Bye, Bye, Bye – Week 5 Streamers and Stashes

Bye weeks have arrived and that means depth becomes so much more important. So as always, I’ll be telling you who to stream this week to cover for your missing Chiefs and Panthers, and who to stash for the bye week bonanzas to come.

To keep things simple, we’ll define a streamer as any player you wouldn’t usually start who is a viable option for this week. They may be on your bench or they may be on waivers, depending on your league. We’ll define a stash as any player you can potentially find on waivers that you should stash for the future, either because they have a favorable match-up coming up, or because they could become a future fantasy starter. All players will have under 80% ownership on either Sleeper or Yahoo (ideally both) or would usually be bench stashes in most leagues.

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QB Streamers:

Jacoby Brissett (ARI – 13%): Everyone is fantastic against the Lions, and Brissett has typically performed best against good offenses. He loves getting into a shootout and could end up with a huge amount of passing this week.

Jameis Winston (NYG – 4%): The Commanders are a top three matchup for quarterbacks and Winston is coming off a much-improved performance against the Cardinals, where he was the QB8.

Tyler Huntley (BAL – 1%): With Lamar Jackson likely to miss the next week or two, Huntley is the guy to use in superflex leagues if you’re scrambling for cover. The Falcons are far weaker against the pass than against the run.

QB Stashes:

Kirk Cousins (LV – 15%): I don’t love Cousins this week against the Patriots, but his Week 6 lineup is far juicier, when you may need cover for Joe Burrow or Jared Goff. Stash him now as there may be a fight for him if he goes off again this week.

RB Streamers:

Emanuel Wilson (SEA – 50%), Braelon Allen (NYJ – 78%), Ollie Gordon (MIA – 62%) and Alvin Kamara (NO – 68%): This is a reminder that these guys are all currently starters for their teams. Wilson and Allen can be started every week, Kamara leads a committee but gets a tough matchup against the Vikings, and Gordon is tenuously the lead guy in a moderate matchup against the Bengals.

Kyle Monangai (CHI – 80%): D’Andre Swift got benched in Week 4 for fumbling again, leading to a huge game by Monangai. It’s unclear who will start this week, but the Packers are one of the best running back matchups, so I’m willing to take the risk and start both.

Will Shipley (PHI – 1%): In many leagues, Shipley was the best running back available entering waivers. That means you may just need to risk it with the only Eagles back left standing. I expect they’ll bring in a veteran or practice squad guy who will handle much of the early down work, but there’s a chance Shipley is the main guy and that’s better than most other options.

RB Stashes:

Marshawn Lloyd (GB – 54%): Chris Brooks is headed to IR, meaning Lloyd is the new receiving back, in addition to whatever early down work he gets. This situation remains in flux, but Lloyd is worth stashing given he is the only Packers back who could turn into an every down back.

Running backs get injured more than any other player in fantasy, with the average Top 36 running back missing two games per season in fantasy. For that reason, your best bet in fantasy is to roster running backs who are an injury away from an every down role. Each week, I’ll be listing my favorite RB stashes, only including players you won’t be starting most weeks.

Top Handcuffs: Blake Corum, Brian Robinson, Kaelon Black, Emmett Johnson, Jaylen Wright, Mike Washington, Keaton Mitchell, Seth McGowan, Woody Marks, Tyler Allgeier, Raheim Sanders, Kendre Miller, Samaje Perine, Chris Rodriguez, Kenny Gainwell, Ray Davis, Najee Harris, Sione Vaki

WR Streamers:

Carnell Tate (TEN – 87%): Tate has sat on benches for most of the season, but now is the time to start him. He gets the best receiver matchup in football and is coming off 145 yard, 12 target breakout against the Ravens.

Dohnte Meyers (CIN – 1%): If Jamarr Chase or Tee Higgins is out in Week 5, I’m starting Meyers. He turned his 9 targets into 7 catches for 82 yards last week and faces a susceptible Dolphins defense who tend to target the WR1.

Darius Cooper (PHI – 0.1%): With Devonta Smith out, Cooper is playing as the WR2 ahead of Makai Lemon (who has been isolated to 11 personnel). Cooper is a legit touchdown threat and is getting enough targets to make him a viable deep streamer against a Jaguars defense that is best attacked out wide.

WR Stashes:

Xavier Worthy (KC – 67%): Injuries to Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton thrust Worthy into the WR1 conversation. He’s on a bye this week but if Rice’s injury leads to an extended stay on the the sidelines, Worthy could be the main beneficiary.

Jaylin Noel (HOU – 1%): The Texans surprisingly consolidated their starting lineup with Nico Collins, Kayshon Boutte and Noel the big three. This is surprising given Xavier Hutchinson’s solid play but it makes sense they’d give Noel a proper chance. It’s worth stashing him to see if he can turn a promising Week 4 into something bigger.

TE Streamers:

TJ Hockenson (MIN – 42%): With Justin Jefferson out, Hockenson became a key target for Kyler Murray. If you’re need a Travis Kelce replacement this week (as I am in many leagues), Hockenson is likely your best option.

Mike Gesicki (CIN – 8%): If, and it’s a big if, JaMarr Chase and Tee Higgins are both out, Gesicki is a strong streaming option. But it’s risky to pick him up as you’re likely giving up on better options by taking that risk.

Tyler Higbee (LAR – 2%): Another upside risk, if Colby Parkinson remains out, Higbee will be the every down tight end and the third target in this offense. The lack of other healthy tight ends does mean he won’t be effective as Terrance Ferguson was, but he’s still a widely available option you can use in deeper leagues.

TE Stashes:

Michael Mayer (LV – 9%): The Raiders made 12 personnel their base offense and that meant a huge snap count for Mayer. While some weeks that will lead to a lot of blocking, if the Raiders are trailing, he may become the go to guy with Brock Bowers often double-teamed. He’s worth stashing for that and also a Bowers injury.

K Streamers:

Spencer Shrader (IND – 23%): He went off last week so let’s do it again. I’m backing Shrader for another big week against one of the league’s best kicker matchups, Pittsburgh.

Dominic Zvada (NYG – 1%): The Commanders are another great kicker matchup and Zvada has been excellent in his rookie season. He’s well worth taking a punt on this week.

DST Streamers:

Bengals DST (CIN – 20%): The Dolphins have nothing without DeVon Achane and the Bengals have had at least four sacks every week this season. There’s heaps of upside here.

Cowboys DST (DAL – 11%): The Buccaneers have been awful this season and it looks even worse with Jalon Daniels under center. This makes the Cowboys a great stream this week.

Please note: I won’t be listing kicker or DST stashes. You should never put kickers or DSTs on your bench in redraft leagues. There are practically no exceptions. Just please, don’t do it.

Finally:

If you have any questions, please hit me up in the comments or hit me up on my socials @hashtagwasley. You can also find my waiver wire rankings and weekly rankings over on my website. Good luck this week!