Fantasy Football: Top waiver pickups of Week Five

Big injuries took out some of the brightest fantasy football stars in Week Four and some owners may need some insurance. This week there are plenty of great and productive players to help you win your matchup as some waiver wire prospects are looking stronger than ever.

Running Backs

Latavius Murray (Minnesota Vikings): Dalvin Cook going down is a real shame because he was an emerging fantasy stud at a position that gets way too thin too quickly. With that said, Murray has to be the number one fantasy football waiver pickup this week as he will get all of the touches in the Minnesota Vikings offense.

He has struggled to separate himself from the other backups, but Murray is not your ordinary backup. The Raiders used him heavily and he had decent production. Even if you do not need a running back it would be wise to add Murray to your bench just to stash him away as we do not know just how much production he will see as the Vikings primary back.

He will see a difficult matchup this week as he takes on the Chicago Bears who are typically pretty stiff against the run. 

Aaron Jones (Green Bay Packers): Jones figures to be the starting running back if Ty Montgomery cannot play which makes him an intriguing add this week. Even if Montgomery plays, he is dealing with multiple broken ribs that will take weeks to heal.

Jones showed some burst last week and has Aaron Rodgers full confidence so he is worth the add especially in deeper leagues. He will get a cupcake matchup on paper but the Dallas Cowboys will have 99 percent of their starting defensive players returning for this matchup.

That means that the best linebacker in the league against the run, Sean Lee, will be on the field. For strictly fantasy football purposes you should bench him or put him in your flex, but in the event, Montgomery has to miss multiple weeks, Jones could look to take over as the true lead back in that offense. 

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Alfred Morris (Dallas Cowboys): This is purely a speculative add during these uncertain times. Ezekiel Elliott owners likely already have Morris as a handcuff but if you don’t he could be worth an addition.

The upside for Morris, the Elliott suspension stands and he is the new starting back for the Dallas Cowboys. There is always the potential that the court rules in favor of Elliott which would allow him to stay on the field for the remainder of the season but at this point in the fantasy football season, he is worth the risk.

Wayne Gallman (New York Giants): He is the best Giants running back by far and the only one to be relative in terms of fantasy football. He should take over as the lead back as he has shown tremendous burst even while dealing with the Giants inferior offensive line. Gallman is the biggest reach on this list but if he manages to add some balance to this offense, he could pay off big time.

Tight End

O.J. Howard (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): Eventually Howard will come in and replace Cameron Brate, that is what he was drafted to do. It may not happen this season but Howard will still compete for a bigger role in the upcoming weeks.

Brate had a good Week Four game as well but in deeper leagues, Howard is a fine addition and has a pretty cozy matchup in what should be a high-scoring affair with the New England Patriots on Thursday.

Next: Top fantasy football starts for Thursday Night Football

Tyler Kroft (Cincinnati Bengals): Kroft is seemingly a must own now for Tyler Eifert owners as he made a tremendous impact in Week Four. Will his value be the same when Eifert is healthy? Most likely no, but for at least the next week or so you should be safe as Eifert will probably take Week Five off as well.