Week 5 is in the books, and for lack of better terms, it was catastrophic. Multiple injuries to big-name players such as Justin Jefferson, James Connor and DeVon Achane. However, with injury, comes opportunity. I’m here to help you make the best waiver wire bid on the most chopped players going into Week 6.
Big-Name Players Chopped from Week 5:
Justin Jefferson (bid 1-10 percent)
Justin Jefferson sadly goes to IR for a minimum of four weeks. With that in mind, if you’re at the top of your league, I’m comfortable bidding 10 percent. If you have been near the chopping block these last few weeks and need someone to start, I’m letting others bid on him. There is a world in which Jefferson is shut down for the season because the Vikings are currently 1-4 on the season and they just lost their best player. In addition, they have a Week 13 bye, which could come into play if he’s not ready to suit up in four weeks.
DeVonta Smith (bid 6 percent)
With three stellar pass-catching weapons on the Eagles in A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert, it’s hard to see a game in which all of them have a good week. For the second time in five weeks, Smith was the odd man out. I’m open to gambling with him as a flex-worthy receiver, but I'm not spending too much.
Amon-Ra St. Brown (bid 18 percent)
The ideal wide receiver for guillotine leagues. He gets the targets, the receptions, and sometimes the touchdowns. St. Brown doesn’t really explode for big games, but he’s as safe as they come when healthy. Probable for Week 6, I’m in on getting St. Brown.
Justin Herbert (bid 6 percent)
I’m not big on spending a ton of my budget for quarterbacks because you can make due with the Brock Purdys and Russell Wilsons of the world. The quarterback position is where I enjoy watching others spend a chunk of their budget, not mine.
Miles Sanders (bid 4 percent)
Sanders dealt with a groin injury these past two weeks, and it translated on the field. He hasn’t looked himself, and with a struggling offense and a Week 7 bye next week, I’d hold off bidding high on Sanders.
Rhamondre Stevenson (bid 7 percent)
I’d be shocked if people bid up for Stevenson given his string of bad games, partially due to a lack of offense and partially due to Stevenson not looking great. However, his next five matchups before the bye week look very nice. It’s a gamble, certainly, but with how many running backs there are out there, I’m in.
Davante Adams (bid 14 percent)
You’d have to go back to Week 2 of the 2020 season to find a game in which Adams had four targets or fewer. He was clearly banged up and was out there basically as a decoy, as Jakobi Meyers had a nice game. I wouldn’t expect a down game like this again from Adams.
James Connor (bid 2 percent)
Connor was looking like a pretty nice value at the running back position this season but got banged up with a knee injury. There are two ways this could go wrong: The knee injury has him out for longer than four weeks and/or he comes back hobbled. Another way this goes poorly is that undrafted rookie running back Emari Demercado is actually good enough to take snaps away from Connor when he returns.
CeeDee Lamb (bid 10 percent)
Lamb is a great wide receiver, no doubt, but the Cowboys’ offense has looked suspicious these last few weeks. Lamb only has a 21 percent target share in the Cowboys’ offense this season. That’s 33rd in the league. In 2022, when Lamb was the wide receiver six, he commanded a 27 percent target share, a number closer to what we expect from elite receivers. The change in offensive coordinators and philosophy seems to have changed a little, as expected. I’m still in on Lamb, but we need to see an uptick in targets and, furthermore, his utilization soon.
Team Assumptions:
The bid amounts are subject to how your team is doing. If you are cruising along just fine, your team is a top-half team, and you’ve sustained minimal injuries, congratulations. The bids I recommend should be lowered by roughly 5-8 percent. If your team was nearly chopped this week (like mine), you’re dealing with serious injuries, or you simply won’t get any points out of the player you’ve got to start, consider going above these recommended bids by 5-8 percent. If you’re in the middle of the pack, feel free to bid as recommended. For a more detailed and tailored recommendation amount, feel free to hit me up on Twitter: @_ColtWilliams. I do a guillotine league post every Tuesday morning. You show me your team and which players are available, and I recommend amounts to bid.
—Colt Williams
Williams is working towards a degree in economics and statistics at Sonoma State. A United States Air Force veteran, he’s been playing fantasy football since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @_ColtWilliams