Injuries really started taking their toll last week, as key players like Deshaun Watson (right shoulder), Jimmy Garoppolo (concussion), Austin Ekeler (ankle), and Saquon Barkley (ankle) were ruled out before their games, and Javonte Williams (hip), Mike Evans (hamstring), and Tee Higgins (ribs), among others, all exiting early during game action. With the byes now upon us, many will need to scour the waiver wire for fantasy football help across all positions, and our Week 5 FAAB budget planner is here to help with all of your potential pickups, big and small.
The first bye week takes away key performers from the Browns, Chargers, Buccaneers, and Seahawks. As usual, wide receiver and running back are hit the hardest, and fortunately, there are a few impact players at those positions widely available this week (Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Boyd, Michael Wilson, etc.)
If you need help determining how much of your free-agent acquisition budget (FAAB) to allocate to acquire these players and other worthwhile pickups, we're here to help. Here's your FAAB spending guide ahead of Week 5:
WEEK 5 FANTASY: Top pickups | Trade report
Week 5 Fantasy FAAB Advice: Waiver wire QB pickups, streamers
1. C.J. Stroud, Texans (Yahoo! league availability: 54%). Let's do this again. Stroud is having a historically special rookie season through four games, putting up smooth passing numbers with three multiple-TD outings in a row and back-to-back 300-yard games.
Lighting up the Steelers at home makes us convinced he's legit as an O-ROY front-runner should Houston remain competitive in reality. In fantasy, he should be rostered everywhere and considered someone to start most weeks. If you can still get him in non-superflex leagues, do it ASAP for a reasonable spend. Projected FAAB bid: 2-3% of total budget
2. Sam Howell, Commander (Yahoo! league availability: 73%). Howell rebounded from the Bills' absolute clunker to make very it prolific and interesting vs. the Eagles with his clutch arm and relentless legs. Howell gets a juicy matchup at home Thursday night against the Bears' banged-up defense. Washington then gets Atlanta, the Giants, and Philadelphia again over the next month. He's a great bye-week fill-in for even 10-team leaguers who might have Justin Herbert, Deshaun Watson, or Geno Smith. Projected FAAB bid: 2-3% of total budget
3. Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers (Yahoo! league availability: 82%). Baker delivered a troika of TDs on the tough Saints D on the road for his third impactful fantasy outing, along with near-250 yards passing and a bonus 31 yards rushing. He did that despite losing Mike Evans (hamstring) mid-game. He is off with the rest of his team in Week 5, but he has a couple of viable home matchups after that against Detroit and Atlanta. Projected FAAB bid: 0-1% of total budget
WEEK 5 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Week 5 Fantasy FAAB Advice: Waiver wire RB pickups, streamers
1. Jaleel McLaughlin, Broncos (Yahoo! league availability: 98%). Javonte Williams (hip) is on the shelf again with a new injury, albeit hopefully for a shorter duration. This undrafted rookie out of Youngstown State is throwing it back to the Mike Shanahan era of finding backs out of nowhere to provide big-time production. McLaughlin needed just 10 touches to put up 104 scrimmage yards and a TD, meshing well with Russell Wilson when the Broncos dug out of a big hole in Chicago. You can bet Sean Payton will take Williams' ailment as an opportunity to deploy McLaughlin more. Projected FAAB bid: 11-15% of total budget
2. Samaje Perine, Broncos (Yahoo! league availability: 48%). Perine wasn't getting much work before Williams went down early vs. the Bears, and the negative game script plus McLaughlin's explosive production limited him to only eight touches. He is bound to see more rushing work without Williams, but the dynamic McLaughlin seems like a much better fit for Payton's offense in the hybrid Alvin Kamara/Darren Sproles role. Projected FAAB bid: 8-10% of total budget
3. Chuba Hubbard, Panthers (Yahoo! league availability: 75%). Do some tubthumping for the Panthers' backup for Miles Sanders. Sanders did get down with his groin injury and did get up again to play vs. Minnesota, but Hubbard just looked healthier with a volume boost well into double digits. Sanders still looks like the start, but Hubbard is tabbed for a big role as a premium handcuff should that injury linger or a new one come. Projected FAAB bid: 6-8% of total budget
WEEK 5 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Week 5 Fantasy FAAB Advice: Waiver wire WR pickups, streamers
1. Tyler Boyd, Bengals (Yahoo! league availability: 63%). The Bengals' passing game provided a clunker against a bad Titans pass defense. Tee Higgins did little before exiting due to a fractured rib, so Boyd might not seem inspiring with Joe Burrow not putting up numbers. Then again, the Cardinals and Seahawks are on the schedule next. So, there's still hope Burrow can rev up again despite the calf injury. When he does that without Higgins, expect plenty more of Boyd in the slot to complement Ja'Marr Chase. Projected FAAB bid: 7-8% of total budget
2. Michael Wilson, Cardinals (Yahoo! league availability: 99%). Did you know Wilson's girlfriend is Sophia Smith of the USWNT? Maybe the Stanford rookie was inspired by her play in a short World Cup stay this summer to fight for a key role in the passing game behind Hollywood Brown. After flashing a little, he made full use of seven targets vs. the 49ers for a 7-72-2 line. He's really been their second-best wideout since summer, and now the work is paying off with WR3 value. Projected FAAB bid: 7-8% of total budget
