We’re past the quarter pole of the fantasy season. At this point, we finally have a fairly clear look at each team’s depth chart for the skill positions. It was only about Week 3 when we saw the WR2 and WR3s emerge, but now there is some separation for the WRs, especially on the pass-first teams or the higher-power offenses.
Fantasy football waiver wire: 5 wide receivers to target for Week 5
A lot of WR2s are heating up in some offenses that are better than expected. We break down which fantasy receivers you might want to add with more bye weeks coming up.
Secondly, we’ve also got a good look at opposing defenses and corners. Some teams have a strong lock-down corner while others have a weak CB2. If that’s the case, a number of WR2s can be successful. Some of those guys are solid pickups:
Rueben Randle, New York Giants (owned in 38 percent of leagues)
The Giants are starting to move the ball really well, which isn’t a surprise with how much money they paid quarterback Eli Manning. Randle didn’t have a spectacular week against the Bills, catching three of his six targets for 31 yards and one touchdown.
It gets better, though. Randle gets a vulnerable San Francisco 49ers defense in Week 5. While it managed to keep the Green Bay Packers in check, it was sitting at No. 28 for fantasy points allowed to receivers. Randle should be considered as a WR3 this week and is worth owning in 12-team leagues.
Leonard Hankerson, Atlanta Falcons (owned in 18 percent of leagues)
Hankerson had a big game on Sunday, catching six of his eight targets for 103 yards and one score over the Houston Texans. Teams are really starting to put heavy coverage on Julio Jones, so it has clearly opened some things up for Hankerson.
Looking ahead, his schedule is tremendous. He gets Washington next week for a revenge game (!), the New Orleans Saints and the Tennessee Titans. He could easily be a WR3 in that span or even a low-end WR2.
Allen Hurns, Jacksonville Jaguars (owned in 17 percent of leagues)
Two weeks, two big games. Hurns had 70 yards and a score in Week 3, and then exploded in Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts. He caught a whopping 11 passes for 116 yards and one score. That’s good for an incredible 28.6 points in a PPR league. He’s still likely behind Allen Robinson on the depth chart, but a big preseason and the recent production should vault him higher into the game plan.
His schedule is very nice, too. He gets the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Houston Texans in the next two weeks. Both have given up some big lines to WR2. See: Hankerson, Leonard.
Kenny Stills, Miami Dolphins (owned in 18 percent of leagues)
For some reason, the Dolphins really went away from receiver Rishard Matthews, who wasn’t even on the board until the fourth quarter. On the other hand, Stills went off with 81 yards and one score on his five catches.
The problem with Miami is it’s a little too tough to predict who gets the big game. Plus, now with a different coach, more changes could be coming. Matthews is still the better property in fantasy, but give Stills a look for his upside on big plays.
Marvin Jones, Cincinnati Bengals (owned in 56 percent of leagues)
Jones is a lot like Randle. He had a big Week 3 with 94 yards and a score, but he flopped in Week 4 with just 4 yards. Still, he should be given the benefit of the doubt going forward. Although, he would have been higher on this list because he has some bad matchups in the next two weeks with the Seattle Seahawks and the Buffalo Bills. You probably won’t need to burn a waiver to add him.
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