I’m going to spare you a disingenuous introduction hyping up exciting waiver-wire finds capable of turning around your fantasy season. Those players aren’t there right now.

Of course, such blanket statements don’t apply to every league. Perhaps a competitor hastily dropped Will Fuller days before his breakout. He’s available in roughly 29% of Yahoo and ESPN leagues, as of Monday night, so it happened. For the majority of gamers, however, the options are far less appealing.

Limiting the search to players with a consensus rostered rate of 30% or lower doesn’t help matters. These guys are up for grabs if needing a helping hand, but don’t spend too much FAAB this week.

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Quarterback

Gardner Minshew (JAC): 21% Rostered (3% FAAB)
A tepid recommendation last week, Minshew exceeded my expectations against a stout Panthers defense by registering 374 passing yards and two touchdowns. While he also ran for 42 yards, he gave back those points — and then some — by relinquishing three fumbles. This performance nevertheless continued his streak of finishing every game as a top-20 quarterback with at least 16 fantasy points. It doesn’t get much easier when facing the Saints, who have contained the Cowboys and Buccaneers in consecutive weeks following a rocky start, but Minshew continues to shine in unenviable matchups. Jacksonville’s schedule gets cozier against the Bengals and Jets in Weeks 7 and 8, respectively.

Kyle Allen (CAR): 9% Rostered (1% FAAB)
Since defeating Carolina in Week 2, Tampa Bay has allowed 1,167 combined passing yards to Daniel Jones, Jared Goff, and Teddy Bridgewater, each of whom finished the week as a top-five quarterback. Jones and Bridgewater also each tallied four touchdowns, a feat Allen earned in his first start of 2019. While he has cooled off in recent weeks, the sophomore has completed 60 of 90 passes without throwing a pick. Unless Cam Newton is suddenly ready to return, Allen is a high-upside streamer given the Buccaneers’ recent futility.

Running Back

Ito Smith (ATL): 12% Rostered (6% FAAB)
Making the most of an abbreviated role, Smith has 93 rushing yards on 18 carries this season. Even in limited work, he has received six red-zone handoffs. After finding the end zone in Week 4, he secured all of his season-high six targets in a shootout loss at Houston. Smith already has more double-digit runs than Devonta Freeman, who has only exceeded 30 rushing yards once in five games. Don’t be surprised if Smith continues to expand his role more in line with Tevin Coleman’s past usage, giving him standalone flex value in the right spot.

Chase Edmonds (ARI): 2% Rostered (2% FAAB)
David Johnson’s investors probably got excited when they saw someone shoot out of Arizona’s backfield for a 37-yard touchdown. The big play belonged to Edmonds, who produced 86 total yards on eight runs and three catches. The 23-year-old has gotten more touches in each game, and he’s averaging 6.7 yards per carry. He should continue to at least complement Johnson in a high-paced offense that has run 67.8 plays per contest.

Jonathan Hilliman (NYG): 1% Rostered (1% FAAB)
This is really only for gamers ravaged by byes and injuries who are desperate for a warm body. Wayne Gallman is unlikely to get cleared from a concussion in time for Thursday night. The window is still open for Saquon Barkley to make a shockingly swift recovery from a high-ankle sprain, but the Giants have little to gain — and a lot to lose — from taking such a needlessly short-sighted risk. Hilliman will probably receive starting reps against New England. It probably won’t matter. The Patriots have ceded just 78 rushing yards per game, and they’ve jumped out to 17-point favorites at home. Even if given a hefty workload, the undrafted rookie will need to show more as a pass-catcher to deliver any value.

Wide Receiver

Preston Williams (MIA): 8% Rostered (5% Rostered)
DeVante Parker (MIA): 6% Rostered (4% Rostered)
Even the Dolphins could churn out a useful fantasy receiver against Washington, who has surrendered an NFL-worst 74.7% completion rate. The preferred add, Williams led the winless squad in catches (15) and targets (30) before Miami’s Week 5 bye. Then again, Parker matched his 201 yards and touchdown. The always maddening Parker, who didn’t secure any of his seven targets in Week 2, has a far wider range of outcomes. He’s only worth the headache for an underdog needing to gamble on a high-impact splash. Williams is more likely to at least leverage the matchup into 60-plus yards.

Auden Tate (CIN): 16% Rostered (3% FAAB)
Tate has caught 13 of 22 targets for 164 yards and a touchdown over his last three games. Although he dropped one potential touchdown on Sunday, he also secured his first score of 2019. He’s now Cincinnati’s No. 2 wide receiver in place of A.J. Green and John Ross. Trade speculation is already running rampant around Green, so Tate could keep that role for the foreseeable future. He may not wield much upside, but the former seventh-round pick makes for a steady depth piece in deeper leagues.

Byron Pringle (KC): 1% Rostered (2% FAAB)
Already missing Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs lost Sammy Watkins to a hamstring injury during Sunday night’s loss. In their absence, Pringle popped for 103 yards and a touchdown. He entered the contest with two career catches in as many targets. Will the fun stop for the rookie? Has every other writer made the same canned Pringles jokes? The answer to the first question depends on the status of Hill and Watkins moving forward. With the receiving corps at full strength, Pringle would crumble back into obscurity. Even with one or both out, he may take a back seat to Mecole Hardman and Demarcus Robinson anyway. All of those caveats make him no more than a speculative flier in deeper leagues, but this is another case of chasing any available piece of Kansas City’s prolific offense.

KeeSean Johnson (ARI): 2% Rostered (1% FAAB)
Given a golden chance to shine without Christian Kirk and Damiere Byrd at Cincinnati, Johnson turned his seven targets into 22 yards. If it didn’t happen for the rookie then, it probably won’t anytime soon. But Arizona now faces an Atlanta defense that just got dismembered for 592 total yards and 53 points by Houston. If Kirk needs another week to heal his ankle, Johnson once again becomes a deep-league dart throw.

Tight End

Gerald Everett (LAR): 6% Rostered (6% FAAB)
A prime-time audience watched Everett pound the Seahawks for 136 yards on seven catches. Week 4’s career-high eight targets only lasted three days, as his 11 on Thursday night set the new benchmark. Since logging only 30 snaps in Week 1, the 25-year-old has averaged 53 per game. He’s always had the physical traits to strive. Per Player Profiler, Everett rates in the 85th percentile or better among tight ends in burst, catch radius, and 40 time. He could especially maintain a strong presence in the Rams’ offense if Brandin Cooks doesn’t clear concussion protocol in time for Week 6’s showdown against the 49ers.

Chris Herndon (NYJ): 20% Rostered (5% FAAB)
Herndon is eligible to return from a four-game suspension, possibly just in time for the Jets to welcome back Sam Darnold from a bout of mononucleosis. It was coincidentally right around this juncture of 2018 that he kicked into gear. From Week 6 onward, a stretch commencing with three touchdowns in a row, Herndon averaged 41.4 yards and 4.5 targets per game. That may not seem like much, but Jason Witten is currently the TE12 in half-PPR while averaging 34.6 yards on 4.0 targets. Herndon should immediately slide into a starting role as one of the Jets’ top red-zone options.

Defense/Special Teams

Washington: 4% Rostered (1% FAAB)
The top teams to stream against are facing each other, which is a problem since Washington and Miami are also 30th and 32nd in points allowed, respectively. It’d take some courage to play either defense in the Tua Bowl, but Washington is more likely to pass for an actual NFL team.

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