3. Josh Reynolds, Lions (Yahoo! league availability: 61%). Yep, Reynolds is still out there doing just enough to have some appeal with his big-play role in their passing game. The Leos get the wilting Panthers secondary next, so watch carefully how Reynolds performs in relation to the newly activated Jameson Williams (who's also worth a pickup). Projected FAAB bid: 4-5% of total budget
4. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Titans (Yahoo! league availability: 100%). For the second straight week, NWI found the end zone vs. the Bengals. He had as many targets as DeAndre Hopkins (6), catching five for 51 yards. With Hopkins aging, Treylon Burks (knee) injured and Ryan Tannehill liking NWI in key situations, that's enough for a moderate-to-deep league pickup for the bench. Projected FAAB bid: 3-4% of total budget
5. Curtis Samuel, Commanders (Yahoo! league availability: 83%). Samuel is back being used as a key versatile cog, perhaps at the expense of Antonio Gibson. It's nice to see him get involved right there with fellow wideouts Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson. He's not exciting in tougher spots, but he can be a cheap WR3 streamer for the desperate vs. the Bears. Projected FAAB bid: 0-1% of total budget
6. Braxton Berrios, Dolphins (Yahoo! league availability: 98%). The Dolphins want one more key figure involved in their wideout/tight end passing game behind Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle, and if neither Cedrick Wilson nor River Cracraft can stay on the field to be that guy, then it's Berrios, who wasn't a zero as his jersey indicated in garbage time vs. the Bills. He can be considered in deeper, PPR-leaning leagues. Projected FAAB bid: 0-1% of total budget
7. Terrace Marshall Jr., Panthers (Yahoo! league availability: 100%). Adam Thielen is the clear No. 1 inside or out, but there are opportunities for Marshall and DJ Chark when Jonathan Mingo (concussion) can't go. Projected FAAB bid: 0-1% of total budget
8. Deven Thompkins, Buccaneers (Yahoo! league availability: 100%). We'll see about Mike Evans (hamstring) after the bye, but there's not much else here behind Chris Godwin. Thompkins did score against the Saints. Projected FAAB bid: 0-1% of total budget
9. Trey Palmer, Buccaneers (Yahoo! league availability: 100%). See Thompkins, Deven. Projected FAAB bid: 0-1% of total budget
Week 5 Fantasy FAAB Advice: Waiver wire TE pickups, streamers
1. Jake Ferguson, Cowboys (Yahoo! league availability: 47%). While Jake from State Farm was at the Eagles game with a notable mother of an elite NFL tight end, Jake from Wisconsin was the busiest receiver in Dallas with seven catches on seven targets for 77 yards Dak Prescott still loves his tight end, and none of the other receivers behind CeeDee Lamb are doing much. Projected FAAB bid: 0-1% of total budget
2. Cole Kmet, Bears (Yahoo! league availability: 47%). Kmet had 85 receiving yards vs. the Broncos to match his jersey number, and he also went back to his occasional multiple-TD ways. He is still getting enough looks with good durability to start more times than not in standard-sized leagues. Projected FAAB bid: 0-1% of total budget
3. Luke Musgrave, Packers (Yahoo! league availability: 64%). Musgrave lost a huge opportunity when he got concussed early vs. the Lions in Week 4. If cleared from protocol with extra time ahead of Monday night in Las Vegas (with Denver after that), he can rebound with viable numbers. Projected FAAB bid: 0-1% of total budget
4. Jonnu Smith, Falcons (Yahoo! league availability: 100%). This is an underrated storyline for Kyle Pitts being the pits. Arthur Smith and Desmond Ridder deserve a lot of the blame, but now they are favoring the former Titan a little more in high-leverage spots His treatment as an effective, athetic top target in London playing off Drake London wasn't a fluke. Hey, this passing game and the tight TE landscape suck enough to think Smith might be actually viable in more good matchups. Projected FAAB bid: 0% of total budget
Week 5 Fantasy FAAB Advice: Waiver wire D/ST pickups, streamers
(Note: Do not spend any of FAAB budget on D/ST! Get them for $0 after waivers run!)
1. Washington Commanders (Yahoo! league availability: 75%). The Broncos looked awful against the Bears ... until they didn't. Denver came through on the road with four sacks, two takeaways, and a D/ST touchdown. Expect the Commanders to deliver at home in Week 5 with the extra emotional energy boost of playing on Thursday night.
2. Detroit Lions (Yahoo! league availability: 90%). The Leos are next to get Bryce Young and the sputtering Panthers, who just gave up a defensive score to the Vikings.
3. Denver Broncos (Yahoo! league availability: 60%). You can now feel OK about them doing some damage against Zach Wilson and the Jets, too.
4. Houston Texans (Yahoo! league availability: 96%). DeMeco Ryans is quickly having them ball in his 49ers-like scheme. They get the ridiculous Ridder, who was pick-sixed by the Jaguars.
5. Green Bay Packers (Yahoo! league availability: 74%). They have been disappointing, but they get either Jimmy Garoppolo (concussion) or Aidan O'Connell on Monday night in what will be a home road game in Las Vegas.
