Good morning.

Welcome to October! The greatest month of the year.

But be sure to book your apple picking and trips to pumpkin patches for Saturdays, because Sundays are for one thing and one thing only:

Watching half your fantasy team get injured.

Luckily, that’s where waivers come in. And this week we have some gems…

AROUND THE LEAGUE 🚨

Nick Chubb’s Practice Window Open

The Cleveland Browns have opened the practice window for Nick Chubb, meaning they now have 21 days to put him on the active roster.

It’s highly unlikely he plays this week, and the Browns would be wise to slowly ease him back into game action, but expect the perennial Pro Bowler to be a full go for the 2nd half of the year.

In other injury-related news…

• Christian McCaffrey has Achilles tendonitis in BOTH Achilles

• Rashee Rice is believed to have torn his ACL, but he is still undergoing testing and that has yet to be confirmed. He will be out for an extended period of time, but it’s unknown as of now if he is done for the season

• Anthony Richardson is day-to-day with a hip pointer, as well as oblique and abdominal strains

• Jonathan Taylor’s ankle sprain isn’t likely to land him on IR, but expect him to miss some time

• Christian Watson is week-to-week with his own ankle sprain

SPONSOR

WAIVER WIRE 🧐

Running Back

Bengals RB Chase Brown “went off for 23.2 fantasy points in the Bengals’ first win of the season, gaining 92 yards from scrimmage and punching in two TDs. Zack Moss saw the bulk of the snaps for Cincinnati (58% to 42%), as usual, but the RBs had the same number of carries (15 apiece). The intriguing development was seeing Brown handle three of the team’s four red-zone carries.” — NFL.com’s Dan Parr.

Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt saw two-thirds of Kansas City's RB rushes and a 10.7% target share on Sunday, both of which were backfield highs in Week 4, per J.J. Zachariason. Carson Steele has struggled with fumbles, clearing the path for the veteran Hunt to take over as KC’s RB1.

Raiders RB Alexander Mattison's rushing yards over expected per carry is at +1.4, while “starter” Zamir White's is -0.7. Mattison also has a 41.2% success rate on the ground, while White's is 22.4% (per Next Gen Stats). It’s only a matter of time until Mattison takes the majority of the work in this backfield.

Colts RB Trey Sermon should be in line to start while Jonathan Taylor’s out. Tyler Goodson will likely mix in, too, but Sermon should get the majority of the work. His skillset isn’t exciting, but his schedule is: @JAX, @TEN, MIA.

• Bears RB Roschon Johnson is the clear No. 2 back in Chicago and could quickly gain ground on D’Andre Swift
  

• Jags RB Tank Bigsby actually looks good this year! He led the team in rushing yards (90) in Week 4 despite seeing 4 fewer carries than Etienne (11 to 7), and earned two goal line carries as well, per Fantasy Points
  

• If he’s somehow still available, snag Bucs RB Bucky Irving. He took over as the goal line back in Week 4 and is gaining ground on Rachaad White’s receiving work, too:

Wide Receiver

Packers WR Dontayvion Wicks led the team in target share (25%) after Christian Watson went down, finishing with five catches on 13 targets for 78 yards and two TDs. He’s a frisky start while Watson’s out, given his big play ability.

For a more in-depth analysis of Wicks’ talent, read this excerpt from Ryan Heath of Fantasy Points’ Five Stats to Know:

Panthers WR Xavier Legette:

Colts WR Josh Downs saw a big boost in Week 4 thanks to Joe Flacco. Unfortunately for him, Anthony Richardson isn't likely to miss much time. But regardless, he’s worth a stash as he ranks behind only Cooper Kupp and Malik Nabers in first-read share at 37.8%, per Fantasy Points.

Giants WR Wan’Dale Robinson is quietly 4th in the NFL in targets (38) and receptions (26), per NBCSports’ Kyle Dvorchak. Malik Nabers is also dealing with a concussion that could sideline him for Week 5, making Robinson a PPR scam for the ages.

Rams WR Jordan Whittington had a 27.3% target share against the Bears — highest on the team. It's the highest target share anyone on the Rams has seen since Cooper Kupp's Week 1 performance against the Lions, per J.J. Zachariason. The Rams’ WR corps has been pretty mid since Kupp and Puca Nacua went down, but Whittington’s the most likely candidate to exceed his current value.

QB & TE

Steelers QB Justin Fields finally had a game where it all came together: He completed 22 of 34 passes for 312 yards and one TD, adding 10 carries for 55 yards and two TDs. Fields has now scored 19.4+ fantasy points in back-to-back games with 3 rushing TDs in that span, and should be Pittsburgh’s starter for the foreseeable future.

