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The first four weeks of the NFL season is over and done with. Hopefully, you’re not already wallowing in self regret as you reflect on passing up a player that is tearing it up. Don’t worry. It happens to all of us.
Whether your team is sitting pretty or hating life, it’s always time to upgrade that roster. Here are this week’s top waiver wire suggestions.
QUARTERBACK
Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings (29% owned)
It hasn’t been a very good fantasy season so far for Cousins or even a good reality season for the Vikings as a whole as they’re off to a 1-3 start. Cousins only has one top 10 finish thus far, and is just averaging 220 yards passing per game. Despite that, he enters Week 5 with a favorable matchup against the Seattle Seahawks who have allowed the second most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. No defense in the league has surrendered more passing yards this season with an average of 440 yards per game. Part of it is their opponents have to play catch up, and part of is they’re just not very good. Regardless, Cousins could make for a nice spot start this week.
Daniel Jones, New York Giants (34% owned)
Speaking of spot start, it might be a good idea to follow the Cowboys schedule and play the opposing quarterback as their defense is having all kinds of problems this year. They are right behind Seahawks in giving up the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. They’re so bad in the passing game that even non-quarterbacks are throwing touchdowns against them. Make no mistake about it, Daniel Jones and the entire Giants offense is struggling although the second-year quarterback has thrown a touchdown pass in three straight games. If you’re desperate, Jones could be a viable play against a horrendous Cowboys defense that is all out of sorts.
RUNNING BACK
Chase Edmonds, Arizona Cardinals (25% owned)
The running back situation of the Cardinals hasn’t lived up to the high expectations many had prior to the start of the season. Kenyan Drake receives most of that disappointment as he hasn’t had a top 15 RB finish all season. And with Sunday’s 13 carries for 35 yards and not a single target in the passing game, things are not looking good for Drake. Factor in that he left the game early with an injury (not expected to be serious), it might be time to invest in his handcuff. Chase Edmonds had a decent performance in Week 4 as almost all of his points came off of five receptions that included a score.
D’Earnest Johnson, Cleveland Browns (2% owned)
On one hand, don’t let the inflated 11 carries for 95 yards (7.3 ypc) entice you as the Cowboys defense gave up over 300 yards rushing Sunday. But on the other hand, Johnson played well and he’s on a team that is very run-heavy. If anything should keep Nick Chubb out of action for an extended period of time, all of a sudden Johnson’s role in this offense has some fantasy relevance.
WIDE RECEIVER
Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals (33% owned)
The Bengals rookie receiver continues to become more involved in the offense. After finding the end zone twice in Week 3 that helped him finish as the no. 13 WR, Higgins had his highest yardage outage on Sunday against the Jaguars with four catches for 77 yards. When you factor in A.J. Green’s downward trajectory of target share, we could be seeing a changing of the guard in Cincy. If Higgins starts getting a greater share of the targets on a team that has the second most passing attempts in the league, that could equate to some fantasy value going forwards.
Tim Patrick, Denver Broncos (2% owned)
The Broncos receiver has now strung together two straight good games where he has found the end zone both times. It’s been hard to put your finger on who is fantasy worthy when it comes to Denver’s pass catchers, but with so many of them ailing, right now Patrick appears to be the guy. His six catch, 113-yard game was good enough for the seventh-highest finish of the week. If he keeps getting looks, Patrick could add some nice depth to your wide receiver group.
TIGHT END
Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers (26% owned)
If you get on the good side of Aaron Rodgers that could end up working out nicely, and that’s what’s happening with Tonyan. His stock was already rising entering this past week as he was coming off two straight games with a touchdown. Well, make it three now as he caught all six of his targets Monday night for a total of 98 yards and three whopping touchdowns. This won’t last once the Packers get healthy, but the offense is very opportunistic and right now and he’s a guy worth rostering.
Dalton Schultz (52% owned)
Some people jumped after Schultz’ Week 2 performance where he hauled in nine catches for 88 yards and a touchdown. Then, he dropped last week as he only had four catches for 48 yards. On Sunday, he was back, putting up 72 yards receiving and finding the end zone. Most tight ends in fantasy are touchdown dependent, so why not go after a guy who’s on a high-scoring offense? Schultz continues to get some looks, and while he should be a little sporadic, he should be a solid play for the rest of the season.
DEFENSE
Cleveland Browns (12% owned)
The Browns defense has given up 30+ points in three of their four games so far, but they still have some fantasy potential. No team has more takeaways so far this season, and they are going a good job putting pressure on the quarterback thanks to a very nice start for Myles Garrett who’s a sack/strip master. If you’re hurting at defense, you might want to consider the Browns if the matchup is favorable.