Waiver Wire Finds Week 5
Welcome back to another weekly waiver wire column. As always I will base my ownership percentage off of ESPN. I will go through each position and rank these players on the priority on how I would pick them up.
Last week felt like a real high scoring week. There were 8 different Quarterbacks that scored over 30 points in leagues where TD's count for 6 points. A ton of big names continued to score well for your team, while a few dark horses came in and surprised a lot of people. There were also a few notable injuries to keep an eye on. Tyler Eifert had a nasty ankle injury and will be out the remainder of the year. O.J. Howard sprained his MCL and could be out for 2-4 weeks. Gronk has an ankle injury that could hold him out of the Thursday night game against the Colts. There were hamstring injuries to both Will Fuller and T.Y. Hilton. You could be looking to fill some spots this week. There are also 2 byes this week, which include the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Now lets jump in.
QB:
Andy Dalton (52.9%)- He needs to be owned more than this. He is currently the QB9 on the year and has looked amazing. He has thrown for at least, two TD's in each of his games this season. He is a returning player on this list so I won't go as in depth. He has a very favorable schedule coming up. He gets the Dolphins this week, then the Steelers, Chiefs, and the Buccaneers. He is going to be a top 12 QB each week for me going forward.
Marcus Mariota (20.3%)- He is starting to look fully healthy once again. We have seen Mariota shine for fantasy football in the past and think it is possible he can continue that this season. He is coming off a game where he threw for 344 yards and 2 TD's. He also had 46 yards and a rushing TD in this game. He came out and surprised almost everyone by defeating the defending Super Bowl champs. He gets the Bills this week who have been a middling defense against the pass this season. It is not a matchup that scares me so if you are in need of a QB this week, he is worth a look.
Blake Bortles (18.1%)- Believe it or not, Blake Bortles has won me a fantasy title before. Not saying that is the case this season, but he will be a high-end streamer in the right matchups. Last week Bortles went up against the Jets and threw for 388 yards and 2 TD's. This week he will face the Chiefs in Kansas City. I don't necessarily think this will be a high scoring game, but with how bad the Chiefs secondary has been this year I would expect some garbage time points. The Chiefs have given up at least 250 yards or 3 TD's in each game this season, pending their game on Monday Night Football. I will have Bortles around a top 15 play this week.
RB:
Aaron Jones (55.3%)- He has made this column every week so far and has topped it almost every time. He is slowly getting added but you need to get him before you are too late. For the second straight week, Jones has looked like the better RB. He again led the team in yards, while adding a touchdown. He had 11 carries for 65 yards against the Bills. He will slowly begin to receive more carries as the weeks go on. This past week, Aaron Rodgers gave plenty of praise to the RB as he was excited to have him back with the team. If even Aaron Rodgers is telling you this guy is legit, you know he will begin to see the field more and more.
T.J. Yeldon (46.8%)- Hopefully he was dropped in your league once news broke out the Fournette was active. Unfortunately, Fournette re-injured himself on Sunday and is likely to sit out this week. In his absence, Yeldon racked up 100 total yards and 2 TD's on 21 touches. His use in the passing game gives him a nice bump. He will look to take on the full workload once again this week if Fournette is indeed out. If you are in need of a RB for this week only, I'd get Yeldon over Jones.
Austin Ekeler (58.5%)- Get him in the 60's so I can stop writing about him. Again if you own Melvin Gordon you need to own Ekeler. Plain and simple.
Nyheim Hines (15.5%)- Hines is a better add in ppr formats. He had 26 total targets this season and is the clear pass catching back for the Colts. He had 9 catches last week, which included two TD's. He is going to get his targets each game and even some carries, as the Colts have yet to find a consistent runner in the backfield.
Ronald Jones (16.2%)- A popular target in drafts this offseason has been inactive in every game other than last week. With Peyton Barber under performing, the Buccaneers decided to give him a shot. Now, he made news during the preseason due to the fact he had more rushes than rushing yards. I didn't say it was good news. Surprisingly, Jones led the team in rushing attempts and rushing yards for Week 4. He may see some more work going forward and is a decent stash at the end of your bench.
WR:
Mike Williams (53.4%)- He had a tough game on Sunday but I don't expect that to be very common. It felt like a strange game all around honestly. He only saw 3 targets while catching one of them. After three straight games with double digit points, he just had a down game. I am not worried and would be adding him if I needed WR help.
Antonio Callaway (32.5%)- Callaway has an absurd 19 targets the past 2 games. It hasn't translated to much, but it is only a matter of time. Volume is everything for fantasy football. He seems to be a big part of this offense and should have his breakout game any week now. Hope you get him before that happens.
Taylor Gabriel (6.6%)- He is averaging about 7 targets a game this season. This past week was the first time he was able to make something out of that usage. He turned 7 catches into 104 yards and 2 TD's. He is fast and could continue to find ways to get open. If Trubisky continues to play like he did last week, Gabriel is in for a good year.
Taywan Taylor (3.9%)- With Mariota getting healthy, Taylor is on track to make some noise. With Delanie Walker out for the year, there was a spot for Mariota's number 2 target. I say was because Taylor has already gained that role. He had 9 targets last week and caught 7 of them for 77 yards. If Corey Davis starts to see double coverage, it could open up the field for Taylor. He will continually be on this list.
Christian Kirk (12.2%)- The QB change to Rosen was well needed as I expected. The Cardinals actually came out and almost won this game against the Seahawks. Kirk was second in targets only behind Larry Fitzgerald. Once this offense gets settled in more, Kirk will be given every opportunity to shine.
Ryan Grant (10.9%)- With T.Y. Hilton likely out for this game, Grant should get a good number of targets. He has had double digit fantasy points in 3 out of the 4 games this season. I like him to potentially get into the redzone against the Patriots this Thursday. This is a throwing team and will need to throw all game long to keep up with Brady.
TE:
Benjamin Watson (36.7%)- He has been one of my favorite under the radar TE all year. With even more injuries to this position, he needs to be owned everywhere. The Saints are a high powered offense and Watson should get his opportunities
Vance McDonald (31.3%)- This guy is a human bulldozer. Two weeks ago he had a poster-worthy stiff arm for a 75 yard touchdown. This week, he continually got yards after the catch. He is a big body for Big Ben to utilize on a weekly basis. He caught all 5 targets for 62 yards this past Sunday. If your TE got injured, he's a solid fill in.
D/ST:
Tennessee Titans (39.2%)
Denver Broncos (53.8%)
Arizona Cardinals (25.8%)