It’s Week 5 of the 2020 NFL season and hopefully you made it through the first week of tumultuous COVID-19 news and postponements just in time for the first week of byes.
A few fantasy stars suffered serious injuries in Week 4 including Nick Chubb and Austin Ekeler, meaning you may need a fill-in for one week with the Packers and Lions on their bye; six weeks if you had Chubb or Ekeler; or perhaps even for the rest of season if you have some underwhelming players rostered.
The Chargers’ Justin Jackson and the Browns’ D’Ernest Johnson will be top priorities to add in what should be a busy week for waiver transactions. Below you will find players who are all rostered in fewer than 50% of leagues who should be worth targeting.
Players are separated by position and ranked by rostership percentages from Yahoo. Any fantasy points are calculated in half PPR scoring.
Quarterbacks
Teddy Bridgewater, Carolina Panthers (19% rostered)
Bridgewater had his best performance as a Panther in Sunday’s surprise win over the Cardinals. He completed 26 of 37 pass attempts for 276 yards, two touchdowns and one interception and had six carries for 32 yards and a rushing touchdown. He should be in the conversation as a low-end QB1 streaming option in Week 5 against a putrid Falcons defense that is allowing an average of 34.5 points per game.
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (16%)
Herbert has been extremely impressive since his unplanned NFL debut in Week 2 when he was tapped minutes before the game after a team doctor punctured Tyrod Taylor’s lung. Since then, he has finished as QB13 (vs. KC), QB19 (vs. CAR) and QB6 (vs. TB). It looks like it’s Herbert’s job to lose at this point. He has week-to-week streaming upside and potentially season-long value with a number of potent weapons.
Running backs
Chase Edmonds, Arizona Cardinals (35% rostered)
The Edmonds-Kenyan Drake dynamic has reared its head once again this season. Drake was touted as a blue-chip RB1 entering the season after his breakout performance in 2019 where he eclipsed David Johnson for the starting role in Arizona. This year, he has totaled 254 rushing yards and is averaging under 3.8 yards per carry. He had 13 carries for 35 yards in Sunday’s plush matchup against the Panthers and exited with a chest injury. The injury wasn’t serious, and with Edmonds showing he’s the more efficient runner, Drake’s absence left some managers wondering if he had been in essence benched by head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Edmonds should be rostered in almost every format.
Justin Jackson, Los Angeles Chargers (6%)
Austin Ekeler went down early in an injury-laden 38-31 loss to the Buccaneers. He had to be helped off the field and will miss four-to-six weeks with a hamstring injury. Neither Jackson nor Joshua Kelley (55% rostered) had a good game opposite Tampa’s stout run defense, however. Jackson had six carries for 9 yards and caught two passes for 12 yards, and Kelley had nine carries for 7 yards and caught three passes for 26 yards. Jackson should see more involvement in the weeks to come with Ekeler sidelined and is a flex play in the right matchups, especially in PPR.
Ke’Shawn Vaughn, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6%)
The Buccaneers entered the season with one of the messier backfields with Vaughn, Ronald Jones II, Leonard Fournette, LeSean McCoy, and Kenjon Barner. Fournette missed Sunday’s game with an ankle injury, and McCoy and Barner both exited with injuries of their own. The Buccaneers also lost O.J. Howard (Achilles) for the season and may not get Chris Godwin back in time for Week 5. Vaughn, a 2020 third-round pick, had a disappointing training camp and was a healthy scratch in Weeks 1 through 3. That said, Vaughn could see an increased workload behind Ronald Jones with so many injuries across the board.
D’Ernest Johnson, Cleveland Browns (3%)
Johnson took over a much bigger role in Sunday’s game against the Cowboys after star running back Nick Chubb went down with a knee injury. The 2018 undrafted free agent who had a brief stint with the now-defunct Orlando Apollos of the AAF tallied 13 carries for 95 yards in the high-scoring affair. It’s worth noting that his usage could have been game script-dependent, with all 13 attempts coming when the Browns were up by at least 11 points, and ten of 13 when the team was leading by two scores.
Browns’ D’Ernest Johnson and Chargers’ Justin JacksonGetty ImagesChubb was placed on injured reserve on Monday with a MCL injury is expected to miss six weeks according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Johnson should see a significantly increased workload in that time, but should take a backseat to Kareem Hunt, especially during closer games. He is widely available and will be a very popular waiver add this week.
Wide receiver
Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals (33% rostered)
Higgins put up solid numbers in Week 4 on the heels of a breakout two-touchdown performance in Week 3. He caught four of seven targets for 77 yards against the Jaguars, trailing just Tyler Boyd in receiving. The 2020 second-rounder from Clemson is emerging as the Bengals’ No. 2 option ahead of A.J. Green, who caught one pass for 3 yards last week and is is droppable in shallower leagues. Higgins will be a popular add among receivers and offers decent upside as a flex in favorable matchups.
Tre’Quan Smith, New Orleans Saints (27%)
Smith has carved out a role in the Saints offense ahead of Emmanuel Sanders while star wideout Michael Thomas has been sidelined since Week 1 with a high ankle sprain. He caught four of four passes for 54 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s wild win over the Lions and will finish as a WR1. It’s unclear if Thomas will return for Week 5 against the Chargers, but if he sits out another week, Smith would probably fall into the high-upside WR3 tier.
Laviska Shenault Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars (24%)
The versatile, 2020 second-rounder had his best game of the year and caught five of six targets for 86 yards. He trailed D.J. Chark in receiving and is emerging as the Jaguars’ No. 2 option ahead of Keelan Cole (4-5-46-0) and Chris Conley (3-4-44-0). He is a WR3/flex play this week against the Texans.
Tim Patrick, Denver Broncos (2%)
Patrick had a breakout game on Thursday night against the Jets. Yes, it’s the Jets, so future expectations should be tempered, but he did surpass 2020 first-rounder Jerry Jeudy in receiving. Patrick reeled in six of seven passes for 113 yards and scored for the second straight week. He’s worth a look in deeper PPR leagues, especially with Courtland Sutton on IR.
Tight ends
Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers (29% rostered)
Tonyan has scored a whopping five times in three weeks, three of which came in Week 4 against the Falcons. He also caught six of six targets for 98 yards. The Packers are on bye in Week 5, but if you have the space, Tonyan is a nice bench stash in a Green Bay offense that will be without Allen Lazard indefinitely, and could be without Davante Adams again.




