By Chris Dell / Ben Martinez
Welcome to our Betting Predators Waiver Wire column, which will be more of a catch-all space and a serve as a supplement to our weekly waiver wire rankings on the website. Please note, all players listed below are owned in less than 33.3% of ESPN leagues. Thank you for reading, as always, and don't hesitate to reach out with your fantasy questions - @MaddJournalist on Twitter. BOL on your FAB bids/ waiver claims!
Quarterbacks
Taylor Heinicke 12.6% (vs KC) - Taylor Heincke had his worst fantasy game of the year in Week 5 with only 9.9 points, sure, but no quarterback is immune to down games in fantasy (even Kyler Murray managed just 13 fantasy points on Sunday). What Heinicke does have in his favor now is a match up against one of the bottom-feeder secondaries in the league. The Chiefs rank dead last (32nd) in fantasy points given up to quarterbacks this season and are just 24th overall in the league in coverage grade according to PFF. Prior to Week 5, Heinicke had posted three straight 21-plus fantasy point performances (top 10 QB in fantasy points per game from Weeks 2-4) and has the weapons in his offense to take advantage of a plus matchup with Terry McLaurin, J.D. McKissic and Antonio Gibson. The Chiefs are tops in the NFL in 20+ yard completions allowed and this game sports the highest over/under total on the board (55.5) for Week 5. With "The Team" being near-touchdown home dogs here, we can comfortably project for a negative game to allow for extra passing and some late scrambling opportunities to boot. Recommended FAB Bid: 5%
Geno Smith 0.1% (at PIT) - Geno is a "break glass in case of emergency" type of fantasy quarterback, sure, but with injuries piling up throughout the league and four teams on bye this week, good ole Geno might not be a bad option if you are in a pinch. Coming in for Wilson last Thursday night, Smith completed 10 of his 17 pass attempts for 131 yards and a touchdown, as well as adding 23 rushing yards on 3 carries. Geno gets the start on the road against a Steelers defense that despite being stout against the run has actually been carved up through the air since Week 1. Teddy Bridgewater scored 18 fantasy points against the Steelers in Week 4, and in this case Geno gives us more of a rushing floor AND better weapons in DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett than Bridgewater has. This is a deep-league only type of stash/stream, but you could certainly do a lot worse than starting Geno Smith nonetheless. Recommended FAB Bid: 1%
Honorable Mention: Justin Fields 32.2% (vs GB), Matt Ryan 29.5% (BYE), Tua Tagovailoa 24.5% (IR), Teddy Bridgewater 16.8% (vs LV), Mac Jones 13.6% (vs DAL), Jared Goff 9.1% (at MIN), Carson Wentz 5.5% (vs HOU)
Running Backs
Darrel Williams 7.6% - At times last season Williams performed like an RB1 when the opportunity was given. Playing in a high-powered offense like that of the Chiefs is something you want to take advantage of as fantasy managers too. Williams played 50% of the snaps in relief of Clyde Edwards-Helaire on Sunday night after CEH suffered a sprained MCL and will now miss at least a few weeks of action. Williams will be the next man up to carry the load for the Chiefs in the backfield and should also split time running routes and earning targets from Mahomes with the likes of Jerick McKinnon. The Chiefs are on the road versus Washington and Tennessee, two amazing get-right matchups for this squad, then back home against the bruised and battered New York Football Giants. This gives Williams some more than favorable matchups against three teams which have defenses that rank in the bottom half versus the run and project to give Kansas City plenty of positive game scripts to help give him more clock-draining carries down the stretch. This is Williams' job to lose until CEH returns. Recommended FAB Bid: 20-25%
