Week 5 Waiver Wire: The Shipley Scramble, Cincinnati's Next Man Up, and the 0-4 Quarterback You Want Anyway

Week 4's injury pile was the worst of the season, which makes Week 5's wire the most valuable of the season. Every name below maps to a role that opened on Sunday, with the usage to back it, pulled from FantasyPros' early adds and the box scores. Back in September we told you the October wire is where seasons actually get won. It is October.

The defining claim: Will Shipley, RB, Eagles

The brutal math from Philadelphia: Saquon Barkley left on the second drive with a hamstring, Tank Bigsby inherited the backfield for three quarters, and then Bigsby was carted off with a core muscle injury that needs surgery and at least a month on injured reserve, the full damage is in the injury column. That leaves Shipley, rostered in under 1 percent of leagues when Sunday ended per FantasyPros, as the presumptive lead back on a team that wants to run. His career usage leans passing downs, which is the PPR floor, and whoever Philadelphia signs off the street this week is not catching up to a third-year back who knows the protections. This is the week's one claim worth breaking your budget discipline for.

The volume inheritance: Dohnte Meyers, WR, Bengals

Ja'Marr Chase left with a concussion, Tee Higgins strained an adductor on the final drive, and Meyers quietly caught 7 of 9 targets for 82 yards in the middle of it. Joe Burrow just threw 54 times in one game; somebody has to catch those. Both starters' injuries sound short-term, which caps this at a two-to-three-week play, but a two-week window on a 40-attempt passing offense is worth real money. Mike Gesicki is the deeper version of the same thesis at tight end in a room that is suddenly all vacancies.

The repeat offender: Keon Coleman, WR, Bills

We flagged Coleman two weeks ago when DJ Moore first hurt the shoulder. Moore aggravated it Sunday, and Coleman turned 7 targets into 6 catches, 116 yards, and a touchdown in the loss to New England. He is still rostered in under 5 percent of leagues per FantasyPros. The rule on volatile deep threats is to start them when the alpha is out and bench them when he returns; Moore's Wednesday practice status is your cue.

The quarterback aisle: Stroud, and the Daniels watch

C.J. Stroud is on a winless team and does not care: 347 yards and two touchdowns against Dallas with Nico Collins back in form, over 285 passing yards per game on the season per FantasyPros, and a Week 5 date with winless Tennessee. He is rostered in barely a third of leagues, which is a market error. Meanwhile Jayden Daniels is hoping to return this week against the Giants after the Mariota injury forced Washington to its third stringer; if your league plays superflex, Daniels stashes and Washington's receivers all get more interesting, starting with rookie Antonio Williams, who led the team with 8 targets Sunday per FantasyPros with Terry McLaurin out.

Smaller claims that are still claims

Roman Wilson keeps compounding in Pittsburgh, 74 yards and a score Sunday and 134 yards with two touchdowns over his last two per FantasyPros, on a steady six targets a game. Tyler Allgeier punched in another touchdown for Arizona and owns the passing downs, 10 receptions through four games per FantasyPros, which is the back you want from that committee. And Ollie Gordon II ripped a 53-yarder on his way to 100 yards and a score in Miami's otherwise lifeless offense; split or not, explosiveness on a team with nothing to lose tends to get fed.

How to spend

Same discipline as the budget plan. Shipley is worth 20 to 25 percent of a season budget if you rostered Barkley, because insurance just became the starter, and 12 to 15 percent otherwise. Meyers lands at 8 to 10 percent while both Bengals sit, Coleman the same but only until Moore practices, Williams at 5 to 8 percent with the Daniels return as the kicker, Wilson and Allgeier a few dollars each, Gordon a flier. Stroud is a few bucks in 1QB and real money in superflex. Odd bids beat round ones, and in a league like ours where the pot rides on one shared bet a week, the same principle applies: spend when the role is real, not when the headline is loud.

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