Fantasy Waiver Wire Week 5: Jameson Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin, Michael Wilson
Christian Petersen/Getty Images. Pictured: Michael Wilson.
This week’s waiver wire is the weakest of the season so far. No one truly stands out, but I’ll cover three of the biggest names below.
I’d avoid spending a significant portion of your FAAB this week. Hopefully, we have more meaningful names who have rest-of-season value next week.
Let's break down three of the hottest names and projects both short- and long-term outlooks.
RB Jaleel McLaughlin
McLaughlin had a big game after replacing Javonte Williams, who left the Broncos' win over the Bears with an injury.
If Williams misses time, I'd expect McLaughlin and Samaje Perine to form more of a 50-50 committee. There's a chance Williams doesn't miss any time, though, which makes McLaughlin a risky add.
Jerome Ford and De'Von Achane were premiere in-season additions because they had value for the rest of the season.
I'm a huge fan of stashing high-upside backup RBs in case the starter misses time, but McLaughlin might require a decent-sized bid to acquire this week.
If you're in a deeper league where there aren't many high-upside backup RBs available and you need a potential spot start, by all means, add McLaughlin.
Verdict: Zach Charbonnet is available in 40% of Yahoo! leagues. If he's somehow available in your league, I'd rather stash him. He's a Kenneth Walker III injury away from being a potential RB1/2 option.
Players like Charbonnet are who I'd rather stash instead of playing whack-a-mole by taking the most recent backup RB who just had a big game when the starter isn't even guaranteed to miss time.
WR Michael Wilson
Wilson is off to a great start to his rookie season, operating as Arizona's clear WR3.
Wilson is averaging a healthy 75% routes run rate over the past two weeks and has seen a 20% target rate in two of the Cardinals' first four games. He has an average depth of target of 16, which means he'll be a boom/bust player on a weekly basis. He's caught 82% of targets this season when we should expect him to catch around 57% of targets if that kind of depth of target continues.
Verdict: I'm not sure the No. 3 or 4 target in the Cardinals offense is a must-add player, but Wilson could be your best option if you're in a deeper league and you find yourself as a big underdog in need of a fill-in WR. I'm not a fan of spending much of your FAAB budget on him unless it makes sense.
WR Jameson Williams
Williams had his suspension shortened by a game and will return to action in Week 5.
I wouldn't expect the second-year WR to hit the ground running as a WR2/3 option. He had a rough rookie campaign that saw him haul in one catch despite playing six games.
Williams was easing his way back from an ACL injury last season and has a ton of talent, but he's far from a slam dunk this season, especially on the Lions. Amon-Ra St. Brown is a target hog and rookie TE Sam LaPorta commands his own high target share. Also, we're yet to see pass-catching rookie RB Jahmyr Gibbs hit his stride.
Williams could emerge from the Josh Reynolds/Kalif Raymond/Marvin Jones group to become the clear No. 2 WR in the Lions offense, but he'll likely still be a boom/bust downfield threat.
Verdict: I’m OK taking a flier on Williams and stashing him on your bench, but I wouldn’t go overboard bidding on him as there is a chance we never come to a point where we can trust him in our starting lineups this season. He's ideal for large DFS tournaments due to his big-play ability, though.
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