Waiver Wire Targets for Week 5 (2021)

October 4, 2021 Tyler Heil

There are more Wide Receivers available this week than I can write about, but let’s see if we can avoid point chasing and get the guys on your squad who are going to stay there. We have potential season long contributors available across the board so be sure to get these waiver wire claims entered expeditiously and keep 4 EYES On The Prize!

I will be changing up who I am highlighting a little bit by focusing on players that are below the 50% rostered mark according to consensus roster percentage on ESPN and Yahoo only.

Quarterback Streamers

Taylor Heinicke, Washington Football Team, Consensus Roster Percentage 9.9%, Week 5 vs Saints

Simply put Taylor Heinicke has been supreme since being thrust into the starting QB role. He has thrown the ball for nearly a 70% completion rate, 8.1 yards per attempt which is good enough to be tied for 10th in the NFL, a 6.8 touchdown percentage which is one-tenth of a point better than Kyler Murray! I could continue to go on but I think you get the point. He is approaching a set it and forget it type of player.

Daniel Jones, New York Giants, Consensus Roster Percentage 32.1%, Week 5 at Cowboys

Daniel Jones remains a top ten quarterback on the year. The Giants defense has quite simply seen a significant amount of regression on the defensive side of the ball and that is a formula for fantasy goodness. The Giants are going to continue playing from behind, and that is good news for Daniel Jones. Even if he does not throw any touchdowns, which he hasn’t done much of this year only, only throwing 4 on the season, he does not need them. With his rushing baseline (averaging 47 yards per game), and his yardage requirement (7th in the NFL in passing yards with 1184) to keep the team in games he will be just fine.

Sam Darnold, Carolina Panthers, Consensus Roster Percentage 27.5%, Week 5 vs Eagles

Sam Darnold has broken 300 yards passing in 3 of 4 games thus far this year, add to that he has somehow become the team’s primary goal-line rusher you have the QB5 on the year. Even with likely rushing touchdown regression, you can stand to reason you will see his passing touchdown numbers increase (5 on the year) in their place. You can continue to play Darnold on a weekly basis especially when they get the Eagles coming to play them in Charlotte.

Trey Lance, San Francisco 49ers, Consensus Roster Percentage 25.0%, Week 5 at Cardinals

Trey Lance’s roster percentage has seen a pretty steep decline in the past two weeks after it became clear Shanahan intended to start Jimmy Garoppolo for the whole season. However, Jimmy went and did what he does best and got himself injured clearing the way for Lance to take a stranglehold on this job. You cannot say with complete certainty Shanahan will not plug Jimmy back into the starting lineup when healthy but Trey has a chance to show why he was the number 3 overall pick and give this team a better chance to win than Jimmy does.

Running Back

Damien Williams, Chicago Bears, Consensus Roster Percentage 9.2%

The Bears do not plan on giving an update on David Montgomery’s injury until after practice on Wednesday because, reasons. However, the information I can find is that it was a hyperextended knee, which caused Nick Chubb to miss a full month last season. The Bears do not have the luxury of having Kareem Hunt to fill in but Damien Williams is a very capable placeholder who should see a significant increase in opportunities while Montgomery gets healthy. This could be a multi-week add and has the possibility of being an even longer period of time. Williams is the top claim this week.

Latavius Murray, Baltimore Ravens, Consensus Roster Percentage 40.6%

Ty’Son Williams being a healthy scratch on Sunday was a bit mystifying and is perhaps indicative of the level of frustration the Ravens backfield is going to bring the rest of the season for fantasy managers. While Latavius Murray might not be able to fill in your RB2 spot for the rest of the year he will at least be a worthy flex on a weekly basis while he receives around double-digit opportunities each week and appears to be their preferred goal-line rusher. I don’t think Latavius will be a league winner but he is a guy that will limit his performances scoring less than 6 fantasy points.

J.D. McKissic, Washington Football Team, Consensus Roster Percentage, 44.2%

To the Chagrin of Antonio Gibson Managers everywhere, J.D. McKissic isn’t going anywhere. He is going to continue to be involved in this offense on a weekly basis. He has averaged 9 opportunities a week over the last 3 weeks with nearly half of those opportunities being through the air. You can do worse on a weekly basis than having McKissic being an RB3/Flex.

Kenneth Gainwell, Philadelphia Eagles, Consensus Roster Percentage, 26.9%

Kenny Gainwell is becoming a fixture of this column every week and his roster percentage refuses to climb above 30%. The Eagles continue to make Gainwell a large part of their offense averaging 4.75 carries per game and 4.5 targets per game, and he proves week in and week out that he is a dynamic player by averaging 4.4 yards per rush attempt and 8.8 yards per reception. It is hard to put him in your lineup every week with Miles Sanders existing, but with him being the RB24 on the season it is becoming increasingly hard to ignore his production.

