It’s tough out there, that’s for sure. But that’s part of football. Injuries will happen, and some matchups won’t be great. Plus, we have bye weeks to consider. That’s why we created a separate article for Week 5 fantasy football streamers and another for Week 5 fantasy football stashes. 

Not every team is in the same situation right now, so not everyone should target the same players. This article is mainly for those in deeper leagues who have significant gaps in their rosters. 

 

 

 

Do you have Jordan Love or Tua Tagovailoa on your IR? We have QB streamers for you. Did you go Zero RB and still need some running backs to start? We have RB streamers available. Are you in a deep league with three flex spots? We’ve got WR streamers for that. And if you’re in any fantasy league with a TE spot, you likely need a TE streamer. We have that covered too.

Fantasy Football Streamers For 2024 NFL Week 5

This article works in conjunction with our Waiver Wire Adds and Stashes articles. 

The waiver wire article includes the best players to pick up in general - they have both short term and long-term upside. But they might not be available, or you might get outbid. In our waiver wire stashes article, we look at longer term options. But those aren’t guys you can necessarily start this week. 

The Week 5 fantasy football streamers article is this one - guys that you can reasonably acquire off the wire AND potentially start this week. 

We know that folks play in varying league depths so we’ll include any players that MIGHT be available (especially for really good matchups). And we’ll throw some honorable mentions in there for the really deep leagues. So, let’s dig into the Week 5 Fantasy Football Streamers!

Week 5 QB Streamers

Justin Fields - Pittsburgh Steelers, Yahoo: 32% | ESPN: 34% | Sleeper: 42%  

Justin Fields was our top streamer in this article last week on top of being in the main waiver article - he’s once again a great choice for both after finishing QB1 overall this past week in fantasy. Check out our full write-up in the main article on Fields. 

Geno Smith - Seattle Seahawks, Yahoo: 1% | ESPN: 0% | Sleeper: 42%  

Same thing here with Geno as Fields - not only was he a top streamer of ours last week (who threw for almost 400 yards) but he’s a great waiver add in general. He gets the Giants this week. See the main Waiver Wire article for the full write up. 

Joe Flacco - Indianapolis Colts, Yahoo: 1% | ESPN: 0% | Sleeper: 3%  

This one obviously only matters if Anthony Richardson is ruled OUT this week. But we’re absolutely willing to throw Joe Flacco in there for a spot start. One of the great things about this version of Joe Flacco for fantasy football is that he’s willing to go with an up-tempo approach. 

In his 9 relief starts with the Jets and Browns, Flacco has averaged 43.5 pass attempts per game which would have led the league in 2023 and would have been behind only Tom Brady in 2022. Not to mention, the Colts get the Jaguars this week who are dead last in DVOA against the pass per FTN Fantasy. 

 

 

 

Week 5 RB Streamers

Rico Dowdle - Dallas Cowboys, Yahoo: 49% | ESPN: 43% | Sleeper: 56%

Check the Waiver Article for the full write-up but this is one of the few starting backs who might actually be available in your league. 

Kareem Hunt - Kansas City Chiefs, Yahoo: 36% | ESPN: 21% | Sleeper: 37%

Full write-up in the Week 5 Waiver Article as well but Kareem Hunt might be the starting back for the Kansas City Chiefs for the foreseeable future until Isiah Pacheco gets back. 

Trey Sermon - Indianapolis Colts, Yahoo: 1% | ESPN: 1% | Sleeper: 1%

Dowdle and Hunt might already be rostered in your league, but Sermon is widely available. We gave our full thoughts in the Week 5 Waiver Article, but Jonathan Taylor might either be out or limited for a couple of games. 

Emmanuel Wilson - Green Bay Packers, Yahoo: 14% | ESPN: 9% | Sleeper: 29%

Ideally we want starters or at least guys getting half the work. If we can’t have that, the next best thing is a consolidated backfield with guaranteed touches. There are too many backfields where three different guys are getting work. With AJ Dillon and Marshawn Lloyd out of the picture, Josh Jacobs and Emmanuel Wilson are the only two Packers back getting snaps at all.

In both of the last two games, Wilson has played about 40% of the snaps. He’s gotten 8 and 12 carries and a couple looks in the pass game - one of which he took 30 yards for a touchdown. We’ll take that. And, because of the consolidation, he’s the only show in town if something happens to Josh Jacobs. 

Tyler Allgeier - Atlanta Falcons, Yahoo: 23% | ESPN: 42% | Sleeper: 34%

We hate to say it. But the timing of Bijan Robinson having an AC joint issue and Tyler Allgeier playing 40% of the snaps cannot be a coincidence. As Dalvin Cook fans know too well, the AC joint is a notorious injury for running backs as you pick them up from hard contact lowering your shoulder. And they can linger.

The Falcons have the luxury of using Tyler Allgeier as their battering ram for short yardage for a while until Bijan Robinson gets right. Obviously Bijan will still play plenty, especially in space, but the 64% of snaps he played this week was quite a departure from 89%, 75%, and 82% the first few weeks. So, Tyler Allgeier has some streaming appeal for the time being. 

 

 

 

Week 5 WR Streamers

Xavier Legette - Indianapolis Colts, Yahoo: 14% | ESPN: 25% | Sleeper: 39%

Check the main Waiver Wire article for our thoughts on Legette. But the thought process here is pretty simple. Adam Theilen suffered a hamstring injury that was so bad that surgery was considered. And the Panthers look like a much better team with Andy Dalton at QB. Thielen is on IR, so he has to miss a minimum of three more games and the Panthers don’t have a bye until Week 11. 

