Pigskin Papers Waiver Wire- 2022 Week 5
Jared Goff is Going Off
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(Published October 3, 2022)
Welcome to the Waiver Wire, Week 5! Believe it or not, we’re almost at the quarter pole for the season. If your roster needs help, you might find some this week as it’s a pretty good week for free agents.
****See the Week 4 Takeaways Column: https://www.thepigskinpapers.com/posts-1/pigskin-papers-take-3-2022-week-4 ******
Each week, I try to identify the top Waiver Wire targets and evaluate the short and long term prospects of those players. I also do my best to identify which players who are coming off a big week are fool’s gold.
Some of the players I’ll talk about won’t be available in your league. As a general rule, I list players who are available in more than 50% of leagues. But what does that even mean? A 10 team league with 6 bench spots will have a much larger free agent pool than a 14 team league with 8 bench spots. Most leagues fall somewhere in between. This isn’t “one size fits all.” I’m not listing Melvin Gordon this week, because he should already be rostered in all leagues.
As a matter of strategy, I like to try to plan ahead for Bye weeks. The Byes start in Week 6 with the Lions, Texans, Raiders and Titans. If you’re relying on options from one of these teams for your starting QB, PK, TE or DST and don’t have an adequate and healthy backup, you might want to look ahead at Week 6 matchups, and use this week’s Waiver Wire to pick up the option you want for the following week, to avoid more competition.
Let’s look at the Week 5 Waiver Wire.
Geno Smith has been a Huge Surprise
QB - We have a lot of names to consider this week.
Jared Goff is surprisingly still available in a lot of leagues. He shouldn’t be. Even with 3 of his top weapons out, he went off this week. The Lions are playing in shootout after shootout, and through 4 weeks Goff is the QB 5 in fantasy. I’ve got Cousins and Goff in one league, and it’s hard to make a case for Cousins over him at this point. 280 points have been scored in total in the Lions’ first 4 games - that’s a new NFL record. It’s good to have a piece of this offense.
Geno Smith is an attractive depth add for some of the same reasons as Goff. I’ll admit I’ve been skeptical, but so far in the young season, he’s played well, and produced. The Seahawks can’t play defense and are often playing catch up, and Geno has good offensive weapons at his disposal. He’s the QB10 on the year and while I don’t expect him to continue at this pace, he’s a better second QB option than Justin Fields, Baker Mayfield, Marcus Mariota, and several others.
Teddy Bridgewater is going to be starting for the Dolphins in Week 5, and probably for at least several weeks after that as Tua recovers. You can be sure that Miami, already in the crosshairs for how Tua’s situation was handled, won’t rush him back. Bridgewater is a capable starter, has explosive receivers to throw to, and the schedule is favorable over the next month. He’s a good add in Superflex leagues or if you need a streamer or occasional starter in the coming weeks.
Zach Wilson is a hard QB to trust, but if you want to take a gamble, he could produce some good weeks in fantasy going forward. The Jets have that same winning combo for a fantasy QB: decent weapons plus a bad defense. If you need a second QB, and the players above aren’t available, he’s worth considering.
The Kenny Pickett era has begun. There will be bumps and plenty of turnovers along the way, but once again, the situation is favorable for fantasy production. He’s got very good weapons around him, and the defense isn’t close to Steeler standards. I wouldn’t start him right away, but he’s a good speculative add for QB depth.
Tyler Algeier is Worth an Investment this Week
RB - More injuries (Javonte Williams, Jonathan Taylor, Cordarelle Patterson, Kamara again) means more RBs to grab.
Tyler Allgeier is a priority add this week. Patterson is going to miss at least a month, and the Falcons are as run-heavy as pretty much any team in the league. At one point on Sunday they called runs on 14 consecutive plays! Allgeier looked good this week, in his first extended action. He won’t get all the work - in deeper leagues, also consider his teammate Caleb Huntley.
If Brian Robinson is for some reason a free agent in your league, he’s another priority add. He’s expected to be activated off IR for this week, and based on how things were trending before his accident (he was shot - I don’t know what to call that), it seems likely that he’ll quickly cut into Antonio Gibson’s workload, and nobody will be surprised if he eventually takes over the backfield.
Latavius Murray was elevated from the Saints practice squad for the London game and surprisingly got a lot more work than Mark Ingram, and looked spry. He was then returned to the practice squad, and is being signed by the Broncos. Melvin Gordon is still there, although he fumbled again on Sunday and was limited in practice Monday. The Broncos also have Mike Boone, so the waters are a little muddy on this one and I wouldn't spend too much on either back.
Nyheim Hynes should get more reps if Jonathan Taylor misses time, although it shounds like Taylor avoided serious injury. The Colts play on Thursday night so if you’re in a pinch he’s not a bad option, especially in full PPR. Philip Lindsay also is likely to factor in if Taylor misses time, and he’s a more traditional early-down back then Hynes. He’s another name you could consider and especially if you have Taylor rostered.
Rachaad White and Isaiah Pachecko are 2 more names to consider this week as good depth adds: - both are getting more opportunities, on offenses that score. And they’ll cost less than the others listed above.
I’ll list Raheem Mostert again this week - if for some reason he’s on your wire, he’s got good value and provides nice depth. He should be rostered in all leagues.
Pittsburgh’s New Pitcher and Catcher
WR - It’s Rookies week!
Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson are both worth adding, in that order. It may take a while, but one or both of these players should eventually emerge as a guy you can trust as a Flex or maybe even a WR3. Doubs has the inside track.
George Pickens might benefit the most from the move to Pickett - the 2 rookies got a lot of work together in the preseason. If Pickens is on your wire, he’s worth an add. Pickett to Pickens - that connection has a nice ring to it. Like Manning to Manningham.
Alec Pierce has been getting more run for the Colts, with 61yards on 5 targets 2 weeks ago and 80 yards on 6 targets this past week. He’s another rookie that should continue to see a steady uptick in usage, on an offense that will hopefully improve. I like him as a depth add.
A collection of names you could consider this week - none are that exciting, but all are decent depth adds who can give you more options through bye weeks and injuries: Michael Gallup, Davante Parker, Corey Davis, Noah Brown, and Mack Hollins.
TE - Everyone’s favorite position…
I’ve listed Hayden Hurst a couple of times this year and I’ll list him again. He’s got some value, at a position with few trustworthy options.
Will Dissly is the TE to own in Seattle, not Noah Fant. He’s got 12 catches and 3 TDs on just 12 targets - an impossible level of efficiency to maintain, so this one might not pan out.
Mo Alie-Cox went off this week, but I don’t see long term consistency with him. He’s a dart throw at best.
PK - Really!
If you need a streamer this week, consider Nick Folk (vs. Lions), Riley Patterson (vs. Texans), Will Lutz (vs. Seahawks), or Jason Sanders (at Jets).
DST - Yup, really!
Streamers to consider this week: MIN (vs. CHI), JAC (vs. HOU), GB (vs. NYG in London), and MIA (@NYJ)
DH
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