Dynasty Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Week Five
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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 real dynasty rosters from 1700 MFL leagues. 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’s covered, let’s dive into the waiver wire after week four!
Players to double-check availability and immediately add:
- Aidan O’Connell, QB LV
- Deuce Vaughn, RB DAL
- Michael Wilson, WR ARI
- Tyler Boyd, WR CIN
- Terrace Marshall, WR CAR
- Logan Thomas, TE WAS
- Cade Otton, TE TB
Bailey Zappe, QB NE
After listing off a handful of backup quarterbacks to add last week who could get thrown into games because of struggling starters, I did not have Zappe on that list. To be honest, I still don’t really believe that Mac Jones being benched for Zappe was truly because Jones was bad; the game was just so out of hand that it just made sense to bench your starter and give your backup some more reps. So while this may not change anything for Jones or Zappe moving forward, we’ve at least seen now that Bill Belichick is willing to make this switch almost at a moment’s notice when Jones is struggling, so it’s not unlikely that it could happen again later this season, but as a permanent change. Zappe is now added to the list of backups to roster with other names like Jake Browning, Jacoby Brissett, and Taylor Heinecke.
Mitchell Trubisky, QB PIT
Recommending to add Trubisky is really gross because I can’t honestly say if he is a better quarterback than Kenny Pickett (and Pickett is reallyyyy bad) or at minimum this Steelers offensive scheme from Matt Canada is REALLYYY BAD. So if Pickett misses time with the knee injury that forced him to leave the game early, Trubisky would be the starter. But does that matter when Trubisky isn’t as good as Pickett and Pickett has been terrible for fantasy through four weeks? Your hope here is to just add Trubisky and then immediately flip him for a fourth to someone who needs a quarterback.
Jaleel McLaughlin, RB DEN
Continuing with more injury news, Javonte Williams left the game early with a hip injury, and in his place, McLaughlin led the backfield in rush attempts and targets, totaling 104 yards and a touchdown on 10 touches. Fun fact: McLaughlin is actually college football’s all-time leading rusher, totaling over 8,000 rushing yards and 79 touchdowns over five seasons in college, but all small schools of course. But McLaughlin is a fun dude to watch and I do think he would be more of the guy in the Broncos backfield than Samaje Perine in any games Williams were to miss. He’s certainly a must-add player this week.
Deven Thompkins, WR and Trey Palmer, WR TB
Mike Evans left the game early with a hamstring injury, and in his stead, Thompkins caught four passes for 45 yards and a score, and had an 11-yard rush as well. We know how detrimental hamstring injuries can be, especially to these older receivers like Keenan Allen last year and Cooper Kupp currently, so if this injury is serious for Evans, this could be a multi-week, if not even a multi-month absence. With that said, I’m not sure Thompkins would become an every-week fantasy starter as the Bucs’ new WR2, he might not even be the Bucs’ WR2 without Evans and this game could’ve just been the best game of his career, but if you have an extra roster spot available and can get Thompkins for free, why not?
Trey Palmer also becomes an interesting name if Evans is out for multiple weeks, but he’s rostered in a ton of leagues already and most likely isn’t on your waiver wire if you’re in an active or deep enough league. But after becoming a hot name in the preseason, he’s had a minimal role in the Bucs offense to start, but that could change due to his speed and decent size, so if he is available, scoop him up too. The Buccaneers do have a bye this week, so this all could be for naught if Evans is back after a week off, but they are a couple of names to monitor on waivers this week.
Jonnu Smith, TE ATL
Okay, I don’t know if anyone out there actually knows this, but Smith is averaging seven targets a game. Which… in the Falcons offense, basically means he’s the top target for Desmond Ridder. But like, actually though, Smith has 20 targets over the last three games and is averaging 11 PPR points per game without scoring a touchdown. He has had either four receptions or 40 yards in those three games and kind of broke out Sunday in London with six receptions for 95 yards. We are at the point where Smith might be an every-week starter at the position and should be treated closer to guys like David Njoku, Jake Ferguson, Pat Freiermuth, Dalton Kincaid, and even Kyle Pitts in terms of their weekly viability in your lineup for this season. It’s wild we’re at this point, but we are, and the fact that he’s only rostered in less than 70% of leagues is insane given the production he’s had recently as Atlanta’s TE1!
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