Vikings QB Sam Darnold is the QB5 thanks to his 11 passing TDs (no one else has more than eight! Per Dan Parr). He’s due for some regression this week against a tough Jets D, but he’s done enough through the last month to prove he’s for real.

Colts QB Joe Flacco could be worth a stream if Anthony Richardson misses time. He looked great in limited action, finishing with 168 passing yards and two TDs. He’s worth a stash regardless in Superflex/2QB leagues given Richardson’s style of play.

Packers TE Tucker Kraft is the clear TE1 in Green Bay after playing the majority of snaps Sunday (65/76 snaps, 85.5%; 48/56 routes, 85.7%, per @GuruFantasyWrld). He finished with six catches on a career-high nine targets for 53 yards and a TD (18.3 fantasy points) and should continue to produce in one of the league’s best passing offenses.

Commanders TE Zach Ertz “has caught 15 of 16 targets through four weeks, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise since his quarterback is completing an outrageous 82.1% of his throws. We’re still waiting on Ertz’s first TD of 2024, although he did snag a two-point conversion on Sunday.” — Yahoo’s Andy Behrens

D/ST

The Denver Broncos have allowed only 16 total points over the last two weeks and take on a boring Raiders offense in Week 5. Pat Surtain II and the boys are a smash start this week.

The Seattle Seahawks defense may have been dropped prior to their matchup against Detroit last night. If so, snag them for their Week 5 matchups against the Giants, who have given up the 6th-most fantasy points per game to opposing defenses (per Roto Street Journal’s Sean Keegs) and could be without their top playmaker in Malik Nabers.

The Indianapolis Colts take on the Jags, and Trevor Lawrence has been one of the worst QBs in the league thus far in 2024. He’s ranked 32nd in completion percentage, 22nd in passing yards, and 26th in passer rating at 78.9, per Sean Keegs. He’s managed to mitigate the damage by limiting turnovers as he has just one through four weeks, but it hasn’t been enough — Jacksonville is 0-4 and has yielded the 8th-most points to fantasy defenses.

POLL 📊

DEEP DIVES 🤿

All-In

Stash these players on your bench before they blow up. Last week, the perfect pickups were Kareem Hunt & Trey Sermon.

Bengals TE Erick All, Jr. (0.4%) is a name to watch in deeper leagues or TE Premium formats. We highlighted him in last week’s trends, then he proceeded to out-snap Mike Gesicki (season-high 61% snap rate). Unfortunately, he only ran nine routes, but he caught all four of his targets and should continue to earn more throughout the season.

Ravens RB Justice Hill (9.7%) is 5th among RBs in target share (16%) and yards per route run (2.4), while grading as PFF’s No. 1 RB in the receiving game, per Kyle Dvorchak. The Ravens get three potentially high-scoring affairs in the next three weeks with Cincinnati, Washington, and Tampa Bay upcoming on the schedule. Hill should be good for RB3 numbers in PPR formats over that stretch.

Raiders WR Tre Tucker (10.2%) is averaging 19 fantasy points per game over the last two weeks, scoring a TD in each contest. If Davante Adams remains out (or gets traded), Tucker is FLEX-worthy.

Bills RB Ray Davis (8.7%) is a high-upside stash candidate in case James Cook misses time. Davis is a big bruiser who may not have the breakaway speed of Cook, but can rack up TDs in a high-powered offense if given the chance.

Chiefs WR Justin Watson (0.3%) ran the 2nd-most routes among KC WRs after Rashee Rice left the game on Sunday:

His ceiling is limited, but he offers TD-upside if you’re desperate for a FLEX.

QUICK SLANTS 👀

📖 Read Dwain McFarland of FantasyLife’s Week 5 Utilization Report. McFarland’s report is a must-read every week, where he offers up the top-12 takeaways from players’ usage.

📖 Read Dan Schneier of CBSSports’ Week 5 Worry-O-Meter. He’s in full panic mode when it comes to Travis Etienne: “Get what you can from a manager who will lean on last year's role, production, and desperation at the running back position.”

📖 Read Michael Salfino of The Athletic’s Week 4 Takeaways for everything you need to know if you missed out on some of last week’s action.

🎙️Listen to The Ringer Fantasy Football Show’s Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 5. Danny Heifetz, Danny Kelly, and Craig Horlbeck discuss the best pickups of the week while making you laugh with hilarious trivia questions and the best part of the show: emails!

📺 Watch Aidan Hutchinson run into a young fan wearing his jersey to get you in your feels😢:

TWEET OF THE DAY

Life’s rough being a Browns fan…

Before we go, send your well wishes to Jets fans after their team lost to Bo Nix, who only threw for 60 yards.🤯

Here was his stat line at one point:

Best of luck on the waiver wire. See you Thursday.

- Marcus