Fantasy football waiver wire: Week 5 Pickups top 10 to target

Four weeks into the season, the bye weeks start to hit in earnest with four teams missing this week stretching fantasy football rosters thin.  After a low-scoring week 4, owners will need to use all their depth to navigate the next few weeks as at least four teams sitting out the next seven Sundays.  To get your team ready, you’ll likely need to make some pickups from the fantasy football waiver wire. On the following slides, you’ll find my top 10 options to target heading into week 5.

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Every year, players emerge as the season progresses due to injury, increased roles in timeshare, and opportunities for success.  Already this year names like Devonta Freeman, Carson Palmer, Tyler Eifert, James Jones, Chris Johnson, Dion Lewis, and Eric Ebron have emerged as fantasy weapons who were available on waiver wires early on in the season. Hopefully, you were able to get some useful help from those players who have been featured in my previous post.  This week, there are a number of returnees from last week’s post which shows they continue to perform well.

Each week on Tuesday morning,  you can find my top 10 targets from the fantasy football waiver wire morning right here on Fansided.  Each week, I include at least one wide receiver, one tight end, one quarterback, one running back, and one team defense in my top ten to help you fill whatever slot on your roster needs reinforcing.

If you are looking for deep league pickups beyond just the top 10, check out the final slide of this post and also make sure to come back throughout the rest of the week as I focus on the top options available on a position-by-position basis.  Ownership percentages included in parentheses with each pick are ESPN ownership as of roster lock for week 4.

To find all Fansided’s fantasy football coverage for week 5 and going forward the rest of the season, check out our fantasy football hub where all our new posts will appear.  All my picks are available in over half of ESPN leagues, but there may be some other options that are even better on your leagues waiver wire. If you have questions for me about available options, you can contact me directly on Twitter @FansidedFantasy where I do my best to keep you up to date on all the fantasy sports relevant news and happenings. I’ll be happy to give you my opinion on your lineup and your waiver wire claims if you let me know your situation and the move you’re considering making.

Make sure to consider your team’s specific needs whenever you add players from the fantasy football waiver wire. The players are listed in the general order I would pick them up, but it’s not a strict top ten ranking since it depends on what your team needs are at this point in the season and how your league sets up roster structure.

This week the Dolphins and Jets take a bye week after their London game and are joined on the sidelined by the Panthers and the Vikings.  With those four teams unavailable, owners may have to do some lineup adjusting for week 5.

If you’re planning on hitting the fantasy football waiver wire this week, here are the top 10 options that I think you should consider picking up.

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