Dontayvion Wicks - Green Bay Packers, Yahoo: 14% | ESPN: 10% | Sleeper: 18%

Wicks is also in the main article and the thought process is quite similar to Legette. Wicks is the next man up when someone is hurt, and Christian Watson is hurt. The snaps will now hopefully be highly consolidated among Wicks and Romeo Doubs on the outside with Jayden Reed in the slot until Watson returns. 

Tutu Atwell - Los Angeles Rams, Yahoo: 8% | ESPN: 7% | Sleeper: 15%

So, Jordan Whittington would fit the bill here as well while Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua are out. They’re essentially just running three wide receiver sets like they normally would except it’s with Atwell, Whittington, and DeMarcus Robinson. 

In any given week, any of the three could be “the guy” or we could see the ball spread around fairly evenly. So, it’s not crazy to throw any of them in there really. We like Atwell for two reasons. One, he runs high aDot routes so, if the targets are spread evenly, he has the best odds of ripping off a big chunk play or long touchdown. 

Two is that Jordan Whittington has overlapping skill sets with Kupp and Nacua. If one of these guys can carve out a full-time role that they can keep when the starters get back, Atwell feels like the best bet. 

Allen Lazard - New York Jets, Yahoo: 36% | ESPN: 40% | Sleeper: 15%

Allen Lazard is a textbook “streamer”. There isn’t really any hope for a long-term breakout here. In fact, the game plan all along has been to slowly ramp Mike Williams up as he returns from injury. That would eventually see him surpass Lazard in the pecking order here.

Until then, Allen Lazard is going to be a major cog in this offense. And he just so happens to have Aaron Rodgers at QB - a personal friend of his that has always been willing to go to the beat of his own drum. Clearly, they still have some of those old tricks up their sleeve. As Lazard now has three touchdowns in three games. All you need from your streamer is a random TD and Lazard continues to be one of the better bets for that. 

 

 

 

Week 5 TE Streamers

Zach Ertz - Commanders, Yahoo: 23% | ESPN: 20% | Sleeper: 30%

We talked about Zach Ertz in the Waiver Wire article. He’s about as “safe but boring” as you get. But in this landscape, boring is good. He’s the quintessential Yin to our Yin and Yang TE strategy. 

Colby Parkinson - Los Angeles Chargers, Yahoo: 29% | ESPN: 5% | Sleeper: 37%

Colby Parkinson hasn’t really popped off in the box score. So, he’ll probably be dropped in a few leagues. But he is doing one thing that a lot of guys aren’t. He’s running routes. A LOT of them. This past week he played every offensive snap and ran 30 of 33 routes. 

He had a tough matchup with Fred Warner so he couldn’t get much done on his five targets. But this week he faces the Chicago Bears which should be a little easier. And this team is still missing their top two wide receivers. 

Tucker Kraft - Green Bay Packers, Yahoo: 6% | ESPN: 37% | Sleeper: 8%

We warned against “chasing last week” with Cole Kmet after the Bears ran 90 offensive snaps in Week 4. Well, the Packers just dropped back 58 times last week which is not normal. Christian Watson is likely out however and they do have a good matchup with the Rams who are a bottom team in DVOA vs. the tight end so you could do worse than Kraft this week. 

 

 

 

Week 5 K Streamers

Brayden Narveson - Green Bay Packers, Yahoo: 8% | ESPN: 6% | Sleeper: 16%

This is one of those “high risk, high reward” plays. But it’s also the kicker spot, so I mean, c’mon. Narveson has missed four kicks this year including both of his attempts last week (though he is 9 for 9 on extra points).

That could honestly lead to Narveson losing his job. But, unless he loses his job before this weekend, there is a lot of upside to be had. Jordan Love is back, and the Packers are favored in a game vs. the Rams with a 48 point over/under. I’m not scared, are you?  

Joshua Karty - Los Angeles Rams: 1% | ESPN: 2% | Sleeper: 2%

We tend to gravitate towards the household names at kicker. But there are guys out there for good teams that are getting the job done that we don’t really want to recognize yet. 

Karty just missed his first field goal of the season this past week and it came in a game where he went four of five, so we have to give some credit here. As we mentioned with Narveson, we’re hoping for a shoutout which means points on both sides. 

 

 

 

Week 5 DST Streamers

Denver Broncos DST, Yahoo: 19% | ESPN: 36% | Sleeper: 4%

The Denver Broncos are quietly a top 5 scoring DST in fantasy football. And this week they have the lowly Las Vegas Raiders who have been disseminated by injury and are even considering a QB change. Typically to get to a point where the QB is pulled mid-game, good things need to happen for the other team’s defense. 

Seattle Seahawks DST, Yahoo: 28% | ESPN: 20% | Sleeper: 35%

This week was obviously not good for Seattle’s defense. But they aren’t playing the Detroit Lions again, they are playing the New York Giants. The secondary for Seattle has generally been good and the Giants have struggled to offer consistency on offense so you could do worse here. 

  • Honorable Mentions: Green Bay DST, New England DST

 

 

 

Make Use Of These Week 5 Fantasy Football Streamers & Good Luck!

In a perfect scenario, your starting team is packed with all-star talent. Your bench would ideally feature a solid mix of high-potential players from our Waiver Wire Article or some deeper stash options. But let’s be real, fantasy football isn’t always perfect. 

Sometimes, you just have to grit your teeth and play the guy who gives you the most reliable performance, even if he’s not the most exciting choice. That’s where these fantasy football streamers come into play. 

Sure, the breakout players later in the season might be the ones that clinch the championship, but you’ve got to make it to the playoffs first to have a shot at winning it all.