Staying active on the waiver wire is an important way for season-long fantasy owners to improve their teams and get an edge on the competition. Shifts in opportunities for players due to injuries or performance cause value spikes that owners can take advantage of to fill in roster holes to build a championship lineup.
Each week, we will discuss waiver wire targets at each position to consider for both the week ahead and the rest of the fantasy season.
Week 5 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Adds
* Current roster % in home leagues is noted in parentheses (from Sleeper)
Justin Fields, QB (Pittsburgh Steelers) (42%)
Despite the Steelers picking up their first loss to the Joe Flacco-led Colts on Sunday, Justin Fields showed his fantasy upside by throwing for 312 yards with a score and rushing for 55 yards and two touchdowns.
In a negative game script, Fields set season highs with 34 pass attempts and 9.2 yards/attempt. He finished as the top fantasy quarterback for the week and had his best QB Rating since Week 11 in 2023.
Dallas has struggled at times this season, but their offense is certainly capable of creating another negative game script for Pittsburgh in Week 5. Even better for Fields, the Cowboys defense ranks 22nd in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks so far this season.
Looking for more fantasy football content? Make sure to check out Sean Koerner’s and Chris Raybon’s weekly fantasy football rankings by subscribing to FantasyLabs’ 2024 fantasy football kit to see how other waiver wire candidates look this week.
Kareem Hunt, RB (Kansas City Chiefs) (37%)
We weren’t quite sure what the Kansas City backfield would look like in Week 4, but I don’t think many expected Carson Steele to earn just two carries and Kareem Hunt to take the lion’s share of the workload with 17 total touches.
Hunt was efficient enough on the ground with 69 rushing yards and 4.9 yards/attempt. He added two catches for 16 receiving yards but failed to get into the end zone. He took the field for 45% of the Chiefs’ offensive snaps and saw two-thirds of the team’s rushing attempts.
With the injury to Rashee Rice and Patrick Mahomes not lighting up the passing stat sheet this season, expect Hunt to continue to see lots of opportunities until Isiah Pacheco returns to the backfield. Clyde Edwards-Helaire may return this week as another backfield option, but he has yet to assert himself as a lead back in multiple starter stints.
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Josh Downs, WR (Indianapolis Colts) (28%)
The second-year wideout caught eight-of-nine targets for 82 yards and a score on Sunday as the Colts held on to beat the Steelers. Josh Downs benefitted from Joe Flacco taking over in the first quarter due to Anthony Richardson leaving the game with a hip injury.
Downs and the rest of the Colts receiving corps are a bit of a fantasy quagmire. In the first three games of the season with Richardson at the helm, the Colts QB failed to top a 50% completion rate and 212 passing yards in any game. Flacco managed a 62% completion rate in Week 4 and tallied two passing touchdowns. The veteran notched four straight 300+ yard passing games to end last season in relief duty for the Browns.
Downs seemed to benefit the most from Flacco’s entrance, with a 32% target share against the Steelers. He only topped that usage rate once in his rookie season. Downs could be a low-end starting option with Richardson out of the lineup.
Taysom Hill, TE (New Orleans Saints) (29%)
Talking about quagmires, the tight end position as a whole has been filled with land mines and disappointment through the first four weeks. Maybe the answer is to pick up a player that rarely acts as a traditional tight end.
Taysom Hill has played all sorts of positions over the years for the Saints, including starting quarterback. Through the Sunday games, he somehow landed atop the tight end fantasy totals without a single passing target. He scored two touchdowns on six carries for 24 total yards.
Look, the upside is certainly capped for a tight end that rarely catches the ball. He has two catches in three games played this season. But beggars can’t be choosers at this position and Hill is a red zone threat in an offense that continues to put points on the board.
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New England Patriots, D/ST (3%)
The Patriots hold the free space spot in Week 5 as they travel to Miami to face Tyler Huntley and the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins are 31st in fantasy points allowed to defenses through three weeks and come off a demoralizing loss to the Titans and backup quarterback Mason Rudolph.
Christian Gonzalez is a shutdown corner, but New England has still allowed the fourth-most passing yards in the league. They’ve been better in the red zone, allowing four touchdown passes on the season.
The Dolphins snapped a stretch of over 170 game minutes without a touchdown on a garbage time score in the fourth quarter against the Titans. They haven’t topped 12 points in a game since Week 1. The Patriots are a strong spot start this week.
