Due to injuries and changing tides in the NFL, new names have consistently popped up during the season. It's important to stay aware of which names will provide the biggest last-minute punch-up in fantasy football, hence the ever-vital waiver wire.
Here are the top 10 pickups in the waiver wire for Week 5 of the 2020 NFL season.
9. Joshua Kelley, Los Angeles Chargers
Joshua Kelley is likely someone you've been told to pick up already. However, he is still available in plenty of leagues.
The Chargers are without Austin Ekeler for a little bit. That makes this a perfect opportunity for someone to step up.
Kelley has actually struggled in the last two weeks, but strong performances in Weeks 1 and 2 make him a pretty intriguing option.
He is far from perfect, and might be splitting carries still, but at this point in the season you probably are not going to find many people getting full-time workloads at the running back position.
8. Justin Jackson, Los Angeles Chargers
This is basically a carbon copy of Kelley if we are being honest. Justin Jackson is his teammate and fellow running back. He's also a fantastic option to fill in for Ekeler.
Jackson struggled in Week 1 and suffered an injury that made him miss the next two weeks.
When he returned in Week 4, the running back did not exactly fill up the box score. However, he had a few very promising plays. And as mentioned before, Kelley has struggled in recent weeks.
It seemed like the Chargers were pretty high on Jackson at the start of the year. So do not be surprised if they decide to give him a nice chunk of the carries and targets out of the backfield immediately starting in Week 5.
7. Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams
This might seem like a little bit of an odd one. Quarterbacks usually are not the big “waiver claim” names at this point in the season unless there is an injury.
Goff is available in some leagues, though, and has a very favorable matchup in Week 5 with the Washington Football Team, allowing at least 30 points in each of the last three games.
With Matthew Ioannidis out and Chase Young possibly still out, it certainly is a weakened line. Of course, that is their biggest strength. Without the pass rush at 100 percent, that defense is not all that frightening.
Now going up against a weakened Washington defense, Goff could be in store for a big game. Throw in the fact that Washington's offense tends to give their opponent a shortened field, and Goff might be throwing for a few touchdowns in Week 5.
6. Damien Harris, New England Patriots
Damien Harris had zero carries coming into Week 4 for the New England Patriots. Then against the Kansas City Chiefs he ran the ball 17 times for 100 yards.
Harris did not have any receptions or score any touchdowns, but that's still a solid enough fantasy game for a running back.
There is a serious issue with Harris though, he plays on the Patriots. Head coach Bill Belichick is famous for being insane when it comes to running backs. He will give fantasy owners migraines and he simply does not care.
Remember when Jonas Gray ran for over 200 yards and had four touchdowns in a game against the Indianapolis Colts in 2014? Then the next week he did not play, and followed that up with a one-carry game and a two-carry game?
This makes basically any New England running back a scary thought when it comes to fantasy.
Harris is exciting after Week 4, though, and worth the risk. He's not the only one on his team.
5. Rex Burkhead, New England Patriots
Rex Burkhead is a much safer bet, if we're being honest. He is probably never going to be the featured back in the offense for longer than a week or two, but he has a better chance of staying relevant in the offense for a longer period of time.
Burkhead probably got picked up in a lot of leagues after his incredible Week 3 performance. The New England running back had 49 yards and two touchdowns on six carries. At the same time, he had seven receptions for another 49 yards and another touchdown in the air.
That all led to an absolutely massive week. It didn't matter if you were standard, PPR or touchdown only—Burkhead was much more of an option in your mind.
Week 4 was much more tame, though. Burkhead had 11 carries for 45 yards and one reception for five yards. That coupled with the fact that Harris had a breakout game likely means Burkhead is available in more leagues this week.
He's probably not going to duplicate that Week 3 performance any time soon. But if you are desperate Burkhead is a safe bet to get you a couple of points each week. Good if you are in a tough spot.
4. Hunter Renfrow, Las Vegas Raiders
Renfrow was not great to start the year. He had just five receptions for 58 yards and no touchdowns in the first two weeks of the season combined. The only real positive was that he had done so on just five targets, making the most of his opportunity.
Of course, you could look at that as a negative too. Renfrow was not getting targets. That's changed over the last two weeks, though.
Renfrow has 11 receptions on 17 targets in his last two games. He's combined for 141 yards and one touchdown in that time.
Renfrow is one of the top options for quarterback Derek Carr in the Raiders offense. Despite that he is available in a lot of leagues, as many owners that did draft him likely lost a little faith after the first two weeks of the year.
If he is still available, scoop him up now. Renfrow could end up being a legitimately solid flex option every week from here on out.
3. Graham Gano, New York Giants
Graham Gano has been automatic for the New York Giants. He is 9-for-10 with his only miss coming from 50-plus yards (it was a 57-yarder at the end of the half against the Chicago Bears).
Many people probably thought Gano would not be nearly as relevant in fantasy football this year due to being on the Giants. But that has actually sort of worked in his favor. Lately it seems they can't get to the end zone, but are getting into field goal range a decent amount.
Gano is 3-for-3 on field goal attempts in each of his last two games and has had three field goal attempts in three straight weeks.
That's a lot of leg work. Due to that, Gano is now tied for fourth in the NFL in field goals made.
It also does not hurt that he has an absolute rocket of a leg. This means Gano is liable to hit from 50 at a moment's notice—if you are in a league that nets more points for longer field goals, he's a fantastic option.
2. Teddy Bridgewater, Carolina Panthers
Bridgewater, like Goff, is more of a circumstantial pickup. If you need a quarterback for Week 5 he is a solid option.
Bridgewater has not been great this year, but he has had some really nice moments. In four games he has just four touchdown passes compared to three interceptions. However, the Panthers quarterback also has 1,147 yards and is starting to show really impressive leg work as well.
He already has 70 rushing yards (his most since 2015) and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, in Week 4 against the Arizona Cardinals Bridgewater threw two touchdown passes and had 32 of those rushing yards and that one rushing touchdown. That's a really strong fantasy week.
Now this week, the Panthers face off with the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta has been just absolutely dreadful this year. So why not take a chance on Bridgewater and see if he can duplicate that success of Week 4 in Week 5?
He could be really nice trade bait if he does.
1. Isaiah Wright, Washington Football Team
Isaiah Wright has some pretty big boom-or-bust potential right now. He's got to be on this list, though. Steven Sims Jr. might be out again in Week 5, and it looks like Wright is getting a chance to make his case for more playing time now.
Washington is absolutely desperate for more offensive weapons. Terry McLaurin is a legitimate star wide receiver and Antonio Gibson has the makings of a star at running back.
It's too early in Gibson's career to get crazy though and McLaurin can't do it alone. So Washington has been testing out options for Dwayne Haskins to have.
Sims looks really nice but again, he's hurt. Last week Wright took advantage of his new playing time. The undrafted rookie had four receptions for 20 yards and one carry for nine yards. That's nothing great, I won't lie to you, but the week before Wright also had four receptions—this time for 24 yards. Once again he had a carry, this time for six yards.
Again, nothing great. But he's getting looks. Washington seems to like using him for short screen passes.
Most importantly though, it seems like the coaching staff likes him and that Haskins is getting more comfortable with him.
The Rams have had some troubles defensively this year and have particularly looked really bad against short passes this season. Washington might want to use that to their advantage.
With McLaurin likely getting shadowed by Jalen Ramsey all game, Wright might get a lot of quick looks. Pick him up now before he manages to have a true breakout performance. He's high risk, but high reward.
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