Waiver Favors: 2017 Week 5 Fantasy Football Pickups

October 8, 2017

By Ha Kung Wong Fantasy Football Pickups

As I mentioned last week, I like nothing more than helping all of you make solid waiver pickups in your Fantasy Football league and have some part in your championship run. That’s just the type of guy I am. You’re welcome. Again.

So let’s get on with it with fantasy football pickups for Week 5!

As usual, all pickups are available in at least 50% of Yahoo standard fantasy football leagues (with some minor exceptions) as of Sunday evening.

UPDATE – Adrian Peterson (43% Owned) has been traded to the Arizona Cardinals for a conditional 6th round pick in 2018. Chris Johnson has already been waived and AD is listed as the starter. The Cardinals have been terrible at run blocking, but AD has a prime spot to bounce back in Arizona. Immediately stashable in all 10-team leagues or deeper.

Marlon Mack

RB – Indianapolis Colts – 7% Owned

Frank Gore lead the backfield with 14 carries, but Marlon Mack got plenty of opportunity coming back from a shoulder injury, rushing 9 times for 91 yards and one TD in Week 5. A big 35 yard chunk of that came in overtime, but it all counts the same. Gore isn’t going anywhere, but Mack should get his share and perhaps more than that as the season progresses. Pick him up in all 14-team or deeper leagues, and definitely if you own Gore.

Orleans Darkwa

RB – New York Giants – 2% Owned

Orleans Darkwa came back from injury just to leave with an injury. But he did start the game and rushed 8 times for 69 yards and a TD. He did play through the calf injury, but the Giants leaned on Wayne Gallman for most of the rest of the game. If he does come back from his calf injury, though, he may be in for some big workloads with the Giants completely banged up in the pass game. Worth a speculative stash in 16-team and deeper leagues, and good insurance for Paul Perkins or Wayne Gallman owners.

Mike Wallace

WR – Baltimore Ravens – 33% Owned

Left for dead 3 weeks OK, Mike Wallace has resurfaced over the last two weeks. In Week 4, he caught 6 of 10 targets for 55 yards and a TD. And Week 5, he followed it up snagging all 3 off his targets for 133 yards. Sure, the Ravens aren’t any good on offense, but Wallace has been good before, and Joe Flacco has big arm, so go ahead and grab him in all 12-team leagues or deeper as WR4 or FLEX.

JuJu Smith-Schuster

WR – Pittsburgh Steelers – 5% Owned

The Steelers offense was a mess in Week 5. Big Ben blamed himself and his 5 INTs, but honestly, everyone on offense looked lost. Perhaps the sole bright spot in Week 5 was rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster who looked dynamic catching 4 of 6 targets for 58 yards, following up his promising Week 4 where he caught 3 of 4 targets for 47 yards and TD. I suspect Big Ben gets things sorted out, and as of now, Smith-Schuster looks better than Martavis Bryant, so there’s certainly some potential here. He’s worth a speculative stash in 14-team leagues or deeper.

Ricardo Louis

WR – Cleveland Browns – 1% Owned

It’s just a crap shoot when it comes to the Browns offense. But Ricardo Louis has racked up 22 targets over his last 3 games. He’s had back-to-back productive weeks having 5 receptions for 64 yards and 5 receptions for 71 yards. Kenny Britt was inactive and Corey Coleman is on IR, so if you need a WR4 or FLEX in 14-team or deeper leagues, you could do worse.

Ed Dickson

TE – Carolina Panthers – 4% Owned

OK, no go crazy. Ed Dickson caught all 5 of his targets in Week 5 for a whopping 175 yards. He had solid production in Week 4 as well, so this is encouraging, and perhaps Dickson will step in as “Greg Olsen light” until Olsen returns. Either way, he’s worth a speculative grab for TE needy teams in 14-team and deeper leagues.

Nick O’Leary

TE – Buffalo Bills – 0% Owned

This one depends entirely on the status of Charles Clay. Clay has been the target leader in Buffalo, so if his knee injury is a real issue, Nick O’Leary might have to step up. And O’Leary did just that in Week 5 after Clay went out catching 5 of 6 targets for 54 yards. New OC Rick Dennison has been a fan of move TEs so this could be a good opportunity for O’Leary. Clay owners should take a look as insurance, as should owners desperate for TE help in 16-team leagues or deeper.

George Kittle

TE – San Francisco 49ers – 1% Owned

Rookie TE George Kittle stepped up big on the final drive in regulation catching 7 of 9 targets for 83 yards and a TD. This is another one of those “don’t go crazy” scenarios, but he’s definitely a guy to put on your watch list as the 49ers look for a spark in their offense, particularly in keeper and dynasty leagues.

And here are previous pickups I’ve mentioned that are still worthy of your consideration:

10-Team Leagues or Deeper

None

12-Team Leagues or Deeper

Tarik Cohen, Charles Clay, Jared Cook, Will Fuller, Devin Funchess, Allen Hurns, Aaron Jones, Alvin Kamara, Marqise Lee, Latavius Murray, Alex Smith, Chris Thompson, Deshaun Watson

14-Team Leagues or Deeper

Javorius “Buck” Allen, Geronimo Allison, Jacoby Brissett, Alex, Collins, Wayne Gallman, Jared Goff, Ryan Griffin, Chris Johnson, Duke Johnson Jr., Jermaine Kearse, Tyler Kroft, Cooper Kupp, Samaje Perine, J.J. Nelson, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Trevor Siemian

16-Team Leagues or Deeper

Nelson Agholor, Kenny Golladay, Jesse James, Eddie Lacy, Elijah McGuire, Thomas Rawls, Ben Watson, Jamaal Williams

Check back every week for more Waiver Favors!