This was the kind of week that makes you angry to play Fantasy Football. Started Mahomes? He didn't throw a touchdown. Neither did Matt Ryan or Tom Brady. Looking for big yardage and more touchdowns from Mark Ingram? Sorry.
Don't even get me started on DeAndre Hopkins, Odell Beckham, Julio Jones, Keenan Allen, Julian Edelman, Adam Thielen, Calvin Ridley or any Chiefs wide receiver.
No doubt, Fantasy Football can be maddening ... unless you started players from the Bucs-Rams game. That worked out for you (although Chris Godwin ... grrr). If your team didn't encounter any bad luck this week, don't worry — it's coming. It happens to everyone.
But this week brings a double whammy. Not only were there a bunch of disappointing performances, but the waiver wire won't have a lot of exciting players who can help put points on the board.
That doesn't mean there weren't some surprising outings, but the timing could be right to make a trade to better your team instead of rely on free agents.
Week 5
Early Waiver Targets
Just barely available in a third of CBS Sports leagues, Jones is pretty clearly the better back to have in Tampa Bay. For the second week in a row and third time this season, he either matched or out-touched Peyton Barber and had better numbers than Barber. The difference this year is that Jones looks like beyond competent, grinding for yards whereas in 2018 he'd freak out at the first sign of danger. Don't expect him to be an every-down back -- the Bucs still prefer to pair Jones with Barber -- but he's got some decent appeal as a potential starter each week, particularly in non-PPR formats since he's still a work-in-progress as a pass-catcher (just three grabs on the season).
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Howard's 115-total-yard, three-score game at Green Bay will get him some serious attention. The reality? It was the first time this year he played more than one-third of the snaps and had 12-plus touches for the Eagles. Will it last all season? Probably not -- rookie Miles Sanders still looks like the better back. What about just for Week 5 against the Jets? That's a possibility, though it would be easier for Howard if the Jets don't get linebacker C.J. Mosley back from a groin injury.
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It doesn't feel good to recommend Graham as a Fantasy tight end, but if Davante Adams misses any time with a turf toe injury, we know Graham will see increased looks from Aaron Rodgers in the end zone. Shoot, we saw it twice in four plays from the Eagles 1-yard line when the Packers couldn't punch in for six late in their loss on Thursday. Graham has nine red-zone targets this season and should be in for more at Dallas.
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Assuming Dalton makes it through the Bengals' Monday night game at Pittsburgh without injury, he'll be among the top waiver-wire quarterbacks in Week 5 when his team hosts the Cardinals. Three of four quarterbacks to play Arizona have managed over 30 Fantasy points. Dalton has delivered two touchdowns in each of his first three games.
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Sanu had nine grabs for 91 yards on 12 targets, mostly collecting a bunch of short passes from Ryan. That was vital as the Falcons' O-line was ravaged by injuries and forced a lot of dink-and-dunking. Truth is, Sanu has delivered at least 10 PPR Fantasy points in three of four games and should continue to produce a nice, safe floor as a bye-week receiver (if not a low-end No. 3 receiver) moving forward. His target share, now at 31 through four games, is more than Calvin Ridley's (23).
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More names to know
- A.J. Brown (10%) & Corey Davis (36%): The Titans did whatever they wanted offensively, taking advantage of a depleted (and overrated) Falcons secondary. Brown's 55-yard touchdown was of the catch-and-run variety we saw from him at Ole Miss, but his second score was a gorgeous back-shoulder throw from Marcus Mariota that Brown wrapped up in front of veteran corner Desmond Trufant. Davis' score was a fortunate catch-and-bolt that involved busted coverage by cornerback Isaiah Oliver. With the Bills and Broncos on deck, both Titans receivers are risky starters in Weeks 5 and 6 but absolutely make the cut as bench players.
- Nyheim Hines (17%) & Jordan Wilkins (4%): Marlon Mack left the Colts' game versus the Raiders with an ankle injury and didn't return. That left Wilkins and Hines to handle the rushing work, which there wasn't much of with the Colts trailing in the second half (six handoffs). If Mack misses the Colts' Week 5 game at Kansas City, Hines should handle passing situations and Wilkins will grind on running downs. Both would be low-end bye-week replacement running backs. Let's just hope Mack heals in time.
- Titans DST (41%): Josh Allen left the Bills' Week 4 loss to the Patriots with a concussion. If he remains in the league's protocol all week, Buffalo will start Matt Barkley at quarterback. While we've seen Barkley come up with good games in the past, the Titans defense seems to be rolling after housing Matt Ryan. This should be the top streaming DST choice of the week.
- Jack Doyle (42%): With eight targets and a 4-22-1 stat line, Jack Doyle tops the list. The Colts figure to be in a pass-heavy game script next week at Kansas City, and if it wasn't for Eric Ebron's late 48-yard touchdown, all the talk out of Indy would be about how Doyle saw so many looks from Jacoby Brissett and Ebron loused up his five targets with three drops.
- Dawson Knox (6%): Knox has impressed over the last two weeks with his physical play, reminding some of a blossoming Jeremy Shockey from back in the day. The Titans will see Knox next and they have really had a hard time with opposing tight ends.
- Gerald Everett (3%): Everett has been on the cusp of a breakout for years, but Sunday was his first-ever game with eight targets, matching a career-high five grabs for 44 yards and a score. Anytime the Rams head into an anticipated high-scoring matchup against a suspect secondary, he should be considered. Playing at Seattle in Week 5 could be considered a potential shootout, but the Seahawks haven't been so bad against tight ends, save for all but one half of one game.
- Ricky Seals-Jones (1%): Seals-Jones broke out with 82 yards and a touchdown against the Ravens, but he needs to get more targets (he had only three) and needs to play a little more (just 21 snaps) to really begin making a consistent Fantasy impact.
- Chris Herndon (20%): I said it last week, I'll say it again this week: Grab him and stash him. He could be money once he and Sam Darnold are back on a field together.
- Marcus Mariota (20%): This is the second time this season we've seen Mariota's numbers come up large. Both games were on the road against struggling defenses. It'll help Mariota that he'll get Taylor Lewan, his stud left tackle back, but the matchups in Weeks 5 and 6 against the Bills and Broncos aren't exactly easy. The only quarterback started by most Fantasy managers who will have a bye in the next two weeks is Matthew Stafford (Week 5), and Dalton would be a better pickup than Mariota. If he's somehow available in your SuperFlex league, go ahead and add him.
