Few things make me excited to wake up. Haha, I mean, IÂ love life, but I also love my sleep. And I’m just guessing here, but I don’t think I’m alone in that. However, one day a week I am genuinely excited to wake up the moment my alarm goes off. And it’s not because doing the grown up in the morning (although always fun).
Nope, it’s Tuesdays. Because Tuesday means I can check the updated standings in my fantasy football leagues, see the new point totals within the standings (the true measure of how well you’re actually doing), start setting my lineup for the next week, and give my first glance at how I need to work the waiver wire. Does that make me weird? I’ll vote no. And I’ll imagine that a lot of you feel the same. Tuesdays…the best non-football day of the week.
This Tuesday was no different from any others. At first. I woke up before the sun, walked over to grab my phone and began scrolling through all my leagues to see the updates now that we’re four weeks in. So much anticipated joy was shortly replaced by an increasing disappointment. Sure, I didn’t do wonderful in Week 4 (went against Julio Jones in 3 leagues, and Matt Ryan in another 3…including one where my opponent had both. Ugh.), but the real cause for disappointment was found in the LACK OF ANYTHING TO WORK WITH ON THE WIRE! Haha, ok…now I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s examine just whom is actually worth targeting, and see if any deserve a dope emoji next to their names. Here’s how you can work the wire for Week 5.
Note: The threshold for appearing as one of the targets is <25% ownership on either Yahoo or ESPN as of Monday. 
=Â BURN NOTICE…it’s worth burning your waiver for the player.
- Sammie Coates, WR – PIT (ESPN 11.5%, Yahoo 17%) – Can somebody please take the reins of the second spot in this Steelers offense? Wait, let me rephrase, can some WR please take the reins? Right now Ben Roethlisberger has Antonio Brown, LeVeon Bell, a splash of Jesse James, and then even more AB. Hopefully Week 4 acts as a boon for both the offense and for Coates: the Steelers scored 29 points in the first half against the Chiefs, and Coates ended with 6/79/0 on 8 targets. Not other-worldly, but significant enough to show what Coates can do on this team. Week 1 I highlighted Eli Rogers, but it’s clear he’s not the answer, and I’m still really down on Markus Wheaton. I know Coates has the ability, he just needs to emerge and prove to his QB he can be a reliable option. When he does that, he’ll be reliable in fantasy, too. He’s arguably the best option in working the wire for Week 5.
- Eddie Royal, WR – CHI (ESPN 9.1%, Yahoo 12%) – How is he still doing this? Haha, it feels like I was in college when Eddie Royal came out of VT with an awesome return game and sporadic WR production. While the return game may have ceased, his sporadic value as a WR still remains. I don’t know what to make of the enigma that is the Bears offense, but if Week 4 provides a roadmap for future weeks with Brian Hoyer at QB, Royal is worth a prospective add. His catch rate (18/22) will likely drop, but his targets may not. 7/111/1 on 7 targets is the top of the line for Royal, but it’s a lot better than some other more-owned options on team’s benches.
- Robert Woods, WR – BUF (ESPN 10.3%, Yahoo 7%) – Talk about untapped potential. Robert Woods should be a great fantasy asset, but he’s been wildly inconsistent and unreliable so far in his career. I’m hoping (big time) that this year may turn the corner for Woods. With a 7/89/0 line on 10 targets Sunday, Woods should plant himself as the #1 option in the Bills passing attack. I mean, with Sammy Watkins on IR for a while, who else is Tyrod Taylor gonna throw to? Charles Clay? GTFO. Taylor’s big arm can stretch the field as the Bills likely run the ball even heavier than they did before, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Woods get double digit targets often over the next two months. He’s not on burn notice, but one more week of this and he could be.
- Fozzy Whittaker, RB – CAR (ESPN 32.8%, Yahoo 24%) – The most owned of the group, and most likely to not be eligible come next week, Fozzy’s emergence in the passing game was a nice addition for those who took a flier on him in Week 4 against the Falcons. However, it may be a little misleading. The Panthers played from behind in a big way all game, and the 9/86/0 receiving line on 9 targets was likely more a result of the score a flow than a trend moving forward. First off, he’s not catching 100% of the balls thrown his way, but he’s also not going to be as prominent when the Panthers are playing from the lead (which surprisingly hasn’t been much this year). The entire Panthers rushing attack has struggled this year in comparison to last year, but with Jonathan Stewart still banged up (surprise, surprise) there’s a window for Whittaker to bring some sleepy value, especially in PPR formats.
- Josh Ferguson, RB – IND (ESPN 0.7%, Yahoo 1%) – Take a wild guess at the top targeted receivers for Andrew Luck and the Colts? Yep, T.Y. Hilton is #1. Next on the list? Ferguson. Not a chance you would guess that off the top of your head, but with 21 targets this season, including a massive 10 targets in Week 4, Ferguson is establishing himself as a weapon in the Colts offense. Donte Moncrief’s been injured, and will certainly attract the second-most targets once he returns, but that’s still a few weeks away. Already a deep option in PPR leagues, Ferguson is one 33-year old (albeit a remarkably reliable one) Frank Gore injury away from being relevant in all leagues. Add him to your watch list if nothing else. 7 receptions from a RB is hard to come by.
- Cameron Brate, TE – TB (ESPN 9.0%, Yahoo 10%) – Don’t worry, he’s not getting into Jamison Crowder territory (more on him in a second) even though this is the second straight week getting highlighted. The TE landscape is quite bleak, and heavily TD dependent. I just don’t enjoy relying upon TD’s for scoring, because they’re so volatile in predicting. So, someone like Zach Miller is fifth in TE right now, but with only 156 yards. Why? 3 TDs. Instead, go for someone like Brate who’s garnering a higher volume (8th among TE with 25 targets), but still finding the end zone (2 scores). The Bucs offense is taking its lumps, but I see Brate growing up with Jameis Winston and evolving into a great low-end TE1. He’s worth the add for BYE weeks, if nothing else.
As you’ve seen…not a single person to put on burn notice. Seriously, with the return of some suspended players in Week 4, and coming up in Week 5, there aren’t many options as of now. Some deep fliers, sure, but nothing worth using your waiver on. AND WE DID IT!!!! Jamison Crowder’s officially ineligible for this series with an owned percentage of right at 50% on both sites. (Insert @JB slow clap here)
DROP THOSE COMMENTS! And good luck in Week 5! Maybe we’ll see a little more parity as we enter into the second quarter of the season!
