More football injuries. Blah. Blah. Blah. No need to bore you with stories of more players getting injured. Some quick names, and their projected return date, then we can move on. Christian Watson (Week 8), Rashee Rice (2025), Justin Herbert (Week 6), Jonathan Taylor (Week 7), Taysom Hill (Week 7), Anthony Richardson (Week 5), Malik Nabers (Week 6). Seriously, you do not come to this column to read only about injuries, but I would be remiss if I did not make mention of at least some of the ails.
What now? Well, we get back to the waiver wire, and we start looking for trade partners. To add insult to injury, the bye weeks kick off in Week 5 with the Lions, Chargers, Eagles, and Titans all sitting out a week. If you saw the Eagles put up 0 yards when the Bucs had 225 yards on the board, you know this bye could not come at a better time for Philadelphia as they desperately need both AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith back soonest.
Do not ignore Week 6 considering we will be without players from the Chiefs, Rams, Vikings, and Dolphins.
Do not forget the @Razzball NFL team of writers will be hosting our Sunday Morning Start/Sit podcast every week starting three hours before kickoff all the way up to the official start of the early games. Bobby – @BobbyLaMarco, Sky – @SkyGuasco, Derek – @Derek_Favret, and me/Matt – @stiles08, will be answering all your questions to help you win your weekly matchups. Come for the analysis and stay for the laughs!
WAIVERS
ADD OF THE WEEK = Dontayvion Wicks – 14% rostered: The early injury to Christian Watson (high ankle) and the 28-0 deficit against the Vikings opened the door for Mr. Wicks to drop 24 PPR points on your waiver wire. Look for Green Bay to feature Jayden Reed and Wicks moving forward after the latter hauled in 8 receptions (on 13 targets) for 78 yards and 2 TDs. With Romeo Doubs, Josh Jacobs, and the two-headed TE (Kraft, Musgrave), it will be a challenge to pick the top scoring player for the Packers each week. It is safe to say, with all the injuries and bye weeks, Wicks is an ideal FLEX fill-in in all formats for the next few weeks.
QB: Andy Dalton – 14% rostered: When will you learn? The Red Rifle is back, and he is for real! Available in 86% of leagues, now is the time to insulate your QB position with Andy Dalton and reap the benefits. Regardless of their schedule, Carolina will throw the football. Allow Dalton to be the guy you rely on to cover you during the bye weeks.
Honorable Mention/Cheaper Options:
Sam Darnold – 55% rostered: Packers homer here tipping my cap to Sam Darnold SZN. The game was over before our guys were able to get their juice box and orange wedges at halftime. The Vikings welcomed back Jordan Addison and might just see T.J. Hockenson soon, so the offense will keep humming. I do not see the 4-0 Vikings slowing down too much, so now is the time to get Darnold under contract for your squad.
Daniel Jones – 8% rostered: We had a Danny Dimes sighting in Week 4. Since I must stay player/team agnostic (except for my Packers from time to time), I freely admit Jones and good NFL game starts do not always go together. Add him and temper your expectations. Avoid him and avoid the stress he brings week to week.
RB: Kareem Hunt – 36% rostered. By looking at his roster percentage, it is obvious some owners tried to jump on the slow-moving Kareem Hunt train last week. I applaud those adept owners. I wonder, out loud, if things play out differently if Carson Steele does not fumble early and then watch from the sidelines as punishment. Hunt looked good and appears to be a nice fill-in during these bye weeks or for anyone that believed in Steele as the answer.
Honorable Mention/Cheaper Options:
Bucky Irving – 52% rostered: Last chance to get the emerging RB1 for the upstart Bucs. You heard me…LAST CHANCE! It might be time to admit Rachaad White is not the alpha RB we expected to see after his stellar, PPR-infused, 2023 season.
Justice Hill – 14% rostered: The Ravens handed it to the Bills on SNF. King Henry was out of this world. What we (may have) learned is that Justice Hill appears to have some stand-alone value in this Baltimore offense. Hill is not going to make his money rushing the ball. He is going to bring return on (waiver wire) investment in his pass catching and speed. With a late bye (Week 14), Hill can be a nice fill-in until you get healthy or make it through the earlier byes.
Trey Sermon – 1% rostered: Jonathan Taylor could miss a couple of weeks. Sermon should be less expensive than the names above.
WR: I would recommend Josh Downs – 20% rostered with more authority if I thought Joe Flacco was taking over the starting QB role from Richardson. Since I do not think that is happening, I give you Josh Downs with a little less oomph in my recommendation. Flacco makes middling pass catchers into superstars (See: David Njoku – 2023) whereas Richardson has not found his groove four weeks into the new season.
Honorable Mention/Cheaper Options:
Xavier Legette – 14% rostered (no Thielen; found pay dirt in Week 4)
Tre Tucker – 9% rostered (TD in Week 4)
Joshua Palmer – 22% rostered (boring 3-36-0 in return; no Herbert)
Jaylen Tolbert – 5% rostered (worth more than Cooks, but this is CeeDee’s team now/again)
Michael Wilson – 9% rostered (did very little with 7 targets)
KC WRs (hard pass; no way to tell who will get any of the targets)
TE: Sure. Why not? Take a chance on Tucker Kraft – 4% rostered. Bye week filler at best. I truly thought this was Luke Musgrave’s TE job to lose. Now I am not so sure. Good luck finding a serviceable TE anywhere out there.
Remember, it has only been four weeks, and you are OK. If you made it back to .500 with a win or are still leading the group at 4-0, you cannot stop making moves to make your team(s) better. If you dropped to 0-4 you should consider dealing a big-name player for multiple assets. Seriously, do not wait too much longer or the season could be lost.
Follow me @stiles08 on X and send questions comments at the bottom of this article. Make sure you jump around the Razzball site for all your fantasy football needs. We have a ton of free content to include our Slot Versus Wide tool, our Win Versus Loss tool, and many more.
-Stiles-
