It’s a bad week to need help off the waiver wire. In response, I’ve changed how I format this waiver wire column. Instead of naming players you should pick up for Week 5, I shifted the article to include all players you may consider in a more actionable and digestible way.

This page will be constantly updated throughout the day to reflect any new information from the games. It’s also geared toward PPR leagues unless otherwise noted. All players included are owned in less than 40% of leagues, per FantasyPros’ rostership data. All stats are credited to TruMedia unless stated otherwise.

Quarterbacks

If you need a quarterback to stream in Week 5, pick up Jared Goff.

• Rostered in 47.9% of leagues
• 15.5, 26.04, 13.88 fantasy points in the first three games
• 33.22 points in Week 4, most among quarterbacks (prior to Sunday and Monday night games)
• He’s averaged 37.8 passes, which would have been the 11th-most heading into Week 4
• He’s only thrown three picks
• The Lions are averaging among the most points in the league.
• Detroit faces New England in Week 5
• The Patriots allowed 27 and 37 points in the last two weeks
• Good passing volume in a surprisingly high-scoring offense

If you really need a quarterback, pick up Zach Wilson.

• Rostered in 9.5% of leagues
• Scored 18.78 fantasy points in Week 4
• Scored four rushing touchdowns in the final seven games after injury last season
• Wilson is more than capable of making plays with his legs.
• Has a solid supporting cast that includes Elijah Moore, Garrett Wilson, Corey Davis and Breece Hall
• Faces Dolphins D/ST in Week 5
• Dolphins surrendered 20 points to Joe Burrow in Week 4

And if you REALLY need a quarterback, you still shouldn’t pick up Kenny Pickett or Geno Smith… yet.

• Each is rostered in fewer than 13% of leagues
• Pickett’s two short-yard rushing touchdowns were mitigated by three turnovers
• One of his interceptions did come on a last-minute heave
• The Steelers are below league average in rushing attempts per game.
• The Steelers travel to Buffalo in Week 5…
• Geno Smith was due for a blowup game, as our own Jordan Vanek predicted
• Detroit’s defense has been abysmal
• The Seahawks face the Saints in Week 5
• The Saints D/ST held Kirk Cousins and Tom Brady to fewer than 13 fantasy points this season

Running Backs

Rex Burkhead is the best option among very discouraging options.

• Rostered in 25.1% of leagues
• Burkhead scored 14.9 fantasy points, though a receiving touchdown inflates his value
• He ran 14 routes on 17 snaps
• Houston will probably be playing from behind more often than from ahead
• Burkhead saw five targets to Dameon Pierce’s six targets
• He was tied for the third-most targets on the team

If you didn’t pick up J.D. McKissic last week, you might as well this week. 

• Rostered in 35.2% of leagues
• McKissic isn’t going to win you any games, but he’s better than almost any running back widely available
• McKissic led the backfield in snaps, targets and routes run again
• Consistency is good for bench players
• If Gibson ever gets hurt, McKissic’s stock will rise
• I’ve run out of things to say, if you need a running back this bad, good luck

Add Kenneth Gainwell and Tyler Allgeier to your watch list, but leave them on waivers.

• Each is rostered in fewer than 23% of leagues. 
• Gainwell looks like the RB2 in the Eagles’ offense
• His lone score in Week 4 came from a ten-yard carry
• He had just five carries
• Miles Sanders is still the clear lead-back
• Allgeier led all Falcons running backs in snaps, routes run and targets…
• …by eight snaps, two routes run, one target
• He was tied for the most carries with Caleb Huntley (10)
• He saw the backfield’s only target 
• Cordarrelle Patterson looked limited from a pre-existing knee injury
• Patterson was placed on IR with a knee injury
• Damien Williams is eligible to return from his injury for Week 5
• Caleb Huntley was the goal-line back
• Marcus Mariota should still vulture carries

Mike Boone is a sneaky addition for now.

• Rostered in fewer than 1% of leagues
• Boone had three carries for 20 yards
• Melvin Gordon had three carries for 8 yards
• Gordon fumbled
• Boone played 19 snaps
• Gordon played 10 snaps
• Boone saw three target
• Gordon saw one target
• Javonte Williams is out for the season with a torn ACL
• Denver has the 13th-highest run-play rate

Wide Receivers

You should’ve added Romeo Doubs last week. 

