Week 5 Waiver Wire WR/RB Targets: Jaleel McLaughlin, Keaton Mitchell, Jameson Williams, Michael Wilson
We finished our third football Sunday, and now it's time to hit the waiver wire. With Week 3 nearly over, we are really starting to see things take shape around the league. Here, I am going to focus on the best running backs and wide receivers that may be available in your league.
Running Backs
Jaleel McLaughlin, Denver Broncos
McLaughlin was a popular pickup early in the season before Javonte Williams had proven to be back healthy and ready to handle a full workload. Williams suffered a hip injury on Sunday and it was McLaughlin and not Samaje Perine who excelled in their expanded role. There is a potential that Williams could miss time moving forward leaving him to build off of his impressive performance in which he totaled more than 100 yards from scrimmage averaging 10.3 yards per carry and catching all three of his targets including an 18-yard touchdown catch. However, keep in mind that he did accomplish this against a woeful Chicago Bears defense. That's not to say his performance wasn't impressive, but just to put it in a bit of perspective.
Keaton Mitchell, Baltimore Ravens
Mitchell is a lesser-known name and is a player who should be added and stashed in deeper leagues. He is an undrafted rookie who ran a 4.37 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine and has a lot of buzz around Baltimore. Through the first four games of the season, he has been stashed on injured reserve and is now eligible to return. Being that the Ravens have been crushed by injuries in their backfield and are running out the corpse of Melvin Gordon out there, it stands to reason that a dynamic rookie back could carve out a role in this offense. While he is far from a lock to contribute, there is certainly a path to fantasy production.
Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers
Hubbard led the Panthers' backfield with 14 carries on Sunday handling one more handoff than Miles Sanders. His 41 yards and 2.9 yards per carry also paces the team compared to Sanders's 19 yards and 1.5 yards per carry. Sanders likely saw his workload limited and lack of production due to a lingering groin injury which can be viewed as a positive or negative for Hubbard. On one hand, his touches may only be a direct result of an injury to Sander and could dissipate quickly upon his return to 100%. On the other hand, the running back ahead of him on the depth chart has a groin injury and those things can linger for a long time and are easily re-aggravated.
Jeff Wilson Jr., Miami Dolphins
Wilson started off the season on injured reserve and is eligible to be activated this week. There is a scenario where he is dropped into a significant role on the most explosive offense in the league. Everything had been going beyond smoothly for the Dolphins' offense and rushing attack prior to Week 4 when they ran into issues against the Buffalo Bills' top-ranked defense. Usually, this would be viewed as a blip on the radar chalked up to a tough matchup, but Raheem Mostert has shown some issues with ball security. Nothing causes a running back to fall out of favor quite as quickly as putting the ball on the ground. Combine that with the fact that we watched this same offense last year go back and forth between Mostert and Wilson last season from week to week and even drive to drive. There is sure to be volatility at the position, especially with explosive rookie Devon Achane now in the mix, nevertheless, this backfield has proven to have too much value to leave a potential co-starter on the wire.
Wide Receivers
Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions
If not for injury, Williams would have been the top wide receiver drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft and has the potential to be a superstar. Unfortunately, after missing the vast majority of his rookie season recovering from injury, he was then suspended for the first six games of this season due to violating the league's gambling policy. However, the league has since updated their gambling policy and that resulted in Williams's immediate reinstatement from suspension meaning that he could play this week. He could be an immediate game-changer and is one of the most dynamic talents in the league. This doesn't necessarily mean he will have an immediate impact, but the potential for him to be a league winner is undeniable. No one should be shocked if he flips a switch at some point this season and never looks back on his path to superstardom.
Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals
Wilson was a popular sleeper pick during draft season who fantasy owners have been waiting to break out. The rookie flashed all summer and physically provides the size the Cardinals' offense lacks. Nevertheless, once Josh Dobbs was named the starter of an already projected terrible offense and Wilson didn't do much the first few weeks, he was widely cast to waivers by the owners who did take a flier on him. It turns out that Dobbs may not be too bad and the Cardinals are better than anticipated as a whole. Wilson had a breakout performance in Week 4, catching seven passes for 76 yards and two TDs. He has the ability to make explosive plays on the outside and is a presence in the end zone that Dobbs needs. This could be the start of something special in Arizona.
Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals
Tee Higgins went down with a rib injury on Sunday and Boyd immediately saw a spike in targets. Joe Burrow targeted Boyd seven times in this game. Being that Burrow has been atrocious this year, Boyd only turned those seven targets into 26 yards against a terrible Titans' pass defense. Nonetheless, fantasy owners just have to hold out hope that Burrow and the Bengals will right the ship and get this thing on track. If Higgins is forced to miss time, Boyd should provide plenty of fantasy value. This would have been a slamdunk type of start over the past few years. This year he could be a bit more of a high-upside dart throw. Regardless, Boyd has proven time and time again how good he can be when given the opportunity and is worth picking up if Higgins misses time.
