Josh Downs for the win?

We’ve completed nearly a third of the season! How are things looking for your fantasy teams? Well, I hope! Week 5 was full of surprises, with the Saints shellacking the Patriots and the Falcons pulling off a last-second win against the Texans.

And can we just stop with the injuries? If one AC sprain wasn’t enough, Derek Carr was joined by Anthony Richardson, who will miss a month or more due to a Grade 3 AC joint sprain.

We’re diving into my waiver wire targets for the week with two teams on bye and quarterback injuries continuing to mount. I’ll look into some of my observations from the week, and then dive into Thursday night.

I’ll try to keep my player takes as short and sweet as possible to make the newsletter easily digestible, yet impactful and informative.

News and Notes

• 🐏 If anyone was worried bout Puka Nacua with Cooper Kupp returning, I hope your fears have been pacified. Puka caught 7 of 11 targets for 71 yards and a touchdown in the Rams loss, trailing only Cooper Kupp and his eight catches for 118 yards. Also, Kupp picked up right where he left off.

• 🐅 Ja’Marr Chase put up a huge week with Tee Higgins out against the Cardinals. Even with the struggles the Bengals have had, it would be foolish to sit a guy like Chase with the kind of ceiling he possesses. He just proved why.

• 🛩️ The Denver Broncos gave Breece Hall a career day. His 177 rushing yards were the most of his career.

• Speaking of Breece Hall, if you want to know how bad it was for New England on Sunday, how about this: Hall had more rushing and receiving yards than the entire New England offense could muster 😬 

• 🪶 Unless or until the Chiefs get a true WR1, Rashee Rice is the guy to own not named Travis Kelce.

• Sam LaPorta, Cole Kmet, and Logan Thomas make up three of the top 6 TEs in PPR points per game.

• 🐦️ Hollywood Brown remained consistent. Ertz has surprisingly few targets in a plus matchup. Michael Wilson suffered a down game.

• With Anthony Richardson out, Minshew Mania is back. The mustached man will take over for the Colts. And to me, that means Josh Downs is a top waiver priority this week. Downs was already on his way to a big game with Richardson, but he kept up the pace with Minshew at QB.

• 🐬 De’Von Achane was a revelation once again in the Dolphins’ win over the Giants and should be viewed as a high-end RB2 with high-end, week-winning RB1 upside going forward. Here’s the thing, he won’t keep scoring at this rate. The rookie is scoring a touchdown on every 6.7 touches. Christian McCaffrey is scoring every 14.9 touches. I think he will score more often than the average running back given the offensive juggernaut Miami is, but that rate is unsustainable.

• 🔥 The Tennessee Titans regressed against the Colts, but DeAndre Hopkins had his best game as a Titan. If you can capitalize on this performance, I’d try to trade him away now, as I think these types of performances will be few and far between.

• DJ Moore, Adam Thielen, Nico Collins, and Hollywood Brown are all WR1’s in PPR formats through 5 weeks.

Waiver Wire and Trade Targets

• QB: Baker Mayfield vs. DET, Sam Howell vs. ATL

• RB: Emari Demercado vs. LAR, Justice Hill vs. TEN, Kendre Miller vs. HOU

• WR: Josh Downs vs. JAC, Curtis Samuel vs. ATL, Michael Wilson vs. LAR, Jonathan Mingo vs. MIA

• TE: Logan Thomas vs. ATL, Tyler Conklin vs. PHI

• DST: Jacksonville vs. IND, Atlanta vs. WAS

Downs is one of my favorite pickups of the week. Demercado depends greatly on the health of James Conner. I think Sam Howell is streamable, but so is the Atlanta defense. I really hope that Washington fixes their offensive line issues, but until they do, they’re good to give up some sacks.

Thursday Night Preview

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs are fairly simple to discuss. Start Mahomes, Kelce, Pacheco, and Rice. Rice has been leading the receivers all season and is the most consistent pass catcher outside of Kelce. Kelce leads all tight ends in points per game. Pacheco is always a threat for a big play.

Denver Broncos

Denver is more of a puzzle. Russell Wilson is a QB2 in this type of matchup. We don’t know if Javonte Williams will play at the time of writing. If he does, you can start him, but temper expectations. If he doesn’t go, Jaleel McLaughlin is a fine play, but once again, temper expectations against a strong defensive front. Jerry Jeudy is the best receiving option for the Broncos. Marvin Mims and Courtland Sutton both have a nose for a big play and/or the endzone. Beware of Denver tight-end options.

Final Thoughts

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