Week 5 Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Adds: Kareem Hunt, Trey Sermon, Emanuel Wilson

Ted breaks down the top running backs to target on your fantasy football waiver wire after Week 4.

Welcome to Week 5’s fantasy football running back waiver wire breakdown! This is a relatively bare week of waiver options, with a lot of similar names to each of the last few weeks. However, there are still a few under-the-radar gems to be found. Let’s get started!

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Week 5 Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Adds

Braelon Allen, New York Jets (48.8% Rostered)

Previously, I’ve recommended adding Allen, but only as a handcuff. However, his role just continues to grow. In Week 4, he hit a new career high with 44% of the Jets’ RB rushes. Given that he is outperforming Breece Hall in most efficiency metrics, he should continue to see significant usage.

With that said, Allen is just a deep-league flex. He shouldn’t go anywhere near your lineup in shallow leagues. However, in shallow leagues, it’s more important to shoot for upside … which Allen has heaps of. He would be a top-five RB if Hall were to miss time. He should be rostered in closer to 100% of leagues than 50%.   

Rico Dowdle, Dallas Cowboys (45.7% Rostered)

Dowdle again led the Cowboys’ backfield in Week 4, although he played less than 50% of snaps as Dallas used a wide variety of players out of the backfield. Still, Dowdle is the clear top option, and he even managed a solid fantasy day thanks to a receiving TD. He should be rostered.

Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons (32.4% Rostered)

With the Falcons’ new coaching staff, Allgeier started the season relegated to a pure handcuff role. He played 21% or fewer of the Falcons’ offensive snaps across each of the first three weeks and averaged just 4.1 Half-PPR points. 

However, in Week 4, Allgeier set season highs with a 38% snap share and 9.0 fantasy points. That’s obviously still not great, but the main reason this is worth noting is that Falcons Head Coach Raheem Morris noted after the game that this was an intentional strategic decision to roll with Allgeier as the “heavy back.” And Allegier does actually lead Robinson in yards over expected (per both SumerSports and NextGenStats) and the percentage of his carries that go for positive yardage. He’s probably still just a handcuff, but there’s a chance Allgeier is earning his way toward the goal-line-heavy role he saw in 2023, which occasionally provided him with standalone fantasy value.    

Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs (28.2% Rostered)

This was a massive L for me, as I firmly believed that Carson Steele was the back to target from this Chiefs backfield. The rookie fumbled on his first carry of the game, and Hunt was the clear lead back the rest of the way. The former Brown (and former Chief) finished the game with 14 rushing attempts and three targets on a 43% snap share, totaling 9.5 fantasy points.

Hunt should absolutely be added in all formats. With that said, this is not the Kareem Hunt of old. The 29-year-old ranked as one of the worst rushers in the league last year, beating out only Jamaal Williams in NextGenStats’ success rate. He also won’t see a full receiving workload, as that work belongs to Samaje Perine (who led Chiefs RBs in routes in Week 4). Hunt can be added and even flexed heading into Week 5, but don’t overreact.

Roschon Johnson, Chicago Bears (20.2% Rostered)

Coming into Week 4, it was reported that the Bears would give Roschon Johnson a chance to earn their lead back job. This made sense, as D’Andre Swift had been, bar none, the least efficient back in the league through three weeks. Of course, because this is fantasy football, Swift had easily his best game of the season, while Johnson played a snap share below his season average. 

However, Johnson did increase his involvement in the short-yardage game (at the expense of Khalil Herbert). And I don’t buy that Swift has suddenly turned over a new leaf after years of massively inefficient rushing. Eventually, Johnson should get his shot at this job, so holding or adding him in deep leagues is not a terrible idea, even if he’s trending in the wrong direction. 

Emanuel Wilson, Green Bay Packers (11.5% Rostered)

Someone who is trending in the right direction is Wilson. Even with Jordan Love back and a competitive game script for the Packers, he saw just one fewer carry than Josh Jacobs in Week 4. Jacobs still easily outpaced him in snaps (61% to 39%), routes (36% to 21%), and targets (four to zero), but Wilson was very involved in the run game. 

We know that Matt LaFleur wants to use a committee, and Wilson is outplaying his veteran teammate in every measure of rushing efficiency. While MarShawn Lloyd is on IR, Wilson joins the very rosterable group of handcuffs with standalone desperation flex value. 

Trey Sermon, Indianapolis Colts (0.9% Rostered)

This one is very, very simple. Jonathan Taylor is dealing with a high-ankle sprain. Normally, this results in at least a one-week absence. If JT is out, Sermon will be the Colts’ starting RB. He should be added in all leagues until we get clarity on Taylor’s health — drop your kicker, if you have to. 

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