Week 5 Waiver Wire: Breakout Fantasy Football Pickups from Sunday's Box Scores
Sometimes, young players have their breakout moment when managers can feel good about claiming them and moving forward expecting to start them for multiple weeks.
Other times, however, players are only strong waiver adds if they're stepping in for an injured teammate or facing a specific matchup that maximizes their value and talent.
This week's waiver advice includes both kinds of players, and they're ones you may want to consider claiming. These picks were made assuming a 12-team redraft league using points-per-reception (PPR) scoring.
Tucker Kraft, TE, Green Bay Packers
1 of 3
Rostered: 4 percent
Week 4 stats: 6 rec, 53 yds, 1 TD, 1 2PT, 17.30 pts
Though the broadcasters haven't quite caught on yet, Tucker Kraft is indeed the starting tight end in Green Bay, a role he's earned with his run-blocking, gutty yards after the catch and nimble footwork to stay in bounds and find the end zone.
Sure, he had a poorly timed fumble in Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings, but if you've paid attention this season, his bad plays have been few and far between.
Now that he's secured the starting role (and the targets that come with it), expect him to be involved enough in the Packers' passing game that he becomes a viable starting fantasy tight end too.
At the conclusion of Sunday's late afternoon games, Kraft was the highest-scoring tight end in fantasy (17.30 pts, PPR formats).
Jeremy McNichols, RB, Washington Commanders
2 of 3
Rostered: 0 percent
Week 4 stats: 8 att, 68 rush yds, 2 rush TDs, 1 rec, 6 rec yds
The Jeremy McNichols truthers, if they're out there, have had to wait a long time to see their prophecy fulfilled, but Sunday's career performance was an example of the veteran running back making the most of his opportunity.
With Austin Ekeler missing Week 4 with a concussion, McNichols was in line to be the Commanders' No. 2 back. There was a thought that he could have PPR value in deep leagues this week with his pass-catching ability, and yet most of his impact came in the run game, where he had eight carries for 68 yards and two touchdowns. He saw only one target in the passing game, which he hauled in for six yards.
Those two touchdowns were of course what drove McNichols' stats up; and at the conclusion of the Sunday late afternoon slate, he was the sixth-highest-scoring fantasy running back.
When Ekeler returns to the lineup, there may not be enough work to go around to make rostering McNichols feasible. But if you have injury issues or a very deep league, he's worth taking a flier on if Ekeler remains in the concussion protocol for Week 5.
Xavier Legette, WR, Carolina Panthers
3 of 3
Rostered: 13 percent
Week 4 stats: 6 rec, 66 rec yds, 1 rec TD, 2 att, 10 rush yds, 19.60 pts
Rookie wideout Xavier Legette is quickly becoming one of the bright spots on the 1-3 Panthers team.
Legette hadn't had much fantasy impact prior to this week, though it was clear he was coming along nicely in his development. But he hit the fast-forward button Sunday, scoring his first career touchdown as well as racking up 66 yards on six receptions. His 10 targets were second only to Diontae Johnson.
If you're in a PPR league or especially if you play in a dynasty league, it's probably time to pull the trigger on claiming Legette before someone else does.
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