Week 5 Waiver Claims

Quarterback #1: Justin Herbert

Justin Herbert is QB9 over the last 3 weeks & has really everything you look for in a fantasy QB: Athleticism (4.68 40/35.5” vertical/4.46 shuttle), check. Willingness to scramble (12 rushing attempts in 3 games), check. Loaded offense, check. The Austin Ekeler injury hurts, but Herbert lost Ekeler early in the game, and that didn’t stop him from throwing for at least 290 yards in his 3^rd straight start. He threw for 3 TD’s this past week & is currently completing 72.0% of his passes. He’s a viable starter even in 1QB formats.

Quarterback #2: Jimmy Garoppolo

It hasn’t been a “pretty” start to the season for Jimmy GQ, but he looks primed for a major second-half explosion. He started off his first 2 games completing 67.3% of his passes for 4 TD’s & 0 INT’s – and that was passing to a cast of receivers lacking Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle, led by the likes of Jordan Reed & Kendrick Bourne. Add Kittle, Deebo, & Aiyuk back into the mix, coupled with the return of Raheem Mostert & the continued emergence of Jerick McKinnon as a receiving weapon – not to mention SF playing Dallas & Arizona Week 15 & 16 – and Jimmy GQ has “league-winner,” or at least “hell of a buy-low value,” written all over him.

Quarterback #3: Tua Tagovailoa

Tua time is coming, sooner or later. I recommended stashing him last week for those desperate in Superflex or 2QB leagues. He’s probably the last available avenue to a (potential) permanent QB2 solution, outside of working a trade. Now might be your last chance to stash him before someone else does.

Running Back #1: Chase Edmonds

Something is clearly wrong with Kenyan Drake. His career-staple – his efficiency – has plummeted (down to 3.7 YPC) & he’s averaging a brutal .8 yards after-contact per-attempt so far, compared to 2.1 yards after-contact per-attempt last year. Whether he’s not fully healthy after spending time in a walking boot late in the offseason, or something else, who knows? What we do know is that Chase Edmonds has completely taken over the receiving role & has now out-produced Drake as a receiver in all 4 games (13 total receptions on 17 targets to Drake’s 5 receptions on 5 targets). Add in the fact that Drake hasn’t given Arizona too many reasons to keep feeding him rushing volume & at worst, it makes Edmonds a matchup-based RB2 desperation-play. If Drake misses time, Edmonds becomes an auto-start & potential league-winning stash.

Running Back #2: Damien Harris

Writing my waiver article on Mondays before the MNF game is both horrifying & thrilling. I have to go out on a little bit of a ledge if I want to include players from the MNF slate, but when I do include them, and they hit, I feel a little bit less stupid – at least very a very brief moment. Jonnu Smith gave me that gift when I included him pre-MNF post-Week 1 & he played well & I’m hoping Harris can do the same for me this week. With Sony Michel on IR, it’s now or never for Harris. Even if he doesn’t see much of the field his first game back he deserves at least the two more weeks Michel has on IR to show us what he’s got.

Running Back #3: Justin Jackson

Austin Ekeler’s injury appears to be serious & JJ jumped right in when he went down, seeing 8 touches to Joshua Kelley’s 12. We’ve seen Jackson be efficient with NFL touches before & we know that this team wants to utilize a two-back system. With bye weeks coming up, Jackson will have utility as a spot-starter you can plug-in in a pinch.

Running Back #4: D’Ernest Johnson

The Browns are the No.1 rushing team in football & it isn’t particularly close right now. There’ s going to be more than enough rushing volume to go around for 2 RB’s to eat. Johnson doesn’t have a ton of staying power, but if he continues to see double-digit carries as long as Nick Chubb is out, like he did this past Sunday, there’s sneaky value to be had here.

Wide Receiver #1: Tee Higgins

It’s not surprising that Justin Jefferson’s roster percentage skyrocketed to 71.0% after his breakout game last week. What is very surprising is that Higgins’ didn’t do the same – even after a 2-TD game. He still somehow remains rostered in only 25.0% of ESPN leagues despite the fact that he’s from a college with a higher WR-hit-rate than Russell Wilson’s completion percentage, plays in an offense that is currently 2^nd in the league in passing attempts, and has produced enough to be the WR28 in PPG over the last 3 weeks. Get this guy on your rosters, even in 10-team leagues.

Wide Receiver #2: Brandon Aiyuk

I have rookie fever & I’m not afraid to admit it. I’ve fallen in love with this class’s RB & WR talents from the moment they all landed where they did. It’s burned me with Cam Akers, J.K. Dobbins, and Jalen Reagor, but I’ve had a hell of a fun time with my shares of CEH, JT, James Robinson, CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy, Tee Higgins, & even D’Andre Swift & Laviska Shenault to an extent. Aiyuk is just the latest rookie I’m ready to fully buy into. The fit in Kyle Shanahan’s offense has always been perfect for a suped-up Deebo Samuel clone who jumps 40” & averaged over 10 yards AFTER the catch his last year at ASU. Shanahan is going to scheme him the ball on screens & quick passes, and most importantly, as a runner. Aiyuk has 2 rushing TD’s in 3 games (although one was technically a backwards pass) & that gives him legit viability even when he’s not excelling as a pass-catcher.

Wide Receiver #3: Laviska Shenault Jr.

Copy & paste everything I said about Brandon Aiyuk but with 25 more pounds of muscle, a slightly worse offense, & a less-brilliant playcaller.

Wide Receiver #4: Tre’Quan Smith

Smith has always had a nose for the end-zone in this offense, with 5 TD’s each of his first two years, despite catching just 28 & 18 passes. He’s already got a 2-TD game on his resume this year & has caught at least 4 passes for at least 42 yards in all 3 of the games Michael Thomas has missed. ‘Quan has also out-produced Emmanuel Sanders in that time 13/182/2 to 11/167/1 & judging by the eye-test, he just looks like the more dominant player at this point in their respective careers. He’s big (6’3”/209), fast (4.49 40), and a hell of a jumper (37.5” vertical). If he really is overtaking Sanders & in the midst of a 3^rd year breakout, you’re going to want him on your roster.

Tight End #1: Dalton Schultz

What if I told you that you could start Michael Gallup in your TE slot? You would be thrilled, right? Well, you can’t, but you can start Dalton Schultz, who has more targets (28-24), receptions (18-13), and fantasy points (40.9-40.0) than Gallup through 4 weeks. Schultz owns DAL’s TE-role – a role that last year compiled over 90 receptions, 950 yards, & 7 TD’s between Jason Witten & Blake Jarwin. He’s quickly becoming an auto-start & needs to be prioritized in 10-team leagues where he’s still be available.

Tight End #2: Robert Tonyan

Another guy I’m willing to include before watching the MNF slate. It’ll be very interesting to see if Tonyan continues to emerge as a viable secondary receiving weapon behind Davante Adams. He’s riddled with athleticism (4.63 40, 82^nd percentile burst score) & has looked really good so far in limited opportunities. If he can do just about anything against ATL, we’re going to have to start having a conversation not just about rostering Tonyan, but whether or not we should be considering him a weekly starter.

Tight End #3: Drew Sample