Week Five Waiver Wire: QB RB WR TE
Week Five Waiver Wire QB Options
Week four is almost behind us and some of you are starting to appreciate that this is a passing league. You just wish that you had passed your quarterback into the trash. Some of you didn’t think that Mitchell Trubisky would be the number one quarterback in week four. And you were wrong. Some of you thought Ryan Fitzpatrick would keep the starting job in Tampa Bay. And you were wrong. Some of you thought fantasy football could be fun. And oh boy were you wrong. If I don’t mention someone who you think I should be talking about, just know there are many reasons why I overlooked them. Maybe they are owned in most leagues. Maybe they are so bad I don’t even consider them. Maybe it’s because your opinions cannot be trusted. After all, you are here. So let us examine our best week five waiver wire QB options.
THE ONE WEEK WONDERS (A.K.A Has He Finally Figured It Out?)
Mitchell Trubisky – Owned in 17% of leagues – Sometimes a hero rises from the ashes of their failures. Sometimes that hero says “enough is enough.” They decide that they are just not going to take it anymore. In this case, the hero is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense, who decided they had had it with playing defense and let Mitchell Trubisky and the Chicago Bears rain football death upon them. Trubisky’s 354 yard and 6 touchdown performance was something that Bears fans had never seen before. Well, not from a Chicago Bears quarterback anyway. While I hope that Trubisky has finally figured it out, I would wait to see how he looks against a much tougher Miami Dolphins defense after their bye week before I make any long-term decisions regarding Mitchell “Mitch” Trubisky.
Marcus Mariota – Owned in 27% of leagues – Marcus Mariota has been a constant source of frustration for fantasy football owners over the years. The most frustrating part is trying to determine if he is bad or if he is in such consistently horrible circumstances that he might be able to turn it around. For 2018, I can’t tell if Mariota is bad or if his elbow injury is what is holding him back. What I do know if that if I needed to take a flyer among week five waiver wire QBs, I wouldn’t mind seeing how he matches up against a Buffalo Bills team that is just terrible at football.
Derek Carr – Owned in 26% of leagues – Derek Carr is an interesting fantasy prospect for the rest of the season. While I want no part of the Oakland Raiders offense, an argument can be made for taking a week five waiver wire QB flyer on Derek Carr. Oakland’s defense looks terrible and I have the sneaking suspicion that the Raiders will be playing from behind a lot. This week, Derek Carr threw for 437 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions against a very stout Cleveland Browns defense. His schedule over the next few weeks gets considerably easier. Having said all that, while I wouldn’t rush to burn my waiver position on grabbing Derek Carr right now, I am certainly keeping an eye on him.
THE WONDERS HOW THEY ARE STILL PRODUCING (A.K.A Why haven’t I rostered them yet?)
Joe Flacco – Owned in 29% of leagues – We cannot have the conversation of elite quarterback play without talking about Joe Flacco. In week four, Flacco threw for 363 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, putting up low-end QB1 numbers. Even more impressively, Joe Flacco has been a QB1 three out of four weeks this season. While he isn’t flashy, he has been reliable. If you are desperate for a fill in at quarterback, you could do worse than Joe Flacco from the week five waiver wire QB pile.
Blake Bortles – Owned in 25% of leagues – In our world famous Football Absurdity player profiles, I had a very simple message regarding Blake Bortles: You do not have to be good at football to be good at fantasy football. Once again, Blake Bortles has made me look like a prophet, because four weeks into the fantasy football season, he is the QB12. Bortles continued to prove himself a valuable fantasy football asset in week four with his 388 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. While Bortles isn’t much to look at on the football field, he is certainly worth looking at if you need help from the week five waiver wire QBs.
THE ABSURD – A.K.A. Why Am I Even Looking At Them?
Dak Prescott – Owned in 34% of leagues – For the first time this year, Dak Prescott threw multiple touchdowns in a game. He threw for 255 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. But his best game isn’t even good enough to make him a QB1 in week four. I’ll admit, I was a fan of his value going into the season. But where Dak Prescott has the most value is on the week five waiver wire QB pile, where someone else might be dumb enough to pick him up.
Jameis Winston – Owned in 9% of leagues – It is official: Once the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come back from their bye week, Jameis Winston will be the starter. If you need quarterback help, you won’t get it from him in week five. If his week four effort in relief of Ryan Fitzpatrick is any indication, you might not get it then.
