Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire
Happy Tuesday Fantasy Footballers. We had a fun Week 4 and I hope you wake up today on the winning side of your matchup. As I sit here and watch the Denver Broncos fail the old hook-and-ladder play to try and steal the game from the Kansas City Chiefs, it is unfortunate that we can’t run out and just grab Patrick Mahomes. However, there are some gems to be found out there and you need to know about them. If you have any Chicago Bears or Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who will be on bye this week, you probably find yourself looking for replacements. Also, if you have Tyler Eifert, T.Y. Hilton, Rob Gronkowski’s ankle, or Leonard Fournette’s hamstrings then you could also be scrambling for some big lineup replacements. If you didn’t win this week or if you just need some help with bolstering your lineup, you came to the right place to get your weekly priority adds going into week 5. If you are new here, we look at a priority add from all of the major positions and a wildcard of the week that I believe could be icing on the cake for you in week 5.
Priority Adds
QB – Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens (25% Owned)
Can you believe it? Joe Flacco is actually relevant (sort of) again in fantasy circles. Currently ranked as a top-15 QB in fantasy football, Flacco is slowly putting together a good season based on volume alone. Averaging 42.75 passing attempts per game, Flacco has the volume to have multiple touchdown upside in every single game he plays in. And in week 5 he gets the benefit of facing Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns. Mayfield may have bolstered the Cleveland offensive attack, but he also helps out the opposing quarterback due to his ability to put up points and keep games in shootout mode, and his tendency to turn the ball over and put the ball in the opposing quarterback’s hands. Look for Flacco to have a big game this week and be a serviceable bye week filler throughout the upcoming heavy bye weeks throwing bombs to John Brown and dumping the ball to Willie Snead and Buck Allen.
FAAB: 2%
RB – TJ Yeldon, Jacksonville Jaguars (47% owned)
Hurry. Go check and see if TJ Yeldon is available. Now. Did you do it? Good. Yeldon gets a butter matchup in Week 5 against the Swiss-cheese Chiefs defense that just gave up 7.2 YPC to Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay. Also, this could turn into a multi-week investment as Leonard Fournette and his hamstrings are set to miss at least two games, I am guessing more. The Broncos only ran the ball 22 times on Monday Night Football against the Chiefs, but I don’t think that the Jags will be that nice. Look for Yeldon to go over 20 carries by himself in Week 5 after logging 18/52/1 to go along with 3/48/1 in the receiving department. Plug him in as an immediate RB2 starting in Week 5. If you have a FAAB league, you will have to pay a pretty penny for him, but I believe it will be worth it.
FAAB: 30%
WR – Keke Coutee, Houston Texans (3% owned)
Well that was unexpected. The rookie out of Texas Tech, Keke Coutee missed the first three weeks due to injury. So what else do you do in your NFL debut than rack up FIFTEEN targets, catching 11 for 109 yards. With paper thin Will Fuller in front of him, Coutee is the de facto WR2 for the Houston Texans if and when Will Fuller gets hurt. Even outside of that, Fuller is a deep ball specialist, while Coutee showed himself to be the cuddly safety blanket for Deshaun Watson. Will he get 15 targets every week? No, he will not. However, Houston’s bye week is not until Week 10, so there are definitely worse options out there to fill in for your injured or bye week players. Regardless, I like Coutee to have flex appeal for the rest of the season as long as he is on the field with upside for more. It is obvious that Watson loves the kid, showing immediate chemistry.
FAAB: 8%
TE – Vance McDonald, Pittsburg Steelers (44% owned)
I debated going Tyler Kroft here for the Cincinnati Bengals with Tyler Eifert likely missing the rest of the season with a gruesome ankle injury, but I just can’t turn down the opportunity to give you one last chance at the semi-truck on legs that is Vance McDonald. After bulldozing his way, literally, to 4 catches for 112 yards and a touchdown in Week 3, he tied for the team lead in receiving in Week 4, logging 5 catches for 62 yards. If you were able to watch the game, you saw his trucking ability that is becoming legendary amongst those that wave the Terrible Towel. If you find yourself with need at TE this week and beyond, go grab McDonald and plug him in as a back-end TE1 until further notice.
FAAB: 2%
Wildcard of the Week
WR – Dede Westbrook, Jacksonville Jaguars (17% owned)
Look, if I am going to put my job on the line by recommending two Jags offensive players in one week, that is a wildcard in itself. Listen, someone has to emerge from the pack in the Jaguars receiving game alongside Keelan Cole and I just have to believe that Dede Westbrook is more talented than Donte Moncrief. After dropping 4/82/1 in Week 2, he went for 9/130/0 in Week 4, showing fantastic chemistry with QB Blake Bortles. Westbrook is my pick to beat out Moncrief for primary WR2 duties in Jacksonville and I don’t mind throwing a couple dollars of my FAAB at him to see if I am right.
FAAB: 2%