Whether players are injured or haven’t played to expectation, some may find themselves on the fantasy football waiver wire come Wednesday morning. This piece is meant to be short, but I’ll give a quick rundown of what type of player to be on the lookout for.
First and foremost, any capable starter is fair game depending on your roster construction. Is RB a major need? Grab any starting running back with potential to becoming a starter; even those on bad teams. These are high quality options, even if someone else thought otherwise.
Short on pass-catchers? Look for the second or third option on an offense with a high passing volume with a recently poor performance to build your depth. Streaming quarterbacks or tight ends? Combine start percentages and match-ups to figure out who will be available.
These are vague, yet important tips to ensure you are finding the right pieces fitting your fantasy football teams. All roster percentages are via ESPN Fantasy Football.
Quarterback
Joe Burrow CIN (71.8% Rostered | 22.1% Started) – After getting brutalized in Week 5, fantasy football managers may be done with Joe Burrow. Joe Burrow is your standard QB2. Averaging 17.4 points per game, he won’t lose you a week, but he also won’t win you a week. That being said, with the potential to miss a game fantasy managers may be quick to drop him.
He faces a poor Lions team in week six and is expected to suit up for it. With Joe Mixon being banged up and Samaje Perine being placed on the COVID/Reserve list, look for the Bengals to be in an all-out air attack.
Running Back
Myles Gaskin MIA (80.1% Rostered | 26.5% Started) – Gaskin made the list because I personally saw Myles Gaskin dropped in one of my redraft leagues over the weekend. He hasn’t lived up to expectations Weeks 1-4 and it shows in his recent 10% drop in roster percentage. On the contrary, Gaskin decided to bloom into fantasy relevance against one of the best run defenses in the league. Granted his production came through the air, he still played well in what was predicted to be a poor performance. If you find him on waivers like I did, scoop him up.
Wide Receiver
Laviska Shenault JAX (82.5% Rostered | 22.3% Started) – Laviska Shenault was expected to eat into the market share of now-injured DJ Chark. Viska only had one catch for 58 yards on three targets in Week 5 against an awful Titans defense. The man who really stepped up was Dan Arnold, who I mentioned in my weekly waiver piece. With how much this offense will have to throw the ball, I project Shenault to bounce-back and be a viable Flex option ROS.
Tight End
Rob Gronkowski TB (93.9% Rostered | 8.1% Started) – Rob Gronkowski is slated to miss his third straight game. It’s unlikely managers will be patient with his injury. It’s also unlikely that managers are holding on to Gronk due to his low ADP during drafts. He lit the world on fire during the first three weeks of the season. With most leagues only starting one tight end, most teams are only rostering one – maybe two. Expect them to cut bait on Gronk and look elsewhere. This allows you to steal Gronk and store him at the back of your bench or IR, and have a top five option when healthy.
Flex (RB/WR/TE)
Jaylen Waddle MIA (84.9% Rostered | 21.5% Rostered) – With injuries to DeVante Parker and Will Fuller, you would think Jaylen Waddle would be the forefront of the Dolphins passing attack. For the last two weeks he has completely busted; seeing season-lows in targets, receptions, and yards. Tua Tagovailoa has a very good chance to return in week six. I believe this is a net-positive for Waddle. Have faith in the talent and opportunity share he has.
