We will have you covered throughout the 2023 fantasy football season with our bevy of tools, including our Waiver Wire Assistant. Find the top available players and get detailed analysis on how potential waiver wire adds will impact your team. Of course, our team of analysts will also have written advice each week. Check out some of our top waiver wire targets for the week below. And here is all of our fantasy football waiver wire advice for Week 5.
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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets
Written by Derek Brown
Jameson Williams (DET): 32% rostered
- Next Opponents: CAR, @TB, @BAL
- True value: $ 8
- Desperate need: $ 12
- Budget-minded: $ 6
Analysis: Assuming Williams is 100% healthy, he should be a starter in three-receiver sets in short order. Because of suspension and injury, we have not seen the talented former first-round pick on the field very often in his first two NFL seasons. His star might have dimmed for some because of the layoff, but the absence has made my heart grow fonder. Williams enters a thriving offensive ecosystem. Detroit is eighth in yards per game, seventh in explosive passing rate, and 12th in points per game. Williams should be the field stretcher tied to a quarterback who’s currently fifth in deep passing grade and second in deep adjusted completion rate (per PFF). Williams could be a difference-making addition.
Quentin Johnston (LAC): 47% rostered
- Next Opponents: BYE, DAL, @KC
- True value: $6
- Desperate need: $10
- Budget-minded: $4
Analysis: In Johnston’s first game without Mike Williams in the lineup, he played 50% of the snaps with a 12.5% target share, and he ran a route on 22 of Justin Herbert‘s 24 pass attempts. While Johnston’s overall snap share might concern some, he was a full-time player when the team was passing, which is all we should care about. The Chargers have a bye week coming up to further integrate Johnston into this offense. While the early returns have not been promising, we also have to remember that he is a rookie, and we are only four games into the season. While Johnston has not blown up like Puka Nacua or Tank Dell yet, that doesn’t mean he can’t. The offensive environment is amazing, with Johnston catching passes from Herbert and only Josh Palmer to hop in the pecking order. I’m willing to bid aggressively to get exposure to Johnston’s upside. If he hits this season, it will be magical.
Rashid Shaheed (NO): 42% rostered
- Next Opponents: @NE, @HOU, JAX
- True value: $3
- Desperate need: $5
- Budget-minded: $1
Analysis: Shaheed will have plenty of ceiling performances upcoming. He has been the Saints’ field stretcher and zone coverage destroyer. Shaheed entered Week 4 with a 13% target share, a 27.4% air yard share and 2.51 yards per route run against zone coverage. If you secure him off waivers, do not play him against the Patriots, who play heavy man coverage, but consider flexing him against Houston and Jacksonville, who deploy their corners in zone on at least 68% of their snaps.
Michael Wilson (ARI): 2% rostered
- Next Opponents: CIN, @LAR, @SEA
- True value: $2
- Desperate need: $4
- Budget-minded: $1
Analysis: Wilson exploded in Week 4, securing all seven of his targets for 76 yards and two scores. He played 70% of the snaps with 85% route participation and a 17.0% target share (per PFF). Wilson entered Week 4 with a 68% route run rate, a 12.2% target share and 2.68 yards per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). The talent could be real with Wilson, but we also have to understand the sobering reality that he is probably the third option in the target pecking order on a Josh Dobbs-led offense. Wilson’s next two matchups are brutal, with the outside corners for the Bengals and Rams playing exceptional football, so he is likely riding the bench in those weeks. Grabbing Wilson off the waiver wire now requires an eye toward the future, with the possible return of Kyler Murray looming, not to mention an appealing Week 7 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks.
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