IDP Waiver Wire Adds for Week 5 (2022)

October 4, 2022 Nate Marcum
Week 5 IDP Waiver Wire Fantasy In Frames 2022

Welcome to our Week 5 IDP Waiver Wire article this season!

Many people will assume that a fantasy championship is won on draft day, but I am here to tell you that it is most definitely not! While you can set yourself up very well on draft day, the Waiver Wire will be the key ingredient to your championship stew! Each week I will bring you my collection of players that should be available in over 50% of leagues. While the true roster % of IDP leagues is difficult to tabulate, I will do my best to ensure we are ahead of the curve. Let’s get down to our IDP Waiver Wire Adds for Week 5.

Defensive Line/Edge Rusher

Denico Autry (Tennessee Titans)

It’s easy to look at Denico Autry and want to chase the fantasy points. While I would typically tell you that chasing points is a losing endeavor, this chase may pay off in Week 5. Autry will have one of the better matchups for a single-week Lottery ticket, as he will get the Washington Commanders’ Offensive-line to terrorize. The Commanders have given up a league-high 17 sacks and 2nd most pressures (per PFF).

We must remember that there is more to sack totals when forecasting fantasy production weekly. Autry possesses a multitude of these metrics. For starters, he has the 18th best pass-rushing productivity grade (per PFF). The 16 pressures (12th) lead to that grade, constituting a 14% pressure rate. The pressure rate may not stack up to the elite pass-rushers, but consider the number of snaps he spent on the interior line. With injuries across the board, Autry has seen the most snaps lined up outside the tackle. Who are the tackles that he is going to face with Washington?

Charles Leno and Samuel Cosmi account for 22 pressures and 8 sacks. This is the perfect set of tackles for Vrabel to take advantage of with Autry.

EDIT: Sam Cosmi left Week 4 with a hand injury. Trai Turner will need additional time to recover from a leg injury. Washington now has three starters from the beginning of the season who should/will miss Week 5.

{Rashad Weaver is another solid option if you would like to attack the Commanders’ O-Line}

Odafe Oweh/Jason Pierre Paul (Baltimore Ravens)

My 1st ever double recommendation! Choosing between the two makes for a very tricky situation. For starters, I would assume that Oweh is rostered in most of the leagues, but if he isn’t, there is a great chance he will be one of the most heavily targeted Waiver options. That is why I would say use Pierre Paul as your backup plan. I’ll give a reason for both.

Odafe Oweh was going to pass the rusher in Week 4 without a solid contributor on the other side of the line until they signed JPP. The signing of JPP isn’t good just for the attention reduction; it also moved him more to the ROLB position, which is very advantageous in this matchup! Look for Oweh, or at times, JPP to harass Jonah Williams, who has an efficiency rating (per PFF) of 94.9%. That ranks 142nd out of 151 qualified offensive linemen!

When the Ravens signed JPP, it just made sense. They had an obvious hole to fill with the Justin Houston injury, but it wasn’t determined if he was ready for a heavy workload. Well, it appears that he was more than ready. JPP played 86% of the snaps and recorded 4 tackles. The case can be made for JPP as it was with Oweh. The Bengals line is very generous, and the game is in Baltimore. Should be fun!

Names to monitor:

Haason Reddick (Philadelphia Eagles)

Many, including myself, were worried about the potential rotation with Reddick and the Eagles. The early returns are that we were underestimating his potential. Reddick currently has 3.5 sacks, 12 tackles, and 3 forced fumbles. His production over the past two weeks has been just insane!

Linebackers

Josey Jewell

Jewell was mentioned here last week, but I feel like a reminder might not be a bad idea. As if my reminder wasn’t enough, Im sure his 14 tackles (7 solos) and 1 TFL got your attention. Jewell was targeted six times in Week 4 and gets a Colts team in Week 5 that could target him plenty. With Jonathan Taylor most likely sidelined for Thursday, Nyheim Hines could see an increase in playing time, thus leading to a potential increase in targets for Jewell.

Frankie Luvu

Another repeat selection for Waiver Wire inclusion, but again, people may need a reminder! Luvu has now played the 6th most total snaps of any DL/LB during the season. Luvu has turned all of those snaps into fantasy production. His 26 solo tackles rank 5th among LB, and his 5 tackles for loss rank 3rd! It’s not just the tackle volume that is enticing; Luvu has also had success in coverage; his two passes defended are the 2nd most among LB, and he is one of just a handful to record an INT.

