Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups: Target Dawson Knox, Darnell Mooney, Trey Lance, More In Week 5

It was another tough week on the injury front in the NFL. Elijah Mitchell, Rob Gronkowski, Tee Higgins, Chase Claypool, Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, A.J. Brown, and Julio Jones all missed their respective games, while Logan Thomas, David Montgomery, Jimmy Garoppolo, Will Fuller, Teddy Bridgewater and Dyami Brown were all injured during their games.

Whether you need replacements for Montgomery or Thomas, or a Week 5 streamer, make sure to check out The Action Network's top targets at each position — all of which are available in at least 50% of Yahoo! leagues — that you should prioritize come Tuesday night.

Note: Yahoo! roster percentages are reflected in parenthesis and as of Monday. 

Fantasy Waiver Wire Pickups

Fantasy Waiver QBs To Target 

Sam Darnold, Panthers (37% rostered)

Darnold posted yet another very solid fantasy outing and will finish as a high-end QB1 with 31.5 fantasy points in four-points-per-passing-touchdown scoring. Much of his production came on the ground, as he tallied six rush attempts for 35 yards and two touchdowns. He should be a solid streamer over the next few weeks at home against the Eagles and Vikings, and then on the road against the Giants and Falcons.

Priority: High if streaming quarterbacks.

Trey Lance, 49ers (30%)

Lance replaced starter Jimmy Garoppolo in the second half of Sunday’s game against the Seahawks and completed nine of 18 attempts for 157 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions and tacked on seven rushes for 41 yards. Garoppolo is set to have an MRI on his right calf on Monday and said he’s “hopeful” it will only sideline him for “a couple of weeks.” This likely means Lance will get the Week 5 start against the Cardinals, though if he performs while Garoppolo is sidelined, this could be a more permanent switch.

Priority: Medium to high, if streaming quarterbacks; highest in dynasty/keeper formats.

Daniel Jones, Giants (31%)

In spite of a dud against Atlanta in Week 3, Jones was QB10 for fantasy through three weeks and will finish top 12 at the position this week after leading the Giants to their first win of the season in overtime. He completed 28 of 40 attempts for 402 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and rushed four times for 27 yards. Perhaps more impressive was his ability to produce without two of his top receivers, Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton. He has week-to-week streaming potential in the right matchups, which includes this coming week on the road against the Cowboys.

Priority: Medium to high if streaming quarterbacks.

Taylor Heinicke, Washington (10%)

Since taking over for an injured Ryan Fitzpatrick, Heinicke has finished as QB12, QB10 and QB5 with one game left on the slate. He completed 23 of 33 attempts for 290 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions and had five carries for 43 rushing yards. It isn’t always the prettiest, but with Washington’s defense playing surprisingly poorly, Heinicke has been able to put up major fantasy production. His rushing gives him a safe floor and he is definitely worth an add in superflex and two-quarterback leagues, and worthy of streaming consideration in the right matchups (see: Week 6 against the Chiefs).

Priority: High in two-quarterback/superflex formats; low to medium if streaming quarterbacks in one-quarterback formats.

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Fantasy Waiver RBs To Target 

Damien Williams, Bears (10%)

Editor's Note: This blurb was updated after Tuesday reports of David Montgomery missing four to five weeks.

David Montgomery had a monster game in Week 4 and posted 23 carries for 106 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Unfortunately, the Bears’ star had to be helped off the field with a knee injury and will miss four to five weeks. Williams — his widely-available backup — would be next in line to see the lion's share of the workload. He saw eight carries for 55 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 15 yards in Week 4 and should be considered an RB2 while Montgomery is sidelined.

Priority: Highest.

Kenneth Gainwell, Eagles (29% rostered)

Miles Sanders was a total dud against the permeable Chiefs defense and saw seven carries for 13 yards (1.9 yards per carry). Sanders did catch three of three targets for 34 yards, but Gainwell looked like the more effective back in this game. The rookie saw three carries for 31 yards and a touchdown and caught six of eight passes for 58 yards. This will probably be a committee all season, but if Gainwell keeps performing this well, there’s a good chance he could begin to see a larger share of the workload over Sanders.

Priority: High.

Latavius Murray, Ravens (47%)

Ty’Son Williams was a surprising late scratch on Sunday, giving Murray, Le’Veon Bell and Devonta Freeman more opportunities. Murray saw 18 of the running backs’ 23 carries and tallied 59 yards and a touchdown. Williams had two strong games and one not-so-good game in Week 3, so it is a little curious to see him already in the doghouse with coach John Harbaugh. For now, consider Murray to be the lead back in this run-first offense. He should be rostered in all but the shallowest of leagues.

Priority: High.

