Lions, Jaguars, and Jets! Oh my!

Oh my indeed when you look at my waiver suggestions this week. If you had asked me three months ago who I thought the top waiver wire pickups were, I would be shocked if I named anyone on those three teams, but here we are. The first special teams’ position made it to the list as well which is quite exciting. Here are the Week 5 waiver wire pickups.

*Owned % are in terms of the Yahoo platform at the time of writing

Week 5 waiver wire pickups: Worth a look (over 50% owned):

Gerald Everett, LAC- TE (75%)

Through the first four weeks, Gerald Everett has had decent production in each of them. With 10 targets in Week 2 and a touchdown in Weeks 1 and 4, Everett is establishing himself as one of the only dependable TEs in fantasy. Even if you already have a good TE on your team, Everett is a Week 5 waiver wire pickup now because his trade value is so immense.

Jared Goff, DET- QB (53%)

Jared Goff is leading a team who ranks first in the NFL in total yards, and first in the league in points scored, to the surprise of many. Despite his inconsistency in fantasy so far, Goff clearly showed his upside and ability to perform without star players. Goff can easily be a waiver wire pickup as a streaming option for teams that lost guys like Trey Lance or Tua Tagovailoa.

Week 5 waiver wire pickups

Josh Reynolds, DET- WR (20%)

Josh Reynolds has quietly been very productive thus far into the season. Yes, the absences of Amon-Ra and D.J. Chark certainly helped him out, but Reynolds has shown that he can produce even while they are out. In the last two weeks, he saw 18 targets and over 177 yards with a score, which to be frank, is waiver wire gold. 

Will Dissly, SEA- TE (3%)

By no means do I believe Will Dissly is a weekly starter at this point in time. What I do think however is that given the current TE shortage, taking a shot at Dissly as a streamer wouldn’t be too bad of an option. Dissly’s fantasy performance is entirely dependent on touchdowns, although he already has three of them so far.

If we see consistency in his red zone usage or an increase in volume, Dissly may find himself on a path to being a TE1.

Zay Jones, JAX- WR (29%)

The 21 points the Jaguars put up on Sunday were not anything special. What makes matters worse is that it doesn’t even tell the whole story. What we saw in the abysmal Jacksonville offense is that the absence of Zay Jones was as clear as day.

Christian Kirk was clearly unable to create separation on his own against a tough Eagles secondary. The bright side though is that when Zay Jones returns from injury, we can expect him to pick up right where he left off in his target share.

Jacksonville Jaguars, JAX- D/ST (13%)

Yes, I did just follow up a rant on the Jaguars by recommending them as a waiver wire pickup. The Jacksonville defense has been shockingly effective against competent teams this season. They followed their Week 2 shutout of the Colts with a strong showing against the Chargers.

Even though they lost this week, the Jaguars D/ST still scored well thanks to an Andre Cisco pick-six. The Jags D has a promising matchup against the Texans this week, whose offense has almost entirely consisted of check-downs and dump-offs.

Corey Davis, NYJ- WR (25%)

With a change at quarterback for the Jets, WR Corey Davis suddenly has upside considering that no receiver on the team had more targets, catches, yards, or touchdowns than him. While Davis’ production is still highly dependent on getting into the endzone, the volume he receives gives him a solid floor.

Davis may not be an easy start for a few weeks at least, but you shouldn’t be opposed to the idea of stashing him in case his connection with Zach Wilson thrives.

Rachaad White, TB- RB (27%)

Many fantasy managers were very close to dropping White, if they haven’t already, after his underwhelming start to the season. However, Rachaad White showed hope in Week 4 as he quietly started to claw at Fournette’s usage.

The highlight for White was not in the run game (despite scoring a touchdown), but rather in the passing game, where he saw 5 targets, catching all of them for 50 yards. Similarly to Corey Davis, White is worth the pickup as a stash prospect.

George Pickens, PIT- WR (39%)

George Pickens had high expectations this season even though he was just a second-round pick. Pickens didn’t heat up all season until Kenny Pickett came to play. In the second half alone, Pickens had six targets from Pickett, and we can now hope that they have the chemistry to make plays. Pickens is a risky pickup, but one with tremendous upside.