Last week was a bad week if you wanted to ickup an impact player on waivers and even thought this week may not be much better, I wanted to go over some players that still seem to be lingering on waivers. So this article will be primarily players that have less than 50% ownage in leagues yet should probably be on your roster or radar right now. So with that said, let’s get right into the NFL Week 5 Pickups.
QBs
Eli Manning – I know some of you will say there is no way you are going to depend on Eli Manning, but he has played much better in the new system over the past 2 weeks. He has been a good fatansy QB in the past, so this isn’t something that is just coming out of nowhere.
Joe Flacco – I can admit that even I have a hard time trusting Flacco, but with injuries to my own fantasy to Carson Palmer and RG3, I for one am taking a look at Flacco. With Pitta out, I thought it would hurt his production, but it looks like it has forced him to use his WRs more.
RBs
Jerick McKinnon – Even though Matt Asiata had the 3 TDs last week against the Falcons, McKinnon was by far the more explosive back. He ended ith 18 carries for 135 yards and woud have had a TD if not revesed on replay. He maybe the future star back for the Vikings.
Darrin Reeves – I probably should have recommeded Reeves last week, but I thought with DeAngelo WIlliams playing, Reeves wouldn’t see much time. However, just like we all know Ryan Mathews and Arian Foster will get hurt every year, so will DeAngelo WIlliams. Hopefully, it’s not too late in your league.
WRs
Brian Quick – I honestly don’t know how Quick is only owned in 43% of leagues. He has 16 catches for 235 yards and 1 TD in just 3 games. He is CLEARLY the #1 option on a team that will be typically down a lot and he is i his 3rd year, typically the breakout year for most WRs.
Andrew Hawkins – Speaking of floating under the radar, Hawkins is only owned in 39% of leagues and has 21 catches for 244 yards. Yes, he has been helped by Jordan Cameron’s injury, but he has proved to be a PPR monster and I don’t expect that to stop anytime soon.
Louis Murphy – With rookie Mike Evans out 2-4 weeks with a groin injury, Murphy will step in as an every down WR opposite Vincent Jackson. The Bucs are another team that will not have too many leads, so they will be throwing a lot and Muphy will benefit from single coverage.
TEs
Jordan Reed – Hey, remember this guy? Some of you probably won’t lay a finger on Reed, but Niles Paul has a concussion and we know how those can linger. We also must not forget that when healthy, as little time as it may be, Reed is a top 6 TE in PPG. Cousins has shown that he like throwing to the TE and when he’s not there he folds, so he’ll stick with throws to Reed.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins – Here’s a little known gem for you in deeper leagues if you’re without Niles Paul, Dennis Pitta, or Kyle Rudolph. Seferian-Jenkins is an athletic beast of a man who runs a 4.56 forty with a 37.5 inche vertical. With Evans out, he may end up benefiting more than Murphy. Last week he played every offensive snap.
DEFs
Cleveland Browns Defense – The Titans are a mess right now, and personally as a fan, they are an embarrassment to watch. If Locker plays, they may have a chance to look better, but even he has been iffy this year. If Whitehurst starts, jump on the Browns defense with confidence.
Green Bay Packers Defense – I’m not extremely high on the Packers defense this week, but I wanted to give a 2nd streaming defense just in case the Browns are taken. The Packers are bad against the run and we saw how Minnesota can do against bad rush defenses last week. This will be a closer game than you think.
Those are your NFL week 5 pickups. Enjoy the games.