• Rostered in 56.5% of leagues
• Allen Lazard and Doubs each saw eight targets and 70 snaps
• Doubs ran one fewer route than Lazard
• No other wide receivers played more than 25 snaps
• A fumble dropped his fantasy score to 13.7 points
• They’re clearly the top two receiving options in Green Bay
• This is the second-straight week where Doubs scored
• He just looks good… how’s that for hard-hitting analysis of the waiver wire?

Corey Davis is worth a roster spot for now.

• Rostered in 16% of leagues.
• Exclude a Week 3 dud and Davis has averaged 16.1 fantasy points
• He has two touchdowns in two of the four games
• Davis has seen at least seven targets twice this season
• He was tied for the second-most targets on the team in Week 4
• A Zach Wilson-led offense threw the ball 36 times
• A Joe Flacco-led offense averaged 51.7 attempts

If Michael Gallup’s somehow available, scoop him up.

• Rostered in 42.7% of leagues
• Gallup was clearly the Cowboys’ WR3
• He ran more routes than Noah Brown
• Brown injured his neck in the fourth quarter
• Gallup himself was likely limited in his first game back
• A positive game-script limited passing attempts
• Gallup only saw two targets but scored on one of them
• Dak Prescott reportedly wants to come back in Week 5

Don’t pick up Josh Reynolds, yet…

• Rostered in 10.3% of leagues
• Reynolds has 12.8, 15.6 points and now 21.1 points in the last three weeks, respectively
• Heled Detroit wideouts in snaps, routes and targets 
• Tom Kennedy saw just two fewer snaps, three fewer routes and two fewer targets than Reynolds
• Reynolds saw 10 targets last week and eight targets last week
• The game was a shootout between two bad defenses, hence the 48-45 score (a.k.a a Scorigami)
• Amon-Ra St. Brown, D.J. Chark and D’Andre Swift were all inactive
• Emphasis on the above point

George Pickens' upside warrants roster consideration.

• Rostered in 38.4% of leagues
• Pickens scored 16.2 fantasy points on eight targets
• He led all Pittsburgh wide receivers in targets
• He had the third-most snaps and third-most routes, but only two fewer each than Chase Claypool
• He’s seen 7+ targets in two straight weeks
• The Steelers face the Bills, Buccaneers, Dolphins and Eagles before their bye in Week 9
• Each team is top-eight in fantasy points allowed to wide receivers
• So don’t expect huge performances from Pickens in that time
• Kenny Pickett looked better than Mitchell Trubisky

Watch Isaiah McKenzie’s status.

• Rostered in 33.5% of leagues
• McKenzie suffered a head injury in Week 4
• He still scored 12.1 fantasy points and a touchdown
• He’s scored in three of the four games this season
• He’s seen 15 snaps over the last two games
• McKenzie and Devin Singletary are tied for the team’s second-most targets per game 
• Buffalo’s receiving group has been banged up
• Jamison Crowder broke his ankle and is out indefinitely
• Crowder has run 87% of his snaps from the slot
• McKenzie has run 76% of his snaps from the slot
• Those are the highest rates on the team
• Only the Chargers have thrown for more passing yards per game than the Bills
• If he’s healthy, McKenzie can be at worst the Bills’ WR3

Tight Ends

Tyler Conklin should’ve been picked up last week.

• Rostered in 39.6% of leagues
• He was tied for the second-most targets behind Corey Davis in Week 4
• Conklin is second on the team in targets this season
• He’s been a borderline TE1 or high-end TE2 every week
• Like with Davis, Wilson’s return may limit the volume of targets Conklin sees
• No signs he’ll see a lower target share
• Tight end is a barren position, so you should chase the points when you can

Will Dissly isn’t a sustainable fantasy option yet.

• Rostered in 2.3% of leagues
• Exclude Week 2 and Dissly has been a top-7 TE each week
• Dissly is third on the team in targets
• Only DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett have more than 13 targets on the team, but by more than 20 additional targets
• He’s fifth on the team in routes run
• Two of his touchdowns came on his three red-zone targets
• You can’t trust him each week

Robert Tonyan also isn’t sustainable nor productive enough yet.

• Rostered in 26.2% of leagues
• He scored 9.7 points on seven targets in Week 3
• He scored 10.2 points on two targets in Week 4 thanks to a touchdown 
• Five Packers also saw more targets than Tonyan 
• Tonyan's tied for third on the team targets per game this season… with 4 targets per game
• Like Dissly, the volume just isn’t there

WATCH MORE: Week 4 Recap