Major injuries highlighted a wild week 4 in the NFL. That should create an equally wild waiver wire before the beginning of week 5.
Quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Cam Newton each left this week’s games. Palmer is on a short week as the Cardinals travel to San Francisco on Thursday, while the Panthers also lost wide receiver Devin Funchess to injury during an embarrassing blowout to Atlanta this week.
With injuries becoming more of a concern and the roles of certain players becoming clearer, here’s the best adds for the fantasy football week 5 waiver wire.
Terrance West, RB, Baltimore Ravens
Maybe Baltimore has figured out its running back problem.
Baltimore is going to need something out of its running game if it believes it will continue to win. And while the Ravens lost in week 4, they finally established a running game with West.
Former starter Justin Forsett was a healthy scratch, allowing West to dominate the carries in week 4. He turned in a solid performance, finishing fifth among running backs in fantasy points with 17.30 points. He rushed for 113 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries.
He has another plus matchup in week 5 against Washington, so West should be a solid RB2 for fantasy teams next week. West is only owned in 34.9 percent of fantasy leagues on NFL.com, so he is likely to be available in 12-team leagues.
Steve Smith Sr., WR, Baltimore Ravens
I promise I didn’t only watch Baltimore play in week 4. But despite the loss, things became clearer against Oakland.
West is the starting running back and Smith is the wide receiver to own for the Ravens. Smith was targeted 11 times for the second straight week and caught eight balls. He turned those catches into 111 yards and one touchdown, where he outran the entire Oakland secondary.
Quarterback Joe Flacco looks comfortable throwing in Smith’s direction and Smith is definitely the No. 1 receiver on the roster. He now has three games in which he’s been targeted at least nine times. There are times when he doesn’t generate many yards, but the volume is so high that he should occupy a place on your fantasy roster.
He’s owned in less than 10 percent of fantasy leagues. That won’t be the case in anticipation of week 5.
Jordan Howard, RB, Chicago Bears
Howard is a no-brainer for fantasy leagues and if he’s not owned in your league yet, there’s no question he’ll be owned in pretty much every fantasy league for week 5.
Howard started the season as the No. 3 running back on the depth chart. In week 4, he was the bell cow for the Bears and he responded. He tallied 111 yards on 23 carries and hauled in 21 yards receiving on three catches. With injuries still playing a role in the backfield and Howard being the only running back who has played well so far, it’s worth picking up Howard for the foreseeable future.
The Bears won’t have similar game flow like it had during the week 4 win against Detroit. The Bears were able to get a lead and focus on running the ball. I’ll give Howard credit, though, he was able to produce when given the opportunity.
I don’t believe the Bears are going to have that much success very often this season on offense. But it appears Howard will have plenty of volume, giving him value in fantasy football.
Terrance Williams, WR, Dallas Cowboys
With Dez Bryant in the lineup, Williams isn’t a factor for the Cowboys. Without Bryant, Williams takes on a much bigger role.
He hauled in a touchdown reception this week and managed a season-high 88 yards receiving last week when Bryant went down with an injury.
He’s only owned in less than seven percent of fantasy leagues. He’s worth a two-week or more Band-Aid for your fantasy lineup as long as Bryant is not suiting up for the Cowboys.
Williams has shown the ability to play well at certain times in the past and then disappear. I fully believe he will disappear when Bryant comes back. But if Bryant stays sidelined, Williams would be a decent replacement.
