Week 5 is virtually in the books (there is still the small matter of Browns v 49ers tonight). And, with the Waiver Wire opening up Wednesday morning, you should have a good idea as to where your team is. Are you charging into the playoffs? Or are you in the basement looking up? Perhaps you are scraping by with some low scoring victories? Or getting beaten with 2/3/4th top scores? All in all, regardless of where you are, your team will need a fresh injection of something to help record a win in Week Six. And this Waiver Wire list should help.

Quarterbacks:

Teddy Bridgewater -9.5% Owned

@JAC Next

Week 5: 26/34 314 Yds, 4 TDs, 1 INT, 7 Yds Rushing

Teddy Bridgewater hasn’t shot the lights out coming into this weekend, and therefore not for consideration for the Waiver Wire. However, he sure reminded the league of what he has to offer. This was a really big, changing of the guard performance that gave the Saints fans a glimpse of what the post Drew Brees era will look like, and that the future is bright. This top 12 QB performance also showed fantasy owners that they shouldn’t sleep on Teddy as a fantasy option either. He won’t keep the job for too many more weeks, but against a Jags defence that isn’t looking as solid as it has in recent years, and with the Waiver Wire being thin, this is as good an option for Week Six if your QB is injured or on Bye.

Gardner Minshew II- 18.1% Owned

NO Next

Week 5: 26/44 374 Yds, 2 Tds, 42 Yds Rushing, 3 Fumbles Lost

Anyone that wasn’t sold on Gardner Minshew, which is probably only three people at this stage, should have been converted after Sunday’s performance. He has been in this Waiver Wire column before, and he appears in it yet again. Yes they lost the game, but Minshew’s performance kept them in it until the very end. He also put up over 400 yards of offence against arguably one of the leagues best passing defenses. Minshew is here to stay. At least in the short term. He offers a very safe floor to fantasy football players. Both QBs in this game should offer a decent return in this game. You should feel very confident starting either.

Running Backs:

Alexander Mattison- 23% Owned

PHI Next

Week 5: 7 Carries, 52 Yds

Mattison is having a great season for a backup running back. In addition to the amount of work he has seen, he has also been extremely efficient with his workload. As a result, after going 7 for 52 on Sunday, Mattison now has 34 carries for 189 yards (5.56 YPC) for the season. However, the main appeal for Mattison is that he is the primary handcuff in a run first offense. Dalvin Cook, whilst being elite so far this season, has always struggled with injuries.

This is the time of the season where Running Backs start to feel the pressure of week to week football. And since the Vikings bye week isn’t until Week Twelve, they either need to give Mattison more of the ball to preserve Cook, or run the risk of Cook injuring his hamstring again. Expect Mattison to get more and more work and maybe, just maybe, end up as the number 1 Running Back if history repeats itself. Grab him now, because you might not have a chance to grab him on the Waiver Wire if history does in fact repeat itself.

Ito Smith- 9.6% Owned

@ARI Next

Week 5: 5 Carries, 19 Rushing Yrds, 6 Receptions, 45 Receiving Yrds 

Smith is a player who has, in his own right, become a stand alone flex player. Especially in PPR. This week he returned 12.4 PPR Points. Next week, he faces the truly terrible Cardinals defense. The Cardinals have struggled to contain any team this year, even though they managed to register their first win of the campaign on Sunday. As a result, Ito Smith should have a good day and be considered a flex starter for Sunday. He also carries the upside of being a pretty good handcuff should anything happen to Devonta Freeman. A Waiver Wire must grab.

Chase Edmonds- 2.8% Owned 

ATL Next

Week 5: 8 Carries, 68 Yds, TD, 3 Receptions, 18 Yds

Wide Receivers:

Dionte Johnson- 17.5% Owned

@LAC Next

Week 5: 5 Receptions, 27 Yds

As a stat line, it doesn’t look overly pretty for Johnson. However, there are three things behind the stat line that need to be considered. Firstly, his QB Mason Rudolph was literally knocked out of the game. If anybody has a weak stomach, don’t go and watch how that happened. Secondly, James Washington left the game in the Fourth Quarter with a shoulder injury and is pretty unlikely to play this week. Unless it really isn’t that serious. However, the fact the game was on the line suggests it’s a problem that will keep him out for a week or two. And lastly, he had eight targets. Johnson should see more targets next week with Washington out, so expect Johnson to have a 12 plus PPR point week. Good for a flex start at least. Johnson should be owned and therefore claimed off the Waiver Wire.

Cole Beasley- 29.9% Owned

Bye Next

Week 5: 3 Receptions, 21 Yds

Beasley is on bye this week, meaning he will be very low on people’s priority lists. So, if you are carrying a John Ross or any Miami Wide Receiver not called Preston Williams, then this is the time to make a switch. You can probably grab him for a FAAB buck or 1% of FAAB this week. Or even as your lowest waiver priority in a standard Waiver Wire claim system. This was a down week for Beasley. However two things going for him. The first is volume. 27 receptions through 5 games is strong, especially with a 9.9 yard per reception average. However the major thing is that he is due a Touchdown due to his volume. There is no doubt Beasley will find the end zone in the next couple of weeks. So jump on the Beasley train before it leaves the station.

Keke Coutee- 26.4% owned

Tight End:

Gerald Everett- 3.3% Owned

49ers Next

Week 5: 7 Receptions, 136 Yards

Murf: Everett is on a huge upward trend. He has career high numbers on Thursday. And then you have the small fact that he has been targeted 19 times in the last two weeks. Everett has made a role for himself and with the volume in which Goff is throwing the ball (117 times in the last two games), Everett becomes relevant. He followed up a Touchdown against the Buccaneers with 136 yards against the Seahawks. at 3.3% owned, there isn’t a better Tight End to pick up off the Waiver Wire right now that is readily available.

Stocks: By the time Monday comes around, you could be forgiven for even remembering that there was a game last Thursday. Over the last two weeks, Everett has been heavily involved. Week four against the Bucs he had five receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown. He followed this up with seven reception for 136 yards. Normally the Rams split the Tight End duties but Everett seems to be forging ahead in terms of snaps he is on the field, as well as targets. As they say about Fantasy Football, “volume is king”. 

Kicker:

Matt Prater @GB- 30% Owned

Matt Prater has one of the longest legs in the NFL. He also is coming off a bye. Whilst Lambeau Field is a tough place to go and kick, there is this feeling that he will have a lot of opportunities to kick. The Packers defense is making stops all over the field. Therefore, if the Lions are to remain in this game, they are going to be kicking a lot of Field Goals. It’s a bit of a gamble, but with the 30% Waiver Wire threshold we use for this article, there just isn’t any one better. You should have picked up Slye and Gay like we have mentioned in previous weeks.

D/ST:

Seattle Seahawks @Cleveland- 30% Owned

There was genuine shock when we saw the Seahawks were only 30% owned. This week was a hard one to call. The Redskins were on the shortlist, because they are playing Miami. If you go with that logic, you probably can’t go wrong. But the reason we are going with the Seahawks is that this defense can make plays. They force turnovers and they get to the Quarterback. This Cleveland Browns Offensive Line has been lacking this season and therefore we can expect to see some potential sacks and turnovers in this game, regardless of the score.

That’s it for this week. We hope you have gotten a lot out of this article and are seeing some success. You can listen to the audio show on Tuesday night’s on your favourite podcast app. We also answer questions on Twitter @5yardrush so do get in touch there. However, until next week, Keep Rushing.