We’ve made it to the quarter mark of the NFL season already! Heading into Week 5, injuries and underachievers need to be dealt with to get your fantasy football franchise back on track — or ensure it keeps chugging along.
Below are four widely available players to consider adding to your lineup. As always, get your fantasy football questions to me on Twitter using #AskAndy.
Taylor Heinicke, QB, Washington Football Team
Yahoo! Ownership: 10%
Draft Kings salary: $5,900
He’s playing wild, free, and borderline reckless. Don’t look now, but Heinicke is indeed in the conversation as a streaming back-end fantasy QB1. The undrafted journeyman is making the most of his opportunity following the injury to Ryan Fitzpatrick, emerging as a fearless gunslinger who’s led his club to a 2-2 record.
Heinicke had the fifth most quarterback fantasy points in Week 4 and put together a solid 8-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio over his first four games of the season. He also ran in a score. Next up, the 28-year-old faces a Saints defence that just allowed 402 passing yards to a lethargic Giants offence. Why couldn’t Heinicke have another multiple-touchdown performance when New Orleans rolls into town?
Hunter Renfrow, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
Yahoo! Ownership: 27%
Draft Kings salary: $4,900
In the words of the late great “Macho Man” Randy Savage: “You may not like it, but accept it!” That’s what we, as fantasy football managers, need to do when it comes to Renfrow as a legitimate WR2.
He’s the 21st best wide receiver through four contests and is tied for the 12th most fantasy points in PPR formats over the last two weeks. The 5-foot-10 slot man either leads or is close to leading Las Vegas in targets each game and has scored a pair of touchdowns on the year. His crisp, ankle-breaking route-running turns defenders in circles. Bye weeks are coming up fast, and Renfrow makes for a smart addition to any team.
Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
Yahoo! Ownership: 26%
Draft Kings salary: $3,400
Is the dynamic tight end duo back in Philadelphia?! It wasn’t that long ago (2019) when both Ertz and Dallas Goedert were top-10 fantasy TEs. While QB Jalen Hurts is favouring wide receiver Devonta Smith and Goedert when it comes to target volume, Ertz has quietly been creeping back into relevance.
One of the questions I get asked most often is which tight end to pick up out of a very shallow pool of options. If Ertz can keep hitting low double-digit fantasy points, then that will be as good a find as any for this position group.
Compared to the first two games of the season, passes thrown his way more than tripled the past two weeks. During this small stretch, the veteran has collected 15.3 and 12 fantasy points, respectively, along with a touchdown and 10 total receptions. Next up, the Eagles will battle a Carolina unit that was just gashed by Dallas’s tight end group, dishing out a combined seven catches and two scores.
Damien Williams, RB, Chicago Bears
Yahoo! Ownership: 10%
Draft Kings salary: $5,600
As a handcuff possibility, Williams won’t garner the same waiver wire attention that a Chuba Hubbard or Eli Mitchell did. However, he may be a cheaper replacement to an injured David Montgomery on a Chicago offence still trying to figure itself out. An update on Montgomery’s knee should come soon, so I would recommend getting ahead of the curve and grabbing Williams if you’re able.
Williams is a better natural pass-catcher than Montgomery, which may help whoever is under centre for the Bears on quick tosses behind that terrible offensive line. He is dealing with a thigh bruise, although early reports suggest that it’s nothing to be concerned about. Track the entire backfield situation, but right now it appears that Williams would get the bulk of the workload ahead of sixth-round rookie Khalil Herbert.
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