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Fantasy Football Week 5 Waiver Wire: Kareem Hunt and More Bye Week Replacements
B.Wilson25 min ago
- Ronald Martinez/ With the calendar flipping to October, the 2024 NFL season is on the cusp of a major milestone—the start of bye weeks. Four teams—the Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans—will be on break in Week 5, meaning many fantasy managers will be facing their first real roster challenge of the campaign. Given how many quality players are set to be resting this week, it's important to have a strong backup plan in place for these missing pieces. Factor in that injuries are also starting to mount around the NFL, and it's looking like the waiver wire will see a big surge in activity this week. While there aren't many standout talents up for grabs, there are enough serviceable players who are capable of at least a spot start in Week 5. With that in mind, here are five free agents—available in 50 percent or more of Yahoo Sports fantasy formats—to target when you make your waiver claims.
- Andy Lyons/Suggested FAAB Bid: $7-9 As the Pittsburgh Steelers' projected backup quarterback going into the season, Justin Fields was well off the fantasy radar. The fourth-year signal-caller just put himself back on the map with a breakout performance in Week 4, however. Fields had a terrific outing against the Indianapolis Colts, and while his team took its first loss of the season, the signal-caller posted a QB1 finish in fantasy. The 32 points Fields put up represent not just the most he's scored this year, but marked his best showing since Week 5 of last season. While Fields did plenty of damage through the air—racking up 312 yards and a touchdown on 22-of-34 passing while avoiding being intercepted—he was at his best on the ground. The dynamic playmaker made the most of his 10 totes, scampering for 55 yards and a pair of scores. It appears Fields is in line to remain Pittsburgh's starter following an impressive string of performances to open 2024. Not only is he 3-1 across his first four games in a Steelers uniform, but he's completing a career-high 70.6 percent of his throws—well above the 60.3 percent completion rate he averaged with the Chicago Bears—and has thrown just one interception. With Fields improving as a passer and continuing to keep defenses honest with his elusive rushing ability, the 25-year-old is quickly becoming a must-roster fantasy quarterback. While he hadn't posted a top-10 finish across the first three weeks, his 19.4-point, QB12-ranking Week 3 performance was respectable and should approximately represent his floor going forward. Fields can be a bye-week fill-in for someone like Jalen Hurts or Jared Goff, but can also be a long-term starter if you failed to land a top-10 quarterback in your draft.
- Kevork Djansezian/Suggested FAAB Bid: $9-12 The Kansas City Chiefs backfield has been become a fantasy wild card in wake of Isiah Pacheco's fibula fracture. With their starting running back on the shelf, the back-to-back defending champions have been seeing what they have in the likes of Carson Steele, Samaje Perine and recent free-agent pickup Kareem Hunt. Hunt appears to be in line for a bigger workload mere weeks after catching on with the club he began his career with. In his Week 4 debut against the rival Los Angeles Chargers, the veteran was tasked with 14 carries—nine more than any other Kansas City running back—and converted those totes into a respectable 69 yards. He was also involved as a pass-catcher, reeling in two of his three targets for 16 yards. Considering Steele mustered a meager six yards on his three touches and Perine contributed just 14 yards on five carries—although he did score the team's lone rushing touchdown—against the Bolts, it looks like Hunt is the Chiefs back to roster for now. While this could change as Kansas City continues to shuffle the deck and allocate playing time based on matchups or riding a hot hand—and with Clyde Edwards-Helaire returning soon—the lack of available backs with upside makes Hunt the best waiver target heading into Week 5. Even with a tough New Orleans Saints defense on tap, Hunt can be considered a plug-and-play flex option for those who need a bye-week or injury replacement.
- Cooper Neill/Suggested FAAB Bid: $8-11 After floundering to an 0-4 start, the Jacksonville Jaguars could be on the cusp of some drastic changes. The Travis Etienne-led backfield has performed particularly poorly, with the 2021 first-rounder averaging career lows of 53.5 yards on the ground and 12 yards through the air per game. Etienne's backup, Tank Bigsby, has been one of the few bright spots in Jacksonville's platoon. While the 2023 third-rounder hasn't been consistent—he posted two carries for nine yards in the two games that followed a 12-carry, 73-yard performance in the opener—he is coming off a career-best day against the Houston Texans. Despite being on the field for only 17 offensive snaps —which matched his Week 1 snap count—Bigsby posted an RB29 fantasy finish. He generated nine points by rushing for an extremely efficient 90 yards on just seven totes. Bigsby has proved he can be a difference-maker within an offense that direly needs one right now. He could start working in more as early as next week, especially with Etienne being forced out of Week 4 for a stretch after suffering a shoulder injury. Bigsby could be a key piece in turning things around for the Jags, but there are still some drawbacks fantasy managers should be wary of before inserting him into their Week 5 lineups. The 23-year-old is a relatively weak option in PPR formats due to his lack of impact in the passing game, having yet to see a single target this season. He wasn't involved as a rookie either, finishing his first NFL season with only one catch on four targets across 141 offensive snaps. Bigsby will likely find himself in a time share regardless of Etienne's status too, as D'Ernest Johnson remains in the mix. Even with those caveats, Bigsby is still worth taking a flier on this week and stashing on your bench as a backup with good upside. Bigsby is simply too talented and productive for Jacksonville to keep off the field much longer. With a massive 8.2 yards per carry average in 2024, he's even a decent flex play for those in deeper leagues despite a a potentially modest workload.
- Cooper Neill/Suggested FAAB Bid: $7-9 The New York Giants drafted an up-and-coming superstar in Malik Nabers who is rightfully generating much of the buzz around the Big Apple, but fellow Big Blue wideout Wan'Dale Robinson has quietly become a major fantasy asset. The third-year receiver has gotten off to the best start of his career, tallying up 26 receptions for 194 yards and a score in September. Robinson has established himself as the clear-cut No. 2 option behind Nabers and appears well ahead of the rest of New York's pass-catchers in the pecking order. His 38 targets are more than double the looks that Darius Slayton has garnered over the first four games, and that 25.5 percent target share gives him a strong floor in PPR formats. Even with Robinson only averaging 5.1 yards per target, he's primed to rack up strong finishes through sheer volume alone. He's coming off a season-best WR16 outing against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4, a game in which he hauled in 11 of the 14 balls launched his way for 71 yards. With a trip to the Pacific Northwest to face the Seattle Seahawks—a team that had allowed only 132.3 yards per game through the air entering Monday—on tap, Robinson looks to be in line for another slew of targets as the G-Men try to dink and dunk their way down the field. He may not make the highlight reel often while Daniel Jones remains under center, but Robinson is a legitimate fantasy producer and well worth rostering in just about every PPR league due to his voluminous role in the Giants' passing attack.
- Todd Rosenberg/Suggested FAAB Bid: $4-6 After selecting a pair of tight ends in Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft on Day 2 of the 2023 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers have been patiently waiting for one to emerge as a pass-catching weapon. It appears that Kraft will be the one to assume that mantle after a strong start to his second campaign. Kraft didn't generate much buzz coming into 2024 on the heels of an unexciting 31-catch, 355-yard, two-touchdown debut season. He's clearly taken a leap in Year 2, however, and already has 12 catches for 130 yards and a score under his belt. It's especially impressive production considering the team lost starting quarterback Jordan Love in the opener and only tasked backup Malik Willis with 33 throws across his two starts. Kraft is worth a pickup for any manager who has been streaming the tight end position. He's looking like a high-end starter with weekly top-10 upside, meaning he won't be available on waivers much longer.
Read the full article:https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10137403-fantasy-football-week-5-waiver-wire-kareem-hunt-and-more-bye-week-replacements
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