This week, Luvu and the Panthers will host the 49ers and their run-heavy approach. Mix Luvu’s heavy run-play snaps and SFs favorable rushing game, providing a stable fantasy floor.

Joe Schobert

The Titans have had a pretty rough start to the season on the injury front but may have potentially filled a pretty big hole at linebacker. The big question will be the playing time split between Schobert and Dylan Cole. Dylan Cole originally took over when Zach Cunningham was injured, but it was Schobert in Week 4 who really turned heads. Despite only playing 34% of the snaps, he put up a 21% tackle rate. A limited sample will skew the rates, but the tackles and enormous forced fumble could be the production that catapults his snap count. It’s better to be a week early in the situation that Schobert sees heavy volume.

Zaire Franklin (Indianapolis Colts)

Eventually, you are going to have déjà vu from this article. Franklin has pretty much been a staple for this article, and there are wrinkles each week. Last week it was a hold for now as we see how Shaq Leonard returns from back surgery. That didn’t last long, and it will be Franklin’s job for Week 5 (potentially longer).

Last week Franklin was an absolute machine, picking up 15 tackles and playing 100% of the snaps. The Colts will face the Broncos without Javonte Williams. If Zaire doesn’t eat too many of the “Dangerwich” at Subway, he should be a solid LB option again. Hopefully, someone dropped him amidst the news of Leonards’s return!

Notable Names Worth Mentioning (or repeating)

Pete Werner (New Orleans Saints)- Still under-rostered in leagues. Ho-Hum, another 9 tackle game.

Jacob Phillips (Cleveland Browns)- Got the work with Walker on IR. Led team in Solo tackles and gets a Chargers team who just gave up 19 tackles to LB position in Wk.4.

Malcolm Rodriguez (Detroit Lions)- Three straight games with 50+ snaps and 8+ tackles.

Defensive Back

L’Jarius Sneed (Kansas City Chiefs)

It is always a tough assignment to put a CB into your DB slot, but as I mentioned in the first Waiver article, Sneed has the potential to break the mold. Sneed scored double-digit fantasy points for the 4th week in a row. More noteworthy is that he has now eclipsed 20 fantasy points in three of the four weeks.

Sneed is used in many ways; it provides a nice opportunity to create some monster fantasy weeks. For instance, his 6 pressures are tied for the most among DBs, which has led to a DB-high 3 sacks. He is steady, racking up tackles when he isn’t rushing the passer. His 28 solo tackles lead all DBs. With his 2 forced fumbles, he leads another category among his peers.

Mike Edwards (Tampa Bay Bucs)

I mentioned last week that Edwards has given us a wide range of outcomes this season, but it was the ceiling-type production that we again saw in Week 4. Edwards led the Bucs in tackles and chipped in a sack. That is now back-to-back 13 tackles performances.

Notable Names Worth Mentioning (or repeating)

Roger McCreary (Tennessee Titans)- Has now led the Titans in tackles for three straight weeks. Currently has two of the 14 highest solo tackle games of any player in the NFL.

Myles Hartsfield (Carolina Panthers)- Jeremy Chinn left Week 4 early, and it’s not certain when he will return. In the short term, Hartsfield could make for an interesting pickup. In Wk 5, the Panthers will play the 49ers and should lead to plenty of snaps and opportunities.

DeShon Elliott (Detroit Lions)- Paced the Lions in Week 4 with 9 solo tackles. The loss of Tracy Walker is irreplaceable, but it would appear that Elliott is a 100% snap player and just got 50% of them in the box!

Thanks for reading our IDP Waiver Wire Adds for Week 5!

Now go put in those waiver claims ASAP!

Also, don’t forget to check out our Weekly IDP Rankings for the upcoming week by clicking here!

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About Nate Marcum 139 Articles
Director of IDP Content. 2021 Top 5 IDP Ranker per FantasyPros ECR. 20+ year Fantasy Baseball/Football addict. Addiction manifested into obsession, which drove me to writing/podcasting. Obsession is still present, but now it’s directed at helping others around me get better!
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