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After Week 5, it’s time to turn your fantasy football team into a contender.
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Several players have emerged as potential targets for the rest of the season.
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Here are 14 waiver-wire targets for fantasy players looking to fill in any gaps in their roster.
Devontae Booker, RB, New York Giants
ESPN fantasy % rostered: 3.8%
Week 5 stats: 42 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 13 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns — 20.8 fantasy points
One thing to know: Saquon Barkley left the game early against the Dallas Cowboys, opening the door for Devontae Booker to have a solid fantasy game. While the extent of Barkley’s injury is not yet fully known, given that he is coming off an injury-plagued season and the Giants once again find themselves out of contention fairly early, don’t be surprised if they ease him back into the lineup. That would give Booker an even greater opportunity to be an impactful fantasy player.
A.J. Dillon, RB, Green Bay Packers
ESPN fantasy % rostered: 55.5%
Week 5 stats: 30 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 49 receiving yards, 1 touchdown — 17.9 fantasy points
One thing to know: Aaron Jones is still the lead guy in Green Bay, but A.J. Dillon has played his way into a greater share of the workload, and with the Packers offense scoring as much as they are, he’s a great piece to add before bye weeks start tearing up depth at running back.
Darrel Williams, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
ESPN fantasy % rostered: 7.6%
Week 5 stats: 27 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 18 receiving yards — 7.5 fantasy points
One thing to know: Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire left Sunday night’s game with an injury, leaving Darrel Williams to fill in for Kansas City. While Edwards-Helaire hasn’t been the dynamite fantasy back many had hoped he would be, Williams will have plenty of value getting snaps in the Chiefs offense.
Myles Gaskin, RB, Miami Dolphins
ESPN fantasy % rostered: 77.4%
Week 5 stats: 25 rushing yards, 10 receptions, 74 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns — 31.9 fantasy points
One thing to know: Myles Gaskin is by no means a sleeper, but he’s worth including in this spot because he had been dropped in 12% of ESPN fantasy leagues in the past week. On Sunday, he was the second-highest scoring running back in all of fantasy, and he’s available in nearly one out of every four ESPN leagues. Double-check to make sure he’s not sitting on the waiver wire in your league before making any other moves.
Kadarius Toney, WR, New York Giants
ESPN fantasy % rostered: 12.2%
Week 5 stats: 10 receptions, 189 receiving yards — 29.6 fantasy points
One thing to know: If you kept up with last week’s column, there’s a chance you’ve already added Toney to your lineup and benefitted from his monster Week 5 performance. If not, the time is now to hop on board.
Marquez Callaway, WR, New Orleans Saints
ESPN fantasy % rostered: 39.1%
Week 5 stats: 4 receptions, 85 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns — 24.5 fantasy points
One thing to know: The Saints offense has been up and down with Jameis Winston at the helm this year, but when it’s up, Marquez Callaway has a ton of value.
Tim Patrick, WR, Denver Broncos
ESPN fantasy % rostered: 29.7%
Week 5 stats: 7 receptions, 89 receiving yards — 15.9 fantasy points
One thing to know: Tim Patrick is another player that has been a potential add several times over the opening weeks of the season, but he’s especially worth a spot on your roster now with bye weeks beginning in Week 6. Patrick is a model of fantasy consistency, having scored at least 12 fantasy points in four of his five games. If you’re going to be down a few receivers due to bye weeks soon, Patrick is a player you can plug into your lineup, and trust isn’t going to put up a goose egg.
Rondale Moore, WR, Arizona Cardinals
ESPN fantasy % rostered: 37.3%
Week 5 stats: 5 receptions, 59 receiving yards — 14.7 fantasy points
One thing to know: Rondale Moore has not fully broken out in the Cardinals offense yet, but every time he gets the ball in his hands, he makes a play. Kyler Murray, Kliff Kingsbury, and the Arizona offense realize this and should be getting him the ball more often pretty soon.
Mecole Hardman, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
ESPN fantasy % rostered: 41.8%
Week 5 stats: 9 receptions, 76 receiving yards — 16.6 fantasy points
One thing to know: The Chiefs offense has been stymied a bit the past few weeks as opposing defenses go all-in on stopping Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce from tearing them apart. If the trend continues, Mecole Hardman is in a great spot to see his fantasy production jump in the coming weeks. Hardman’s season-high 12 targets on Sunday night is a good sign for fantasy owners.
David Njoku, TE, Cleveland Browns
ESPN fantasy % rostered: 1.6%
Week 5 stats: 7 receptions, 149 receiving yards, 1 touchdown — 27.9 fantasy points
One thing to know: If you’ve been throwing darts at tight end all season, David Njoku is worth a shot. While much of his production came on one big play, he’s an important part of a Browns offense that has struggled to find consistency due to injuries across the receiving corps.
Dawson Knox, TE, Buffalo Bills
ESPN fantasy % rostered: 70.3%
Week 5 stats: 3 receptions, 117 receiving yards, 1 touchdown — 20.7 fantasy points
One thing to know: Dawson Knox is behind only Travis Kelce in fantasy production from a tight end this season. He’s still available in 30% of leagues.
Streaming defense: Carolina Panthers
ESPN fantasy % rostered: 55.4%
Week 5 stats: 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery, 2 sacks, 1 safety, 21 points against — 10 fantasy points
One thing to know: Carolina is the fifth-best defense in fantasy through five weeks and has scored double-digit points in four of their five games.
And in case you need a quarterback…
Baker Mayfield (50.8% rostered) put up big numbers in a shootout against the Los Angeles Chargers, and could be in for another shootout next week against the undefeated Arizona Cardinals.
Additionally, after a dismal start to his NFL career, Texans rookie Davis Mills looked like a brand new man against the Patriots, throwing for 312 yards and three touchdowns against Bill Belichick’s unit to finish as a top-five fantasy quarterback. There’s no need to go rushing to add Mills in standard leagues, but in deep leagues or two-quarterback leagues, he’s at least putting up positive numbers now.
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