Bonus: Jeremy McNichols, Tennessee Titans, Consensus Roster Percentage 1.5%

Last week we were all wondering which wide receiver would step up to lead the team in targets when the answer all along was Jeremy McNichols. There is no way to rely on any rushing production for McNichols seeing as a guy named Derrick Henry is on this team, but if AJ Brown and Julio Jones continue to miss weeks you can confidently flex McNichols.

Wide Receiver

Jamison Crowder, New York Jets, Consensus Roster Percentage 17.1%

The target hog is back. Jamison Crowder taking a reduction in pay this off-season was a death blow to the hopes of a rookie year breakout of Elijah Moore and Jamison Crowder spent his first week back reminding us exactly why. He is a rookie quarterback’s best friend due to his ability to get open close to the line of scrimmage and haul in everything that comes close to him. Crowder is going to continue to be a nice safety blanket for Zach Wilson and consistently produce even if half PPR scoring with his target volume.

Darnell Mooney, Chicago Bears, Consensus Roster Percentage 39.7%

Darnell Mooney was a very popular drop candidate last week after Justin Fields’ disappointing introduction. All we can do is hope that Bill Lazor will continue to call plays and NOT Matt Nagy. If that happens we can depend on Darnell Mooney, if that does not happen then I cannot confidently tell you to start him. On talent alone though, Darnell Mooney is worth rostering to see what happens with the play calling and starting quarterback situations in Chicago.

A.J. Green, Arizona Cardinals, Consensus Roster Percentage 25.6%

Another week, another Cardinals wide receiver to snag off waivers. I cannot say for sure how long A.J. Green’s involvement will last due to his age, but what I can say is that according to snap counts (55 more snaps than Christian Kirk) and target share (24 targets compared to both Kirk and Rondale Moore at 18) A.J. Green is definitively the number 2 wide receiver on this team behind Deandre Hopkins. They will continue to give him a big-time opportunity in an offense helmed by an early-season MVP Candidate, Kyler Murray.

Tim Patrick, Denver Broncos, Consensus Roster Percentage 39.2%

All offensive weapons on the Broncos offense had a week to forget as the Ravens defense choked any life out of the offense and forced Drew Lock onto the field after a Teddy Bridgewater concussion. We can hope that Teddy is back to face a Steelers defense that is having trouble defending anyone through the air and is currently the 28th ranked defense against opposing wide receivers in fantasy scoring. Patrick is the Wide Receiver 2 in this offense until Jerry Jeudy gets back and remains the fantasy WR33 overall and should be started on a weekly basis in a three-wide receiver league.

Tight End

Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills, Consensus Roster Percentage 33.2%

Typically touchdowns aren’t something very reliable and you should not be basing any prognostication on them. Unfortunately, tight end is such a wasteland outside of the top 4-5 guys it is simply “okay, who is getting the touchdown this week?” Dawson Knox has become one of Josh Allen’s favorite ten-zone targets and it has turned him into the TE5 through 4 weeks. If he is out there in your league you should probably be starting him.

Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys, Consensus Roster Percentage 27.0%

Over the past two weeks opposing defenses have been focused on stopping Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb over the past two weeks, and rightfully so. This focus has turned into Dalton Schultz being the most targeted player on the Cowboys over the past two weeks. He has certainly impressed with these opportunities. Not only has he put it in the paint 3 times but has impressed with over 10 yards per reception over the last two weeks. Schultz might even be a claim and trade opportunity with the return of Michael Gallup coming sooner rather than later.

Tyler Conklin, Minnesota Vikings, Consensus Roster Percentage 17.6%

Conklin has been pretty heavily involved in the passing game all season. He did not perform this past week but neither did much of anyone else in a game for both sides to forget about. Look for Conklin to have a bounce-back game in a get right game against Detroit.

Maxx Williams, Arizona Cardinals, Consensus Roster Percentage 2.1%

This offense is going to be an enigma for pass catchers not named Deandre Hopkins all season, but with 15 targets over the past 3 weeks Maxx is worth a shot at a shallow position.

Defensive Streamers

Arizona Cardinals, Consensus Roster Percentage 35.8%, Week 5 vs 49ers

The Cardinals are the number 2 defense through 4 weeks and are looking like a true super bowl contender. Making Trey Lance get his first NFL start on the road against Chandler Jones and company feels unfair but these are the card he was dealt and you can benefit in your DST spot.

Carolina Panthers, Consensus Roster Percentage 47.0%, Week 5 vs Eagles

The Panthers were the DST5 through 3 weeks until their unfortunate matchup against the Juggernaut Cowboys offense. They should have a nice get right game as Jalen Hurts and the Eagles head down to Charlotte.

About Tyler Heil 24 Articles
Director of Dynasty Content. I’m a numbers and spreadsheets geek (A freak in the (excel) sheets, some might say) that wanted to share my obsession with others. In 2021 Fantasy In Frames gave me that opportunity, and now my main hobby is helping others get a more holistic and detailed viewpoint on the games we all love. Football and Fantasy Football.
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