clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

4 adds and 3 drops in fantasy football for Week 5

A pair of Bengals show up on the list as an official changing of the guard isn’t far off.

Jacksonville Jaguars v Cincinnati Bengals Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

This was the first week that COVID-19 really impacted the NFL, and what is worse is there is some real uncertainty about whether this will be the last one. Week 5 is also the first week teams are scheduled to have byes, so the waiver wire becomes that much more important.

Here are the adds and drops for Week 5:

Adds

Dalton Schultz, tight end, Cowboys: Schultz has averaged eight targets the past three games. He ended up scoring another touchdown as Dallas attempted its improbable late comeback against Cleveland. He has become a pretty common target for Dak Prescott, and volume is one of the hardest things to find when picking up a tight end. He should be a pretty high add if you’re tight ends have been struggling.

Tee Higgins, wide receiver, Bengals: I know Higgins was part of this last week, but Higgins is still only owned in 33 percent of Yahoo! leagues. He had more targets than A.J. Green and he had 77 yards on four catches. He is becoming one of Joe Burrow’s most consistent targets behind Tyler Boyd, and he is only one week removed from connecting on two touchdown passes. This feels very much like you could be getting in on the ground floor of a very productive player.

Joshua Kelley, running back, Chargers: This is less about Kelley’s performance against the Bucs — because he didn’t have the best game — this is more about Austin Ekeler possibly missing a few games with injury. He is already rostered in over 50 percent of leagues, but that number needs to be much higher if he is about to handle most of the snaps in Ekeler’s absence. Justin Jackson also deserves a speculative add in deeper leagues as he will have a shot at playing time as well.

Tre’Quan Smith, wide receiver, Saints: This is a high risk high reward add. Smith has outplayed Emmanuel Sanders while Michael Thomas has been out. Smith had two touchdown catches this week as well. The hope is that Smith starts to receive more snaps than Sanders even once Thomas returns. It isn’t a guaranteed move that the team will make, but Smith could be even more dangerous when defenses also have to worry about Thomas as well.

Drops

A.J. Green, wide receiver, Bengals: This is a tough one. Green showed he either fully healthy or possibly just doesn’t have it anymore. The past few weeks Higgins has out played the veteran, and it is becoming obvious that Green either needs a few weeks off to fully recover or be reduced to a lesser role in the offense. Either way, you can probably find better options out there to start.

Brandin Cooks, wide receiver, Texans: It is probably true that Deshaun Watson can spread the ball well enough around to feed the plethora of mouths the Texans have at wide receiver. It doesn’t mean they will all be fantasy relevant, and Cooks has been proven to be left out the most often. He didn’t have a single catch against the Vikings terrible pass defense. He has only crossed the 25 receiving total once in four games.

Marvin Jones Jr., wide receiver, Lions: Jones hasn’t totaled over 55 yards yet in a game. It is obvious that Kenny Golladay is the preferred option at wide receiver, and T.J. Hockenson has also cut into the amount of targets Jones was receiving the last few years. He is heading into a bye week, and it it hard to believe anyone is going to try and snatch him up if you drop him for at least a week. Odds are you’ll find someone who will outplay him anyway.