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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Early pickups for Week 5

mo castillo
Senior Editor
·2 min read

It's never too early to look toward your next matchup and a chance to bolster your fantasy football lineups. Here are some options to consider for Week 5, which will feature four teams (Lions, Eagles, Chargers and Titans) on bye.

Josh Downs was one of the more popular breakout picks before the season started, but a preseason injury caused him to miss the first two games of the season. His first game back was quiet; his second game was anything but.

With Joe Flacco under center after Anthony Richardson's injury, the Colts aired it out and Downs was a direct beneficiary. He tied Michael Pittman Jr. for the team lead with nine targets, and he scored a touchdown. The talented Downs looks to have immediately returned to being a top target for this team (sorry, Alec Pierce truthers), and he's still just rostered in 20% of Yahoo leagues.

Andy Dalton continues to be the rising tide that lifts all boats for this Panthers offense. Even in a loss in Week 4 to the Bengals, the Panthers had a strong, concentrated three of Chuba Hubbard (18-104-1), Diontae Johnson (13-7-83-1) and rookie receiver Xavier Legette, who delivered the best game of his young career.

With Dalton at the helm, Legette looks like a legit target earner on a suddenly potent offense. The rookie is rostered in just 14% of leagues.

The Packers, led by the returning Jordan Love, mounted a furious comeback against the Vikings that fell just short on Sunday. That comeback was aided by the efforts of Dontayvion Wicks, who, along with Jayden Reed, delivered a huge performance.

Wicks scored two of Love's four passing touchdowns, but he also led the team in targets with 13. Much has been made about the Packers' crowded pass-catching corps, but with Christian Watson leaving this game with an ankle injury, Wicks has a chance to become the No. 2 option behind Reed. Wicks is rostered in 13% of leagues.