With Davante Adams listed as week-to-week, this could be an extended absence/trade situation, depending on who you believe. Tucker could continue seeing additional volume. This matters when you’re a WR on the second-worst rushing offense in the league.
The Raiders offense is ugly, and there aren’t many things outside of rookie phenom TE Brock Bowers. However, Tucker looks like a player who will provide reasonable flex value for the rest of this season at a nice discount. A $3-$5 FAAB bid should do the trick and keep cash in your pocket for the coming weeks.
Waiver Wire TEs
Tucker Kraft (TE – GB) | 4.7%
Is there a more TE name than Tucker Kraft? They spelled Kraft with a K. Like the Canadian dinner.
But I digress.
In his second year in the league, the Packers’ TE Kraft wasn’t on the dance card of relevant TE options in 2024, but that’s what he appears to be. However, he is fourth on the team in targets, with nine of his 17 coming last week in a loss to Minnesota.
His 17.3 PPR fantasy points have him locked in as the Week 4 TE1.
Week to week, it’s impossible to know which TE will finish in the top 12 at the position. However, chasing volume and situations that present more is a great way to start. That’s where Kraft is sitting. Christian Watson appears headed to IR, and Love seems to have developed some rapport with Kraft. In a fantasy football landscape desperate for points from bookends, Kraft is a low-price streaming option that could become a season-long play for $1 to $2 worth of your FAAB.
Cade Otton (TE – TB) | 6.2%
If there is such a thing as a Cade Otton Stan, I am it.
I have been on the proverbial Otton Train since his 2022 rookie season, with Tom Brady behind center. That season, Otton saw 69 targets, converting 46 into catches for 449 yards and two touchdowns. Last season, with QB Baker Mayfield now the signal caller, he drew 86 targets and hauled in five TD catches.
This TE landscape has been ugly the past few seasons, and for one reason or another, analysts and fantasy managers alike have been sleeping on Otton. In fact, Otton still hasn’t landed on many waiver wire rankings despite his workload in the last two weeks.
Those two weeks, however, add up to 13 catches for 99 yards on 15 targets. While he has yet to snag a TD catch, it will happen. That’s as relevant as any TE you might consider starting in fantasy in any given week.
Get Otton on your roster as a rare rest-of-season option at TE straight from the waiver wire. Like most on this list, no one is running to grab him, so don’t expect to spend more than $3 of your remaining FAAB budget to land Otton ahead of Week 5.
Streaming D/STs
SEA (vs NYG)
The Seattle defense is fresh off a losing effort to the Lions in primetime, and the Giants provide an opportunity to take out some frustrations.
New York, which has looked as bad on film as on paper, is allowing opponents defenses to score nine fantasy points a week against them. The once-vaunted Seahawks defense is now only a streaming option in fantasy football but a good one for Week 5.
WAS (vs CLE)
The Commanders are on a roll, and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is lighting the NFL world on fire. But this isn’t about that.
This is about streaming the Commanders’ defense in Week 5. The Browns boast one of the worst QBs in the league, and this Washington defense is giving teams a run for their money. Last week, they shut down a convincing Cardinals offense, allowing them 324 yards of total offense.
The Commanders D/ST may prove many of us wrong and become a startable weekly fantasy football asset. For now, up against QB Deshaun Watson and company, they’re a fantastic streaming option.
Nate Polvogt is a Co-Founder and the lead senior analyst for Optimus Fantasy Football. Find more from Nate on X (formerly Twitter) @NatePolvogt and on Optimus Fantasy.
by Nate Polvogt
Share
If you like winning, come back every week for under-the-radar fantasy waiver wire pickups to keep you in contention until the final contest. We leave no stone unturned to ensure we give you the BEST chance to win week in and week out. Let’s get to it with our Week 5 waiver wire pickups.
The 2024 NFL season is drunk. Or maybe we need to unplug it and plug it back in? Whatever it is, someone please fix this ASAP.
Being a fantasy manager this season has tested patience and maneuverability. I have always, and will always, preach fluidity as a fantasy football team owner, and these first four weeks of football highlight why. You’re dead in the water if you refuse to move and shift gears in a landscape like this. Don’t be that guy.
Week 4 dropped more injury bombs on us, with QB Anthony Richardson (hip) and WR Rashee Rice (knee) the latest casualties. Then there was the Ravens’ Mark Andrews getting one target. At the same time, RB Justice Hill feasted on six targets against Buffalo, an example of the erosion of the TE position as a viable fantasy football fixture. But I digress.
It’s time to get moving, and move we will. Let’s get down to business with my Week 5 waiver wire pickups and streaming D/STs.
Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups
~ Check out our Week 5 Fantasy Football Rankings ~
Waiver Wire QBs
Joe Flacco (QB – IND) | 0.2%
In 2024, the ageless vagabond QB Joe Flacco has yet again found his way onto the pages of waiver wire columns across the country. In relief of the Colts’ wunderkind Richardson, Flacco went 16 of 26 for 168 yards and two TDs on the way to an Indianapolis victory over the previously undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers.
While Flacco is unlikely to be a full-time starter this season, when called upon, he delivers. Last season in Cleveland, he averaged 21.78 fantasy points per game (FPPG) in relief of Deshaun Watson, nearly getting the Browns into the playoffs. In that five-game span, Flacco was the overall QB2 in fantasy.
Richardson is listed as day-to-day, and there is no doubt he will get the starting nod when healthy. However, hip injuries can linger, and for a QB who relies on mobility, that presents a big issue. If you’re a Richardson manager, Flacco is an almost must-have handcuff. If you’re looking for a steamer in Superflex or 2QB formats, he could be a spot-start candidate should Riochardson’s injury linger. He isn’t likely a hot commodity on this week’s waiver wire, so don’t spend a dime of your remaining FAAB unless you’re desperate.
Andy Dalton (QB – CAR) | 8.8%
The Pale Squirtgun rides again! Two weeks into the Andy Dalton experiment in Carolina, the veteran QB finds himself a viable option for fantasy managers again in 2024.
Dalton’s taking the reigns early in the season, replacing the Week 1 starter, is giving us all deja vu. The last time he found himself as the full-time signal caller was in 2022 in New Orleans. That season, Dalton took over for the Saints in Week 3 and wrapped the season as the overall QB22, despite playing only 14 of 17 games.
Dalton isn’t going to light the world or your fantasy rosters on fire. If you’re in a 1QB league, Dalton should be a last-resort, break-in-case-of-emergency roster option. However, in 2QB and Superflex formats, Dalton is a viable option to put into your lineup every week. With things looking dire at the QB position, there will be some competition for the 36-year-old on your league waiver, so plan appropriately. A $5 to $7 FAAB bid should get the Red Rider on your fantasy rosters for Week 5 action.
Waiver Wire RBs
Justice Hill (RB – BAL) | 9.8%
When you think you know, you realize you don’t. And maybe we still don’t, but for this week’s column, Hill seems to be someone to know.
The sixth-year RB out of Oklahoma State started the season by opening a few eyes, logging 11.5 PPR points and finishing at the PPR RB29. That doesn’t sound impressive until you realize he does his backfield work behind RB Derrick Henry, who just blew the top off the Buffalo defense with 199 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Hill cooled off in Weeks 2 and 3, totaling 12.6 fantasy points, seeing many managers and analysts abandon Hill as a possible asset. However, while Henry destroyed the Bills, Hill quietly put together a solid game. The veteran logged six catches on six targets for 78 receiving yards, a TD and 21.6 PPR points.
Will Hill continue to be relevant to fantasy every week? Probably not. However, Hill is worth a roster spot in a season that has watched our rosters’ IR slots fill up and bench spots empty. This Ravens offense is a mystery at times, and Hill could become a reliable flex play down the road. Look to spend $3 to $5 worth of your FAAB to roster Hill ahead of Week 5.
Antonio Gibson (RB – NE) | 29.2%
I have never been a massive fan of RB Antonio Gibson. Some players seem to have far too much hype behind them, and Gibson was always one of those players for me. However, beggars can’t be choosers in fantasy football. With fellow RB Rhamondre Stevenson having ball security issues, Gibson could see an uptick in volume in the New England offense.
New head coach Jerod Mayo, while not Bill Belichick, is a disciple of the Belichick system, which preaches ball security. Stevenson has lost the ball four times in four games this season, which doesn’t likely sit well with Mayo and his staff. It’s reduced Stevensons’ snap share, going from 78 percent in Week 1 to 55 in Week 4, where he saw only 13 carries in the backfield.
With the dip in opportunity and overall production from Stevenson, Gibson is the next man up in New England. While his seven run-play snaps this past Sunday aren’t impressive, his 22 overall snaps were his highest total of the season.
There’s no guarantee Gibson sees an uptick in work. However, with Stevenson’s butter fingers proving to be a liability, it stands to reason we’ll see the former Washington and Memphis RB get more looks. Recency bias and name association probably have most managers scoffing at rostering Gibson. Let them. Drop a $1 FAAB bid and walk away with a potential season-long waiver wire steal.
Waiver Wire WRs
Justin Watson (WR – KC) | 0.3%
Wait, this isn’t Juju Smith-Schuster!?!?
No, it’s not. And I am as shocked as you are.
