Believe it or not, one quarter of the fantasy football season is already in the books. For those of you who have your championship in Week 16, we’ve already passed the 25% mark. If you’ve managed to dominate the first four games of the season, you’re in good shape. If you haven’t, there’s still plenty of time to work the waiver wire, pull off a few trades and put yourself in position to make the playoffs. Here are your Week 5 fantasy pickups.
Danny Woodhead, RB, Chargers: Most of us assumed Woodhead was a product of a highly-product Patriots offense last season and would have little fantasy appeal with the Chargers. It’s starting to look like we were wrong. Ryan Mathews is still Ryan Mathews and Woodhead has become a favorite safety valve for Philip Rivers. After posting more than six fantasy points in Weeks 2 and 3, he went off for 84 total yards and two touchdowns against the Cowboys. Don’t expect that kind of production again, but there’s no reason Woodhead can’t be a viable flex play most weeks.
Justin Blackmon, WR, Jaguars: The hope here is that the Jaguars eventually realize Blaine Gabbert is useless and go back to Chad Henne. Either way, Blackmon is returning from a four-game suspension this week and should instantly become the most viable receiving option in Jacksonville’s pathetic offense. It’s hard to get excited about anyone on this team, but someone has to see targets while the Jags are playing catch-up every single week. Blackmon is a solid candidate for that and there’s a good chance he’s been forgotten during his suspension.
Heath Miller, TE, Steelers: At the very least, Miller is a very solid candidate to fill in during bye weeks or if you’ve been dealing with injuries. We think he’s more than that. Tight end is a fairly thin position this season, and Miller looks like he has recovered nicely from offseason knee surgery. He’s always been a favorite target of Ben Roethlisberger’s. Miller looked far less rusty in his second game back on Sunday and secured six of eight targets for 70 yards. He should mix in a few scores and continue to grab about five or six catches a week.
Willis McGahee, RB, Browns: In his second week of NFL action this season after signing with the Browns, McGahee led Cleveland’s backfield with 15 carries. Bobby Rainey carried the ball six times and Chris Ogbonnaya five. This is still going to be a committee going forward, but McGahee should get better as he becomes more acclimated with the offense — assuming he stays healthy. Don’t expect any explosive weeks from him as the Browns should be playing from behind a lot, but he’s worth of being owned in more than 46% of Yahoo! Sports leagues.
Jeremy Kerley, WR, Jets: Someone has to catch the ball in New York, right? Stephen Hill and Santonio Holmes were hot waiver adds a week ago, but both are suddenly battling injuries. Holmes could reportedly miss a month with a hamstring injury and Hill is unlikely to play on Sunday night against the Falcons as he recovers from a concussion. Kerley is one of the only options left, which should lead to at least decent fantasy production.
Good luck, folks.
