Bjorn Yang-Vaernet examines which players on the waiver wire are worth prioritizing for Week 5 and highlights others to preemptively stash.
In the first three weeks of the season, quality players could have been picked up on the waiver wire each week, including Kyren Williams (Week 1), Zack Moss (Week 2), and De’Von Achane (Week 3). Week 4 is completely different as there is no clear-cut player to spend the majority of the free agent budget for.
However, that doesn’t mean managers shouldn’t be using the waiver wire to their advantage. Bye weeks start next week and the middle part of the season is where managers that have started slow need to have superior in-season management skills. For the managers that have started well, keep churning the bottom of the roster to potentially find league-winning players, these are the guys that can make a team feel unstoppable in the second half of the season.
This article will touch on a trio of streamable QBs, upside RB and WR stashes, and a TE that should be picked up in all leagues. Let’s go!
The waiver wire is one of the most important pieces of season-long draft leagues. It is the easiest way to acquire new players and every year there are gems to be found. The goal of this article will not only be to highlight which weekly breakout players to prioritize but find others to preemptively pick up before the breakout happens.
This article will only reference players that are less than 50% owned in ESPN leagues. The players are categorized by position group and within each group is the order of how I would prioritize them.
Quarterback
C.J. Stroud (Available in 69% of ESPN leagues)
I hesitated and ultimately decided not to put C.J. Stroud in the Week 3 waiver wire article because of concerns over his matchup against the Steelers. The Steelers’ pass rush was probably the strongest test Stroud would have to date and facing a team that isn’t very explosive, I thought the Texans might try to run their offense more conservatively.
Contrary to my assumptions, the Texans came out relatively aggressive, passing the ball on 14 of 23 first downs. As I mentioned last week, I think the Texans realized that running the ball behind a very depleted offensive line was a recipe to put a young QB in obvious passing situations against a talented defensive line. As a result, passing on early downs could get the team “ahead of schedule” in terms of yardage needed for a first down.
While Stroud wasn’t amazing (53% completion rate), he pushed the ball downfield (8.6 completed air yards per attempt) and threw two TDs. At the end of the day, Stroud put up another 20-plus fantasy point performance, his third week in a row.
Looking ahead, the floor on Stroud feels fairly safe. If the Texans are winning, the passing game is likely the one that is putting them in that position. If the Texans are losing, the coaching staff is not afraid to let Stroud sling the rock. I’m not quite sure about the ceiling, but with bye weeks starting up in Week 5 (Justin Herbert is the most notable absence), nailing the floor is much more important for a one-week streamer.
Stroud looks like a solid stream in Week 5 against Atlanta and could be held even longer in leagues with additional bench spots.
Sam Howell (Available in 91% of ESPN leagues)
Sam Howell profiles as an extremely strong spot start against the Bears at home in Week 5. Outside of the domination by the Bills defense (who made Miami appear mortal in Week 4), Howell has been relatively good. He has scored between 15 and 22 fantasy points in each game.
Chicago entered Week 3 giving up the fifth-most fantasy points to QBs and then allowed Russell Wilson to throw three TDs and score over 22 fantasy points in Week 4. Howell is a good bet to have one of his better games of the season in this spot. Additionally, the Strength of Schedule streaming app ranks this as the third-best matchup in Week 5. I will be considering Howell in the leagues where I have a QB on a bye week.
Josh Dobbs (Available in 98% of ESPN leagues)
Josh Dobbs is the last QB that I am keeping in mind as a bye-week streamer. Dobbs has a few things going for him right now. The first is that he has rushed for more than 40 yards in each of his last three starts — giving him a nice floor for fantasy points. The second is the Cardinals are happy to let Dobbs throw in the red zone, with three of the four TD passes within the last three games coming inside the 10-yard line.
Altogether, Dobbs has scored more than 20 fantasy points in two of his last three games, mostly buoyed by his rushing floor and TDs in close. It’s definitely not a high-confidence start, but in deeper leagues or 2-QB leagues, Dobbs is pretty appealing.
