Week 4 is in the rearview mirror. Now, it’s Week 5, but it can pay to look ahead to Week 6 and beyond to consider the players currently on waivers you might stash. Go ahead and grab them now rather than having an all-out waiver-wire war with your fellow league mates in a few days’ time.
This column will take a look ahead each week at players rostered in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues.
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Waiver Wire Picks
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Week 5 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Stashes
Matthew Stafford (QB – LAR): 54% Rostered
Now I know that we try to stay below 50% rostered for players in this column, but it’s awfully thin out there. With bye weeks coming up, it’s very much worth stashing Stafford now.
Stafford has been playing at a very high level, leading the league in Big Time Throws (Per PFF) with 12. No other quarterback has more than nine. Sadly for Stafford’s fantasy output, the touchdowns haven’t been there, with no more than one in any game so far. The tide may soon turn, however, with the return of All-Pro receiver Cooper Kupp.
The way that Matthew Stafford is able to just casually place this over the linebacker and before the DB is insane.
9 was FEELING IT on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/8u3RuQNbuq
— Blaine Grisak ? (@bgrisakTST) October 4, 2023
Kenneth Gainwell (RB – PHI): 49% Rostered
D’Andre Swift is the sexy name in the Eagles’ backfield, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that Gainwell continues to have a notable role. Swift has seen his touches drop to a more normal 17.5 per game since his big breakout in Week 2. Gainwell has taken back the 2-minute drill work and a share of the passing-down role.
Gainwell isn’t going to be a three-down workhorse any time soon, but if anything were to happen to Swift, he’d have plenty of opportunity. With bye weeks here, sometimes all we need is a running back who will see at least some work. Gainwell should do that in an offense with plenty of scoring potential no matter the opponent.
Justice Hill (RB – BAL): 29% Rostered
The Ravens eased Hill back into the starting lineup in Week 4, as they blew the doors off the Browns. Baltimore never really needed to show their true intentions at running back.
Now, with Hill a week further removed from a turf-toe injury that kept him out of Week 3, it’s possible we see him start to get back to the role he had earlier on in the season when he was the preferred option over Gus Edwards around the goalline. In Week 4, we saw Lamar Jackson target running backs with 32% of his targets. If that continues, Hill could certainly benefit as the best pass-catching back on the roster.
Ravens RB Justice Hill was the third-most elusive running back in the league in Week 4, per @PFF. pic.twitter.com/ZyPZ94MpBd
— Ravens Nation LIVE (@LIVERavenNation) October 6, 2023
Marvin Mims Jr. (WR – DEN): 37% Rostered
There are three wide receivers who have had at least one 30-plus-yard reception in each game this year: Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson and Mims. The Broncos continue to bring Mims along slowly, but he did see his route participation climb from 28% to 38% in Week 4.
Rumors continue to swirl about Jerry Jeudy or Courtland Sutton being traded. Should that happen, there would be very little left in the way of Mims’s path to fantasy production. It should also be noted that Russell Wilson has played better than the headlines might have you think. With the Broncos’ defense looking very bad, Wilson will continue to be put in pass-first game scripts.
Quentin Johnston – 36% Rostered
With Mike Williams out for the rest of the season, the Chargers need another pass-catcher to stand up and be counted when they come out of their current bye week. Before the bye, Josh Palmer ran ahead of Johnston, but it was noteworthy that the latter’s route participation jumped by 40%.
Johnston didn’t see a notable bump in his targets, with only three, but he’s averaged 2.75 per game, as well as 0.5 deep targets. It’s not uncommon to see rookies experience a post-bye bump in their production. If Johnston is able to take a small step forward in this offense, we could be looking at a very fantasy-relevant player down the stretch.
Luke Musgrave (TE – GB): 24% Rostered
In Week 4, Musgrave only played 14 snaps before leaving with a concussion. Luckily for him, the Packers don’t play until Monday night, giving him an extra day to get out of the concussion protocol and get back on the field.
Musgrave ranks ninth in air yards per game among tight ends (42.0), and his three deep targets rank second best at the position. The Packers have plenty of down-field plays designed for Musgrave. Sooner or later, he’s going to hit one and pay off handsomely.
Jordan Love leads the league in average depth of target (10.4), which keeps the Packers’ offense ready to bubble up in points at any given moment. With Aaron Jones dealing with injuries and AJ Dillon ineffective, the Packers will likely need to continue to take shots if they want to win games.
Most receptions by a rookie TE from Week 1-4 in the last decade
1. Sam LaPorta (2023) – 22
2. Evan Engram (2017) – 19
3t. Dalton Kincaid (2023) – 15
3t. Kyle Pitts (2021) – 15
5. Luke Musgrave (2023) – 12— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) October 1, 2023
Cleveland Browns – 32% Rostered
The only reason the Browns are on this list is that they are currently on a bye week. You can rest assured that, after this week is over, they will be one of the most popular adds.
Through four games, the Browns have averaged 3.0 sacks, lead the league in QB knockdowns (5.0 per game), and have pressured quarterbacks at the second-highest rate (30.3%). The interceptions (1) haven’t been there so far, but the Browns are top 12 in passes defended and that variance will swing their way at some point.
In conventional defensive scoring, the Browns have averaged 9.5 points a week, which would be a great result for the rest of the season. Following their bye and a tough matchup with the Niners, the Browns have games against the Colts and Cardinals on the horizon.
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