Devontae Booker 3.8% - Unlike last week's top recommendation of Damien Williams (and the aforementioned Darrell Williams), Devontae Booker looks to be the lone man standing in the Giants' backfield for the amount of time Barley is out (currently considered "week to week"). In relief of Barkley vs the Cowboys in Week 5 we saw Booker run for 42 yards on 16 attempts and score a touchdown. Even more impressive was the fact he was actively involved in the passing game via four targets, three catches and a receiving touchdown. That receiving work will give us a nice floor to work with given two tough upcoming matchups at home against the Los Angeles Rams and the Carolina Panthers for New York. Booker should give you borderline flex/low-end RB2 usage to plug in if you're desperate and if he remains involved in the long down and distance and two-minute offense with the passing game, then he could even crack the RB2 tier before Barkley returns from injury. Recommended FAB Bid: 15-20%
Khalil Herbert 4.7% - Damien Williams WHO? The number one waiver wire pick up after Week 4 was sharing the load with sixth round rookie Khalil Herbert even though Herbert wasn't involved in the passing game (zero targets to three targets for Williams). In a positive game script for Chicago, however, we did see Williams get outsnapped 34 to 31 by Herbert and shared the same amount of touches overall. Next week the Bears get a home divisional date with the Green Bay Packers, who have now given up over 100 yards rushing to 3 of their last 5 opponents. The Bears could look to establish the run early with a banged up Justin Fields and conservative offense in order to grind this game out for a win. And if anything ever happened to Williams - who was already dealing with a thigh contusion at the end of Week 3 - then we could see Herbert end up shouldering 20+ touches per week here. Recommended FAB Bid: 10-15%
Brandon Bolden 8.1%/Rhamondre Stevenson 5.8% - Its anyone's guess what goes through the mind of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick when it comes to his running backs, but with Damien Harris going down on Sunday with an apparent rib/chest injury, it's possible we get at least one or two weeks to try and take advantage. One thing is for certain though: Bolden is the Patriot number one receiving back after running 17 routes and being targeted 4 times. The dream scenario for Bolden backers is that Harris misses games and Stevenson fumbles early in Week 6, which could give Bolden the green light for a heavy workload. Bolden should only be used in either half or full PPR leagues due to the possibility he still only plays in the passing game and isn't used on early down/red zone situations much. Stevenson, on the other hand, offers the upside which made him a hot later-round pickup during fantasy draft season.. As of this writing Harris is listed as day-to-day, but if he misses time remember that Stevenson handled 11 carries for 23 yards against the Texans after Harris was ruled out but didn't see a single target. Against a strong Dallas offense in Week 6 we'd prefer to bet on Bill's top receiving back, but it's worth stashing both until we get some added clarity on Harris' situation. Remain modest with your bids. Recommended FAB Bid: 5%
Honorable Mention: Samaje Perine 32.5%, Mark Ingram II 21.4%, Giovani Bernard 10.7%, Marlon Mack 3.8%, Jeremy McNichols 3.8%, Kyle Jusczcyk 2.1%, Salvon Ahmed 1.8%, Jaret Patterson 1.8%, Devonta Freeman 1.2%, Jerick McKinnon 0.7%
Wide Receivers
Kadarius Toney 12.2% - Kadarius Toney stood to be the undisputed number one add this week, but unfortunately he was hurt sometime during the game before he was thrown out for punching Cowboy safety Damontae Kazee. Toney's status is in the air for Week 6, but in the meantim he's absolutely still worth a stash for everyone in need of a wide receiver or just a wait-and-see bench staff for the added upside and depth Toney provides as an uber talented rookie: 13 targets, 10 receptions and breaking OBJ's Giants' rookie receiving yard record with 189 yards is one tough task to complete, but indeed Toney did all of that despite playing for nearly one half with long-necked Glennon under center. If Toney is not suspended and healthy to play, then he should be a near lock in everyone's line up against the Los Angeles Rams. NY will be without Golladay next week and Shepard/Slayton both seem unsure of when they'll return. Try buying low off Toney's injury situation in dynasty if possible. Recommended FAB Bid: 15-20%
