With the Los Angeles Chargers taking down the Las Vegas Raiders Monday night, Week 4 is officially in the books. Now is that glorious time of the week when we turn our attention to Week 5 and attack the fantasy football waiver wire.
Here are my top targets with their rostered percentage (via Sleeper) and the percent of your FAAB (Free Agent Acquisition Budget) I’d recommend spending on said player.
Damien Williams, Chicago Bears (12% rostered, 23% FAAB)
We now have a timetable for David Montgomery’s knee injury. The Bears’ starting back is expected to miss four to five weeks with a knee sprain. With Williams stepping into an RB1 workload for what could be a month, he instantly becomes the top target this week.
Against the Detroit Lions Sunday, Williams ran the ball for 55 yards and a touchdown on 8 carries. He also added 15 yards through the air on 2 catches. He’s proven to be a reliable starting running back in his time in Kansas City and having a command on Chicago’s backfield gives him an RB2 floor moving forward.
Samaje Perine, Cincinnati Bengals (4% rostered, 15% FAAB)
Just like Williams filling in for Montgomery, Perine is set to fill in for an injured Joe Mixon. There’s a little more risk with Perine as we still don’t have a firm timetable for Mixon. Most reports are calling him “week-to-week” with his ankle injury. Week-to-week may mean out for Week 5, or out for a month. Perine is the next man up and would see a RB2 workload at the least. Put a waiver claim out on both Williams and Perine and celebrate whomever you end up with.
Trey Lance, San Francisco 49ers (47% rostered, 15% FAAB)
There is a world in which Jimmy Garoppolo’s calf injury isn’t super serious and he ultimately suits up for Week 5’s showdown against the Arizona Cardinals and Trey Lance SZN is canceled. There’s also a world in which Jimmy G can’t suit up Sunday and Trey Lance comes in and puts on a show facing off against Kyler Murray and Kyle Shanahan has no choice but to play the rookie for the rest of the year. I hope Garoppolo’s calf is ok and heals fully. I also hope Trey Lance gets the start Sunday.
Filling in for Garoppolo in Week 4 against the Seattle Seahawks, Lance immediately made his presence felt. He went 9-of-18 for 157 yards and 2 scores, while adding 41 yards rushing. That half-a-game action made him the QB9 for Week 4. Imagine what he’ll do when he’s starting an entire game. As long as Lance is starting, he has top-5 QB upside.
Darnell Mooney, Bears (56% rostered, 12% FAAB)
I’ve been trying to speak the Darnell Mooney breakout season into existence since the off-season and it seems like it might finally be here. Against the Lions, Mooney went for 125 yards on 5 catches and added a 10 yard rush for good measure. With Justin Fields under center, Mooney’s ability to get open downfield makes him a prime fantasy breakout. Matt Nagy might eff this whole thing up going back to Andy Dalton, but Mooney has rest of the season upside if you have the space to roster him.
Hunter Renfrow, Las Vegas Raiders (43% rostered, 10% FAAB)
I wanted to mention Kadarius Toney here since he might be good question mark. However, I can’t ignore what Hunter Renfrow has done to start this season.
this 30 year old actor playing a high school wide receiver in a CW football drama is averaging more .5PPR PPG than calvin ridley, antonio brown, ceedee lamb, chase claypool, & julio jones pic.twitter.com/HJMnIDSvNB
— pete astronaut aboard the pitts-8 rocket rogers (@petemrogers) October 5, 2021
Renfrow has seen 6 targets, 5 catches, and 45 yards in every game this season. He’s second only to Darren Waller in targets for the Raiders, and that’s inflated because of the 19 targets Waller started the year with. Renfrow is the WR22 in .5PPR and widely available. The only reason I have Mooney listed for more FAAB is because your league mates will actually be targeting Mooney on waivers. Renfrow is just bland enough for people to continuously overlook him.