Now, this isn’t a guarantee – or even an insinuation – that 29-year-old WR Justin Watson will absorb Rashee Rice’s volume or come even remotely close to replicating his production. Rice is a highly athletic talent. However, of the receiving options likely to see an uptick in opportunities, I believe Watson is the biggest benefactor not dating Taylor Swift.
In his seventh year of NFL service, Watson has quietly been a football-relevant player for Kansas City this season. While he has only seen eight targets through four games, he has been on the field for 129 of 255 offensive snaps, which bests both Moore (43) and Smith-Schuster (98).
When there isn’t much to go off of, gauging trust is a good fallback. With Rice done for the 2024 season, Watson presents a familiar, reliable target. Since joining Kansas City in 2022, Watson has earned 105 targets from QB Patrick Mahomes and got more than halfway to 1,000 receiving yards (550) last season.
While everyone else zigs to Smith-Schuster and Moore, zag to Watson for a fraction of the cost. You won’t need to drop anything but a security blanket $1 FAAB bid to roster him and see what happens.
Tre Tucker (WR – LV) | 10.2%
It shouldn’t be surprising that Tre Tucker made my Week 5 waiver wire column. In his second year out of Cincinnati, Tucker has drawn 14 targets in the last two weeks in Las Vegas, hauling 12 catches for 137 yards and a TD.
With Davante Adams listed as week-to-week, this could be an extended absence/trade situation, depending on who you believe. Tucker could continue seeing additional volume. This matters when you’re a WR on the second-worst rushing offense in the league.
The Raiders offense is ugly, and there aren’t many things outside of rookie phenom TE Brock Bowers. However, Tucker looks like a player who will provide reasonable flex value for the rest of this season at a nice discount. A $3-$5 FAAB bid should do the trick and keep cash in your pocket for the coming weeks.
Waiver Wire TEs
Tucker Kraft (TE – GB) | 4.7%
Is there a more TE name than Tucker Kraft? They spelled Kraft with a K. Like the Canadian dinner.
But I digress.
In his second year in the league, the Packers’ TE Kraft wasn’t on the dance card of relevant TE options in 2024, but that’s what he appears to be. However, he is fourth on the team in targets, with nine of his 17 coming last week in a loss to Minnesota.
His 17.3 PPR fantasy points have him locked in as the Week 4 TE1.
Week to week, it’s impossible to know which TE will finish in the top 12 at the position. However, chasing volume and situations that present more is a great way to start. That’s where Kraft is sitting. Christian Watson appears headed to IR, and Love seems to have developed some rapport with Kraft. In a fantasy football landscape desperate for points from bookends, Kraft is a low-price streaming option that could become a season-long play for $1 to $2 worth of your FAAB.
Cade Otton (TE – TB) | 6.2%
If there is such a thing as a Cade Otton Stan, I am it.
I have been on the proverbial Otton Train since his 2022 rookie season, with Tom Brady behind center. That season, Otton saw 69 targets, converting 46 into catches for 449 yards and two touchdowns. Last season, with QB Baker Mayfield now the signal caller, he drew 86 targets and hauled in five TD catches.
This TE landscape has been ugly the past few seasons, and for one reason or another, analysts and fantasy managers alike have been sleeping on Otton. In fact, Otton still hasn’t landed on many waiver wire rankings despite his workload in the last two weeks.
Those two weeks, however, add up to 13 catches for 99 yards on 15 targets. While he has yet to snag a TD catch, it will happen. That’s as relevant as any TE you might consider starting in fantasy in any given week.
Get Otton on your roster as a rare rest-of-season option at TE straight from the waiver wire. Like most on this list, no one is running to grab him, so don’t expect to spend more than $3 of your remaining FAAB budget to land Otton ahead of Week 5.
Streaming D/STs
SEA (vs NYG)
The Seattle defense is fresh off a losing effort to the Lions in primetime, and the Giants provide an opportunity to take out some frustrations.
New York, which has looked as bad on film as on paper, is allowing opponents defenses to score nine fantasy points a week against them. The once-vaunted Seahawks defense is now only a streaming option in fantasy football but a good one for Week 5.
WAS (vs CLE)
The Commanders are on a roll, and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is lighting the NFL world on fire. But this isn’t about that.
This is about streaming the Commanders’ defense in Week 5. The Browns boast one of the worst QBs in the league, and this Washington defense is giving teams a run for their money. Last week, they shut down a convincing Cardinals offense, allowing them 324 yards of total offense.
The Commanders D/ST may prove many of us wrong and become a startable weekly fantasy football asset. For now, up against QB Deshaun Watson and company, they’re a fantastic streaming option.
Nate Polvogt is a Co-Founder and the lead senior analyst for Optimus Fantasy Football. Find more from Nate on X (formerly Twitter) @NatePolvogt and on Optimus Fantasy.
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