The expectation, basically since Andy Reid talked at halftime of the Chiefs Week 4 win over the Chargers, is that Rashee Rice is going to miss the remainder of the season. Many have speculated that he tore his ACL. But as of Tuesday morning, we have no confirmation of that and now we aren't expecting to know for sure until after the Chiefs Week 5 game.
The fact that Rice has not been placed on Injured Reserve and that the full ACL tear has not been confirmed is both a blessing and a curse for his Fantasy managers. The obvious blessing is that sliver of hope that Rice somehow avoided catastrophic damage and might play again in 2024. The curse is that you can't drop Rice until you know for sure. With four teams on a bye this week, that could mean some really difficult waiver decisions on Tuesday or Wednesday night.
Those choices are made even more difficult by the fact that there are a handful of excellent waiver wire adds available, including two who project in my top 30 wide receivers for Week 5, Wan'Dale Robinson and Josh Downs.
One option to delay the tough decision is to drop your kicker or defense to make an add, but that's only giving you until Sunday morning. Use that time to see if we get an earlier than expected answer on Rice, or if you can find a trade to make. With bye weeks and a large number of injuries, everyone is in need of something right now. Scour your leaguemates' rosters, find their needs, and solve your problem.
66.1% -- Nearly two-thirds of all Giants passes are going to Malik Nabers and Wan'Dale Robinson. They are both starts in Week 5.
5.6 -- Garrett Wilson's yards per target is down to a career-low 5.6. He's faced some difficult matchups but elite wide receivers should be this bad regardless of opponents.
30.4% -- Josh Downs has a 30.4% target share, the same number as Michael Pittman, since he returned in Week 3.
10 -- Brandon Aiyuk has not scored more than 10 PPR Fantasy points in a game this season.
The Giants' highly concentrated offensive attack means that Robinson can be a Fantasy WR3 even when Nabers is the clear WR1. With four teams on a bye and all these injuries, Robinson may even be a WR2 this week. He's scored at least 9.8 PPR Fantasy points in every game, and he's topped 11 in three of four.
I would like Downs more if Joe Flacco started, but even if Anthony Richardson is back, Downs is a fine WR3 for Week 5. He's been no worse than a 1B the two weeks since he returned and had an instant connection with Richardson as soon as they were paired together. The Jaguars have given up the fourth-most Fantasy points to opposing wide receivers.
In two games without Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, Atwell has earned a 21% target share and a 33% air yards share. He's been much better than Demarcus Robinson on a per-route basis, and he's been in motion 42% of the time, which is Fantasy for Fantasy production. He's a boom/bust WR3 this week.
Legette was my top stash last week, and now, in terms of rest-of-season production, he may actually be the prize of the waiver wire after he saw 10 targets in his first game without Adam Theilen. As long as Andy Dalton is the starter and Theilen is on IR, you can trust Legette as a WR3. If things really click for him in the second half, he may be even more than a WR3.
Wicks saw 13 targets in Week 4 and now faces a Rams defense that has struggled in virtually every aspect of the game. Wicks could be a starter until Christian Watson returns, and it's possible he'll remain a starter after Watson returns. He was elite when given the opportunity in his rookie season.
McConkey is a first round pick who has earned a 26.7% target share in the first month of the season. There is no reason he's available in more than a third of CBS Fantasy Football leagues. but I fear with the Chargers going on bye that McConkey is more likely to be dropped than added. That would be a mistake.
Collins has simply been the best wide receiver in football this season. His ability to earn targets downfield, catch them at a high rate, and produce YAC afterwards is nearly unparalleled. The Bills have been very good against wide receivers early in this season, but it's hard to imagine anyone shutting down Collins the way he's playing.
Like his teammate Chuba Hubbard, Diontae Johnson's price has not caught up to his reality. He's a top-12 wide receiver. The past two weeks he's actually been WR3, behind only Jauan Jennings and Malik Nabers. He's an auto-play until his price starts to reflect the fact that he has a competent quarterback.
WR Preview
Heath's Projections
My full set of Week 5 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 5. Projected stats for all starting wide receivers are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.
