For a player to be listed, he must be owned in 50 percent (or less) of Yahoo! leagues. The goal is to provide recommendations of players that have a greater chance of being available on your league's waiver wire. Of course, your league's size and settings could significantly impact whether these players (or better options) are available in your particular league(s).
With that said, here are some quarterback waiver-wire options that I like heading into Week 5 (Yahoo! ownership in parenthesis):
[Note: Players listed below are sorted by my preference to add.]
1. Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans (35 percent)
Things won't always go as well for Watson as they did in Week 4. In fact, that may end up being his best game over his entire rookie season. And he could certainly have some bad starts, as is typical for all rookies.
Even if he has some ups and downs over the rest of the season, it's been so far, so good with Watson. In three starts, Watson has finished with 17.7, 20.14 and 33.72 fantasy points as the QB7, QB15 and QB1, respectively. Heading into Week 5, the rookie is currently the QB7.
On the season, Watson has completed nearly 65 percent of his pass attempts as he has thrown for 811 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions. More importantly for his fantasy outlook, he has 19 runs for 148 yards and two touchdowns. That dual-threat ability allows him to have a solid fantasy performance even when he struggles in the passing game like in Week 2 (125 passing yards and no touchdowns while finishing as the weekly QB7).
2. Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo Bills (45 percent)
Watson is the clear QB1 on this list. Taylor and Andy Dalton are fairly similar (in terms of my ranking on this list). While they face each other, neither has a great matchup although Dalton's may be tougher. That said, Taylor's ability as a runner always boosts his floor (and ceiling) so I'd prefer to roll with Taylor this week if I needed a bye-week replacement and Watson wasn't available.
3. Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals (47 percent)
As badly as Dalton and Cincinnati's offense played in the first two games, they have played much better in their last two games. Dalton has yet to throw for 300 yards in a game, but he has six touchdowns and no interceptions (although he did lose a fumble) over the past two weeks. That said, the matchup in Week 5 isn't great. Only the Jaguars have allowed fewer fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks than the Bills. And then Dalton has his bye in Week 6.
4. Sam Bradford, Minnesota Vikings (19 percent)
Missing three consecutive games, Bradford has a "chance" to play in Week 5. So, if he doesn't return this week, he should be back soon thereafter. Three of the team's next four games are plus matchups with Chicago, Green Bay, Baltimore and Cleveland on the schedule from Weeks 5 to 8. In his 16 games this year and last with the Vikings, Bradford has thrown for 4,223 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions.
5. Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams (23 percent)
First, the good news: Goff has thrown for 1,072 yards, seven touchdowns and only one interception through four games. That means, he's the QB10 after a quarter season. So, what's the bad news? The schedule gets much tougher from here. Here are Goff's next seven weeks: Seahawks, Jaguars and Cardinals, then a Week 8 bye followed up with the Giants, Texans and Vikings.
- More Fantasy Football Waiver-Wire Advice Heading Into Week 5
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