J.D. McKissic, Washington (39%)

Antonio Gibson led the team in rushing in this game, but it was McKissic who stole the show for the second week this year. He saw seven carries for 15 yards, reeled in all five targets for 44 yards and vaulted into the end zone in a video game-esque, 30-yard touchdown. He’s a flex play with upside, especially in PPR formats.

Priority: Medium.

Brandon Bolden, Patriots (2%)

The Patriots did nothing on the ground and tallied eight attempts for -1 yards. Wide receiver Nelson Agholor was the team’s best rusher, though Bolden was able to snag all six of his targets for 51 yards. It appears he will be taking over the role James White had before his injury and could prove useful for fantasy, especially in PPR formats.

Priority: Medium.

Darrel Williams, Chiefs (9%)

The fantasy community finally got the Clyde Edwards-Helaire breakout game this week, as the Year 2 running back saw 16 touches for 114 scrimmage yards and a touchdown and  — perhaps more importantly — did not fumble the ball. We did see a decent amount of Damien Williams peppered in, however. Williams had 10 carries for 42 yards and a touchdown and caught both of his targets for 16 yards. He should be on fantasy managers’ radar, if only as Edwards-Helaire’s backup.

Priority: Low to medium.

Fantasy Waiver WRs To Target 

Darnell Mooney, Bears (38% rostered)

What we saw of Mooney last season was super promising opposite Chicago’s menagerie of quarterbacks and it appeared the stars were aligning for a Year 2 breakout. He was mostly quiet through three games, but delivered big time, posting five catches on seven targets for a career-best 125 receiving yards. His value would be lower should Andy Dalton win back his job as the starter, but he is definitely worth a look this upcoming week on the road in Las Vegas. Run — don’t walk — to the waiver wire for this stud wideout.

Priority: High; highest in dynasty/keeper formats.

Kadarius Toney, Giants (3%)

Out of sheer necessity, Toney saw a massive uptick in targets in Week 4 with Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton sidelined. Through Weeks 1 to 3, the rookie caught four of five targets for 14 yards. He reeled in six of nine targets for 78 yards in New Orleans and while he’s more of a long-term play, he should see increased work should Shepard and Slayton miss additional time. The Giants face Dallas next week and Toney could be an attractive deep league streamer.

Priority: Medium; higher in dynasty/keeper formats.

Randall Cobb, Packers (6%)

Prior to this game, Cobb was barely targeted and saw just four catches for 58 yards and zero touchdowns. He delivered in a big way with Marquez Valdes-Scantling on injured reserve with a hamstring injury and caught five of six passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns. He is definitely worth a look while Valdes-Scantling remains sidelined as a low-cost receiver

Priority: Medium.

A.J. Green, Cardinals (24%)

Green’s rostership has been ticking up as the season has progressed for good reason. He was the team’s best receiver in Week 4 and reeled in five passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. He has been targeted exactly six times in each game this year and has been the Cardinals’ most consistent pass-catcher of late. He is worthy of flex consideration in the right matchups.

Priority: Medium.

Rashod Bateman, Ravens (25%)

Bateman began the season on injured reserve after suffering a groin injury in training camp that required surgery. The 2021 first-rounder returned to practice this week, though was not activated for Week 4. I still think his return is eminent and is a nice bench stash, even with Marquise Brown finally catching passes.

Priority: Low to medium.

Curtis Samuel, Washington (40%)

Samuel finished as WR25 in half PPR after reeling in 77 catches for 851 yards and five touchdowns. He was activated from injured reserve after dealing with a lingering groin issue ahead of Week 4 and caught all four of his targets for just 19 yards. His role should increase as he gets healthier, though his ceiling is lower with Taylor Heinicke under center.

Priority: Low.

Fantasy Waiver TEs To Target

Dawson Knox, Bills (47% rostered)

Knox took advantage of a soft Week 4 matchup and caught five of eight targets for 37 yards and two touchdowns. He has scored four times in three games in the Bills’ high-powered offense and has more points than Travis Kelce in that span. He will finish as a top-three tight end for the week and is a borderline must-start player, especially with the tight end landscape as unpredictable as it is. Buffalo faces the Chiefs and Titans before the Bills' Week 7 bye and Knox will be a good streaming option in each of those weeks.

Priority: High.

Dalton Schultz, Cowboys (33%)

Schultz performed well in a tough matchup against the Panthers, who entered the week as the top-rated defense according to Football Outsiders’ DVOA. He caught six of eight passes for 58 yards and a touchdown and has scored three times in two weeks. Blake Jarwin also scored a touchdown in the game, but Schultz is currently TE3 through four weeks in half PPR. He has top-12 upside rest-of-season.

Priority: Medium to high.