Top Waiver Wire Adds for Week 5
Week 4 turned out to be a rough week for running backs with a few significant injuries. The most obvious waiver add for Week 5 will be Latavius Murray, but there are plenty more players to target this week, so let's get right to it.
Top waivers this week starts at the quarterback position with the breakout star, Deshaun Watson.
Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans | 44% OWN
Any team in need of a solid quarterback should look no further than Deshaun Watson. He had a monster game with 283 yards passing, 4 touchdowns and 1 rushing touchdown. The Texans have a tough schedule over the next few weeks facing both the Chiefs and @Seahawks in 2 of the next three weeks. Sandwiched in the middle is the Cleveland Browns.
Overall, Watson should be a pretty reliable quarterback for the rest of the season. We think he is the real deal and should put up sold numbers for the rest of the season. Expect him to be a borderline QB1, especially in favorable matchups and do not be surprised if he finishes the season in the top 5 in all quarterbacks.
Latavius Murray, Minnesota Vikings | 23% OWN
The Vikings have lost their lead running back Dalvin Cook due to an ACL. Next man up is Latavius Murray. Murray is not 100% according to Jerick McKinnon suffered a minor ankle injury but will also be part of the Vikings backfield.
Murray will be a popular waiver addition and someone that all teams should be targeting to help beef up their bench or use as a fill-in for Dalvin Cook.
Andre Ellington, Arizona Cardinals | 42% OWN
The Cardinals are similar to the Seahawks in terms of a backfield where the picture isn't entirely clear. Despite that, Ellington appears to be a guy who is safer to play than any of the Seahawks running backs. He ended Week 4 with 5 carries for 18 yards and caught 9 passes for 86 yards.
Those are huge numbers and is an extremely valuable back to add in PPR leagues. He will never be the primary ball carrying back because that role firmly belongs to Chris Johnson. However, he should be a reliable RB2 back in most lineups and should be the second running back to target behind Latavius Murray.
Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers | 6% OWN
Ty Montgomery suffered an injury to his chest and early reports indicated that he may have broken ribs. This was confirmed on Tuesday by J.D. McKissic, Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks backfield just got even more complicated after a significant injury hit Chris Carson in Week 4. Carson suffered a fracture in his left leg and suffered a severe high ankle sprain and will be out for quite awhile.
I want to stress the point that Lacy is no lock to take over running back duties for the Seahawks. In fact, it could be a toss up between Thomas Rawls and Eddie Lacy to get the bulk of the carries and the first chance at leading in terms of overall touches.
However, we also think that J.D. McKissic will get a shot after his breakout performance in Week 4 with 4 carries for 38 yards and a touchdown. Plus he added one catch for 27 yards and a touchdown. There is no doubt that he will get more opportunities based on that performance and could easily be the guy to grab on waivers.
Expect the Seahawks backfield to be unpredictable and unreliable moving forward. If you want to take a chance on these backs then go right ahead but it may take another week before their backfield situation has any clarity. Pay close attention to what coach Pete Carroll says during the week leading up to their next game against the Rams.
Will Fuller, Houston Texans | 38% OWN
Will Fuller is back with the Texans and made an immediate impact with 4 catches for 35 yards and 2 touchdowns.
"He had a good game," Texans coach Bill O’Brien said, via quotes distributed by the team. "He's a really good route runner. He's a tough guy. Obviously, [he has] great speed. You can line him up anywhere. He knows what to do at every position. Very smart player. Very calm guy. Never gets rattled. Just really good to have him back in there."
Obviously fantasy owners can't assume that he will be grabbing touchdowns each week, but there is no doubt that he will be heavily involved in the passing game. He should be looked at as a WR3 with a ceiling of a WR2. The good news is that the Texans have a solid quarterback now with Deshaun Watson.
Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago Bears | 5% OWN
The Mitchell Trubisky era is here and if the preseason told us anything it's that Trubisky has the ability to perform well. Trubisky finished the preseason competing 36 of his 53 passes for 364 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Bears fans will be ecstatic to see Trubisky make his debut at home.
Fantasy owners may want to jump on board early if they are in a pickle for a starting quarterback due to a bye week or poor match-up. Kirk Cousins owners, pay attention here! The Bears will face the Minnesota Vikings, who give up the 12th most points to fantasy quarterbacks this season.
So what do you say? Are you willing to roll the dice on Trubisky?
Taylor Gabriel, Atlanta Falcons | 29% OWN
The Falcons had a rough week in terms of wide reciever injuries with both Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu forced out of the game. The injury to Julio Jones does not appear to be serious, but the hamstring injury to Sanu will cause him to miss 2 to 3 weeks according to