Tim Patrick 29.7% - In Week 5 we saw Tim Patrick up a solid receiving line of 9 targets, 7 receptions and 89 yards, and until Jerry Jeudy returns to this team, we're going to continue to see Patrick remain heavily involved. His 57 snaps and 40 routes were both team highs in Week 5), and if you have a WR on bye this week he's a fine streaming option to plug in and high-floor play as well. Patrick's targets have increased in every game this season and has now topped 5+ catches and 89+ yards in two of his last three outings; the next four weeks give us some nice matchups with games against the Raiders, Browns, Washington and Cowboys. Patrick could remain your starter for the next month or more, which will keep him steadily on our list from week to week until he crosses the 33.3% ownership threshold. Recommended FAB Bid: 10-15%
Amon-Ra St. Brown 4.3% - For the second straight week now the rookie St. Brown has scored 13+ fantasy points. St. Brown led all Lions pass catchers in snaps with 47 in Week 5, as well as in targets with 8, receptions with 7 and receiving yards with 65. He was also second on the team in routes run to Hockenson, 32 to 31. Five of St. Brown's receptions were for 1st downs and 51 of his 65 yards came after the catch. This Lions WR crop is surely a difficult one to grasp, but St. Brown has emerged as the number one slot receiver next to Hockenson and could continue to benefit from negative game scripts and Detroit needing to remain in pass-happy mode while playing from behind. Recommended FAB Bid: 5-10%
Honorable Mention: Jamison Crowder 31.9%, Christian Kirk 28.1%, Sammy Watkins 27.7%, Josh Gordan 24.6%, TY Hilton 18.6%, Parris Campbell 17.8%, Rashod Bateman 12.8%, Van Jefferson 10.9%, Adam Humphries 0.4%
Tight End
(exception to the 33.3% rule) Hunter Henry 35.7% - What a difference a single month can make. Week 1 saw Jonnu Smith dominate the tight end receiving work and Hunter Henry set up for mostly blocking duties, but since then we've seen a gradual role reversal amongst New England's tight end room. In Week 5 Henry dominated Smith in routes run 25-8, targets 8-2 and receiving yards 75-27. Henry now has back to back weeks with a red zone touchdown catch (and most importantly, red zone targets). Mac Jones trusts Hunter to be his check down security blanket when no one is open next to Jakobi Meyers, and he's a must add now if you are carrying bust tight ends who commanded mid-to-late round fantasy draft capital like Tyler Higbee, Robert Tonyan or even the aforementioned Jonnu Smith himself. Recommended FAB Bid: 10%
Ricky Seals-Jones 0.9% - Seals-Jones gets a great match up against Kansas City in Week 6 and should be heavily involved in a game with a 55.5 over/under total after seeing 82 snaps, 42 routes run (just one route behind Terry McLaurin), a team high 8 targets with 5 receptions for 41 yards in Week 5. The 26 year-old tight end has the juice to make big plays for this Washington Football Team and will get added looks downfield due to Heinicke's ability to extend the pocket/plays with his legs. With three more weeks to go until WFT's bye, you could do a lot worse than starting Seals-Jones at tight end over aforementioned busts such as Higbee, Tonyan or even underwhelming options like Noah Fant. Recommended FAB Bid: 5%
Dan Arnold 1.3% - It didn't take long for Dan Arnold to become a trustworthy weapon for Trevor Lawrence in this offense. In Week 5 Arnold was second in snaps behind teammate Marvin Jones 66-52, second in routes ran 33-30 and actually LED the team in targets with 8, receptions with 6 and yards with 64. It might seem hard to start Arnold in a standard 12 team ppr league, but a plus matchup in Miami, in addition to Kittle landing on IR and Pitts on bye, could alone thrust Arnold into the borderline TE1 conversation in Week 6. This could be the beginning of many startable weeks to come Recommended FAB Bid: 5%
Honorable Mention: Evan Engram 30.5%, Tyler Conklin 23.4%, David Njoku 1.6%, Hayden Hurst 1.2%, Tommy Tremble 0.5%, Mo Alie-Cox 0.7%
D/ST
(Exception to the 33.3% rule): Cowboys 35.4% @ NE
Bengals 17.1% @ DET
Packers 20.0% @ CHI
Vikings 21.6% @ CAR