Fantasy Football Week 5 Wide Receiver Preview: No shortage of Calvin Ridley replacements on the waiver wire
Calvin Ridley is out for Week 5, here's who you should add to replace him
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Calvin Ridley will not be making the trip across the pond to face the New York Jets, which puts his Fantasy managers in a tough spot. Unlike running back, when a receiver goes down, it's not generally a backup on his team that replaces him on a Fantasy roster.
That's not to say I don't think Olamide Zaccheaus has upside against the Jets. He does, but he also projects as my No. 48 wide receiver. In deeper leagues, that might be the best you can do. But a trio of my top-36 wide receivers for Week 5 are still available in at least 40% of leagues. Let's target them first.
Hunter Renfrow ranks the highest of the three as a borderline top-25 receiver. Renfrow has at least 10.7 PPR Fantasy points in every game this season and the Bears have been pretty bad against slot wide receivers.
Speaking of slot wide receivers, Jamison Crowder is playing Ridley's Falcons in Week 5 and just saw nine targets in his first game back with the Jets. While that's just a one game sample, Braxton Berrios had 18 targets the first two weeks of the season in the same role.
While both Renfroe and Crowder are short area PPR specialists, DeVante Parker may have the highest upside of them all. Parker faces a Buccaneers defense that has all kinds of injuries and has surrendered a ton of huge games to wide receivers.
If all of these guys are rostered in your league, Zaccheaus may be your best bet. Though I do have a few more options below.
Here is the rest of the Week 5 WR Preview:
Week 5 WR Preview
WR Preview
Who's Out
The following players are not being projected to play Week 5 at this time. Here's what it means:
Josh Reynolds is interesting if Julio Jones and A.J. Brown miss another week.
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Diontae Johnson and Najee Harris are the only Steelers worth starting.
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Target share should be safe for Devante Parker, Jaylen Waddle, and Mike Gesicki.
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Laviska Shenault and Marvin Jones should dominate targets for the Jaguars.
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Zaccheaus should be the biggest winner at receiver, but we expect more targets for the running backs and tight ends
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WR Preview
Numbers to Know
- 22.5 -- Pass attempts per game for the Saints. Hopefully that increases when Michael Thomas returns.
- 32.3 -- Receiving yards per game for JuJu Smith-Schuster. In non-PPR leagues he may just be droppable.
- 37.1% -- Brandin Cooks still leads the NFL in target share, but he has another tough matchup in Week 5.
- 163 -- Jakobi Meyers has now gone 163 targets without a touchdown. That's the only reason we aren't more excited about him as a No. 3 receiver.
- 14.6 -- Laviska Shenault's air yards ballooned to 14.6 without D.J. Chark in Week 4. This type of usage could turn Shenault into a must-start receiver.
- 32 -- Michael Pittman has 32 targets over his past three games. He's one of my favorite buy-low options right now.
WR Preview
Matchups that matter
Matchups that matter
Projections powered by
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WR Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Week 5 Waivers
Renfrow is a much better add in PPR and he's more of a floor play than a ceiling play, but it's not like he doesn't have any ceiling. You should expect 10-plus points from catches and yards each week and consider the touchdowns a bonus.
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Crowder slides right into the role he had last year, and the role Braxton Berrios held down for the early part of this year. His profile is similar to Renfrow's, though I'd expect the Jets to have a less prolific offense. There's also some long-term risk that Elijah Moore takes targets away.
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Parker is much more likely to make your day in one play than Renfrow or Crowder.
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Zaccheaus should be available just about everywhere, and should see at least six or seven targets.
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Reynolds has a great matchup with Jacksonville if both A.J. Brown and Julio Jones remain out.
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Stashes
Gordon is drawing rave reviews at practice and has already been promoted to the active roster. You can't start him in Week 5, but he may flash in prime time, and you'll be glad you have him on a roster if he does.
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WR Preview
DFS Plays
Top Play
Projections powered by
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As bad as this offense has been, it still runs through Najee Harris and Diontae Johnson. Johnson is a No. 1 receiver priced like a low-end No. 2.
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Contrarian Play
Projections powered by
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Bill Belichick against a rookie quarterback is rightfully going to scare people away from the Texans. And in cash games I would avoid them as well. But Davis Mills is locked on Brandin Cooks, and I expect he'll keep slinging it into coverage. That type of volume for a talented player at a low roster rate is exactly what we're looking for in a contrarian play. Bonus: It's a revenge game.
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WR Preview
Heath's Projections
So who should you start and sit this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 5 rankings for every position, plus see which QB is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that has out-performed experts big-time.
