Dynasty Waiver Wire: Week Five
Before this Sunday, I had an idea for this introduction to be about how there haven’t been as many injuries to the quarterback position this year, especially not like last year. I was going to say something about how Russell Wilson was really the first big QB injury, but how we have been pretty lucky in that regard for 2021.
Then Sunday happened.
The blue medical tent saw a lot of quarterbacks this week, including Daniel Jones, Derek Carr, Justin Fields, Ben Roethlisberger, Jacoby Brissett, Joe Burrow like five times. My point is, my original introduction was ruined by this weekend of football and now you can see how bad this new introduction is. I actually hope this week you are not even reading this introduction and just skipped down to the players’ names.
In case you are reading this, there is one bit of information to know before you start reading names. Just like last year’s series, we will be utilizing player rostership percentages, courtesy of dynasty rosters from SafeLeagues and the great Scott Fish. Using that data, I developed an app to view rostership data from over 600 SafeLeagues dynasty leagues, all using the same format and scoring (2 PPR tight end premium). While this may not be entirely accurate for every individual league, it is very reflective of how managers view who is worthy or not of a roster spot. Now that that is covered, let’s dive into the waiver wire after week five!
Players to double-check availability and immediately add:
- Cordarrelle Patterson, RB ATL
- Alex Collins, RB SEA
- Darrel Williams, RB KC
- Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR DET
- Dan Arnold, TE JAC
- David Njoku, TE CLE
Geno Smith, QB SEA
Poor Russell Wilson. The guy has been an ironman at the QB position for years and a thumb surgery does him in. In his stead, Smith ended up doing pretty well, all things considered. He threw for 131 yards and a touchdown on 17 attempts, while also rushing for 23 yards in just under half the game. Smith will be the Seahawks starter for the foreseeable future, so as bye weeks start to kick in, many managers could find themselves in need of a spot starter in their superflex spot, especially if you lost Wilson. A backup QB could find himself in a worse position offensively than Smith, since he has the benefit of throwing to Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, while also offering a nice rushing floor for fantasy.
Mike Glennon, QB NYG
Speaking of backup QBs in a worse position than Smith, insert Glennon. Glennon found himself the starter for nearly the entire game against the Cowboys and let’s just say he performed as expected. Also going against him was the injury grenade that hit the Giants offense this week, taking out Saquon Barkley, Kenny Golladay, and then Kadarius Toney was going for x-rays after being ejected late in the game. Glennon is only a pickup in dynasty superflex leagues and even then, I’m not sure how worth picking up he is.
Devontae Booker, RB NYG
Like I mentioned above, Saquon Barkley left the game early with an injury that has been labeled a low-grade ankle sprain, which puts him “week-to-week”. In his place, Booker saw a workhorse workload, with 16 carries and 4 targets for 58 total yards and two touchdowns. The efficiency wasn’t there for Booker, but the Dallas defense is pretty solid and the Giants were losing the entire game. Although that second part will be true for a lot of Giants games moving forward, it is still important to see Booker’s usage and his potential weekly volume for every week Barkley misses.
This is a very similar add to Damien Williams from last week, and Booker may be necessary for a lot of managers as bye weeks start to play a part in lineup decisions moving forward. What is also great about adding Booker is rostering a known handcuff with known utilization as the starter. While the production may not be as great as other handcuffs like Alexander Mattison, the volume is there and that makes Booker viable. Barkley has also not been the picture of health going on three seasons now, so Booker is a great stash on anyone’s roster.
Brandon Bolden, RB NE
Bolden should have been on last week’s article, but it is good to see he is still available in almost 30% of dynasty leagues this week. While the production wasn’t there for him this week, Bolden still looks like the James White replacement on this Patriots offense, totaling ten targets over the last two weeks. You can throw him in a tier with other pass-catching backs like Nyheim Hines, JD McKissic, Giovani Bernard, etc, as fantasy players who will almost exclusively produce through their receiving volume, but in PPR leagues that volume can give you a quick 10-15 points on almost any given week.
John Ross, WR NYG
This is super gross that we have come to this level, but here we are. Every week there are a dozen wide receivers who could be worth adding, but I believe Ross could be at the top of that list this week. He has seen nine targets over the last two weeks, was second on the team in targets this week, and may become extremely necessary for the Giants receiving corps if Kenny Golladay or Kadarius Toney miss time, as well as Saquon Barkley. Glennon LOVED Toney this week to the tune of ten receptions for 189 yards, and what is Ross if not an even faster Toney? I don’t think you need to be running to the waiver wire to blow FAAB on Ross, but if he is there and you are still holding on to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Allen Lazard, or Anthony Miller, just swap those guys out for Ross and see what happens.
Ricky Seals-Jones, TE WAS
Seals-Jones should have also been on last week’s article, but in my defense, he really didn’t do much last week but run a bunch of routes. However, all those routes could turn into actual opportunity, like they did this week. He saw eight targets and hauled in five for 41 yards, which is a solid day for a tight end who doesn’t score. Seals-Jones has basically taken over the Logan Thomas role in snaps, routes, and now targets. Seals-Jones could be started by a handful of teams in every dynasty league almost immediately, but especially as bye weeks start next week. Thomas was placed on IR and is out for at least the next two weeks. In that timeframe, we will have bye weeks for Kyle Pitts, Dawson Knox, Dalton Schultz, and Dan Arnold, and if Thomas is out in week eight, then Mark Andrews and Darren Waller will also have bye weeks.
Other players to keep an eye on:
- Kendrick Bourne, WR NE
- Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR CLE
- Ross Dwelley, TE SF
Deep stashes:
- Chris Moore, WR HOU
- Chris Conley, WR HOU
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