RADIO
We finally saw some fun offensive football in Week 5. 10 teams scored over 27 points. Seven quarterbacks threw for over 300 yards, led by an absurd 509 passing-yard day from Kirk Cousins.
We also had a five-touchdown performance (Joe Burrow), two quarterbacks with four touchdowns (Cousins and Lamar Jackson), and two others with three passing scores (Trevor Lawrence and Baker Mayfield). Four more teams will be on bye in Week 6, so teams must attack the waiver wire to keep pushing for the playoffs.
In this article, I will focus on players under 65% rostered in fantasy leagues while adding a couple of deep sleepers for two-quarterback leagues (less than 25% rostered).
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Single-QB Waiver Wire Pickups and Stashes
Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons
Yahoo: 55% rostered
No, Kirk Cousins’ Week 5 performance (42-of-58 for 509 yards and four touchdowns with an interception) isn’t sustainable. However, Cousins has looked better and better each week and is starting to figure out his pass-game weapons with the Falcons.
DID ANYONE START Darnell Mooney? 📈
pic.twitter.com/U5D5Ebc4X6— PFF Fantasy & Betting (@PFF_Fantasy) October 4, 2024
Atlanta’s offense didn’t surpass 30 passing attempts in a game in its first three weeks but has had 35 and 52 attempts in the last two weeks. He now has two games with over 19 fantasy points this season.
The Falcons' fantasy schedule over the next four weeks is extremely quarterback-friendly. Cousins will face off against the Panthers, Seahawks, Buccaneers, and injury-riddled Cowboys. Cousins is the lead waiver add if he’s available in your league due to his multi-week streaming appeal throughout the upcoming bye weeks.
Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers
Yahoo: 65% rostered
The Pittsburgh Steelers want to control the game through their rushing attack to keep things simple for Justin Fields. However, in recent weeks, we have seen him continue to be efficient as a passer while hitting his ceiling as a fantasy quarterback.
it's still not all totally clean, but Justin Fields keeps looking more confident and cutting out mistakes every week. pic.twitter.com/vsnDg48Kky
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) October 1, 2024
There is risk in trusting Fields given Pittsburgh’s offensive mindset. In the first two weeks of the season, he threw the ball just 23 and 20 times. In Weeks 3 and 4, he attempted over 30 passes. In turn, that led to a spike in his rushing production as well (16 carries for 61 yards and three touchdowns).
Fields is a reliable fantasy quarterback who has scored at least 11 fantasy points in every game to start the season. He also has two games with over 20 fantasy points (including 31.9 points in Week 4). There aren’t many quarterbacks on the waiver wire who can dominate a fantasy week, but Fields is one of them.
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
Yahoo: 60% rostered
Caleb Williams has struggled with inconsistency to start his career, but he’s been taking care of the football and incrementally improving week over week.
What makes this Caleb Williams TD even better is that he progresses on it.
this is a screen block & go concept at the top of the screen meant to pop Keenan Allen open.
when the deep safety flies over, Williams just calmly works over to Moore. pic.twitter.com/1Jbkx3Lbp4
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) October 6, 2024
Williams has three straight games with 11.0 or more fantasy points in matchups against the Colts, Rams, and Panthers. Chicago has shown a preference for controlling games with the run but isn’t afraid to air it out, either (52 pass attempts against the Colts).
Chicago’s rookie signal-caller is coming off his best career game against a terrible Panthers defense. He completed 20-of-29 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns. He also added five carries for 34 yards and could have had a better fantasy day if his rushing touchdown was called back due to a penalty.
The Bears offense is back to full strength with Keenan Allen back in the lineup, giving Williams plenty of options to pick apart opposing defenses. He gets an excellent matchup against the Jaguars secondary in Week 6 in London.
The rookie is also an interesting stash as well. Chicago will have its bye in Week 7, but come out of the break with matchups against Washington and Arizona. Be proactive and grab him now. He will have the potential to put up big fantasy points in three of the next four weeks.
Two-QB Waiver Wire Pickups and Stashes
Daniel Jones, New York Giants
Yahoo: 9% rostered
Nobody would have been surprised if Daniel Jones struggled against an active Seattle defense missing his best weapon. Instead, we got arguably the best game of his season.
Daniel Jones finds Slayton in the end zone 🎯
📺: #NYGvsSEA on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/clbzazMC51— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
Jones completed 23-of-34 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions. He also added 11 carries for 38 yards while scoring his most fantasy points in a game this season (22.0).
Jones now has three games this season with at least 18 fantasy points. One matchup was easy (Washington) with two big games against challenging foes (Cleveland and Seattle). As long as Malik Nabers returns, he’s a threat to put up respectable numbers due to the explosive rookie’s ability to turn any catch into a touchdown.
Jones also has a respectable rushing floor with five straight games with four or more rushing attempts. The Giants have back-to-back matchups against the Bengals and Eagles in the upcoming weeks. Those are two offenses that can force the Giants to throw the ball and two secondaries that have struggled to stop anybody this season.
Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Yahoo: 3% rostered
Every week that passes brings us closer to a world where Drake Maye is under center for the Patriots. Yes, the supporting cast around him is brutal, but this team needs to start evaluating the pieces it has to build around. A win against the Dolphins in Week 5 doesn’t change that.
Jacoby Brissett has done exactly what the team needed him to do. He’s taking an extraordinary amount of sacks and is taking care of the football. He only has one week with more than 10.0 fantasy points this season.
It always seemed unlikely that we would see Maye at the start of the season with a brutal opening schedule, but New England should have some easier matchups on the horizon.
Once Maye gets the green light to start, he will be a solid fantasy option thanks to his rushing ability and his strong arm. There will be highs and lows, but he’s a player who can put up a good fantasy day in the right matchup.
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