Week 5 Waiver Wire: Darrin Reaves, Jerick McKinnon Highlight Pickups to Know

While it is important not to overreact to one or a few good performances in the NFL, Week 4 showed once again there is a lot of talent available on the fantasy football waiver wire.

Injuries and other factors create opportunities for lesser-known competitors, and this is often all they need to shine on the big stage. When they come through again, you better hope you have them in your starting lineup.

As long as you can separate the true breakout stars from the flukes, you will do just fine on the waiver wire. Here are the top options on target heading into Week 5.

Note: All players are owned in less than 50 percent of ESPN leagues. 

Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Minnesota Vikings (Owned in 10 percent of leagues)

The only downside of Teddy Bridgewater's performance in his first start was that he was forced off the field with an ankle injury. The first-round pick will have to recover quickly for a Thursday night game this week, but he believes it is possible, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com:

Tom Pelissero of USA Today also quotes head coach Mike Zimmer in believing he will play:

Even if Bridgewater is unable to compete against the Green Bay Packers, he is still worth an immediate pickup after an outstanding performance against the Atlanta Falcons. The rookie passed for 317 yards at 10.6 yards per attempt, while also adding 27 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Without Adrian Peterson, Kyle Rudolph and others, the rookie still made things happen and led his team to a win. He is likely to keep putting up big numbers all year, so make sure to get him as soon as possible.

Jerick McKinnon, RB, Minnesota Vikings (Owned in 0.8 percent of leagues)

Jim Mone/Associated Press

While Bridgewater kick-started the Vikings offense on Sunday, he was not the only player to have a big day. Matt Asiata scored three touchdowns to reward fantasy owners who kept him in their lineups, but Jerick McKinnon was the true standout with 135 rushing yards on 18 carries.

The rookie had shown promises in the past, but he had a hard time getting onto the field. However, even with a strong Week 4, Asiata is still averaging just 3.4 yards per carry this season. He has little breakaway speed and is not nearly as dynamic of a player as McKinnon.

Aaron Nagler of Sports Illustrated explained it best:

McKinnon only totaled five carries coming into the game but had 18 in this one, plus a 17-yard reception. Overall, he played in 42 percent of the snaps while Asiata had 58 percent. It seems obvious the coaching staff is going to look his way more often going forward.

"We’ve talked about trying to get him in the ballgame some more," head coach Mike Zimmer said after the game. "He’s got a lot of explosiveness and we wanted to try to use some of his speed to the perimeter. He did a couple of really good inside runs too."

McKinnon will not automatically become an every-down back with the Vikings, but his time is coming, and he is worth a pickup in fantasy.

Darrin Reaves, RB, Carolina Panthers (Owned in 0.1 percent of leagues)

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

While McKinnon has the talent but struggled to get the chance to show it, Darrin Reaves is all about opportunity.

The Carolina Panthers have been decimated by injuries this season, especially in the backfield. While DeAngelo Williams was out Week 3, Jonathan Stewart and Mike Tolbert were both injured. Williams' return in Week 4 was then cut short due to an ankle injury.

As Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com noted, the Panthers were running out of options:

Reaves received the rest of the work on the ground, although he struggled to the tune of 26 yards on 12 carries. He also added 11 yards on three receptions while being targeted five times.

The important thing in all of this is that he is getting looks. With Tolbert out for a long time and Stewart and Williams likely questionable going forward, Reaves could be on his way toward many more touches.

This could lead to a lot of success in Week 5 against a Chicago Bears defense that has struggled against the run over the past two seasons. 

Eddie Royal, WR, San Diego Chargers (Owned in 28.8 percent of leagues)

Yes, I know we should look at Eddie Royal's last two games as a fluke. While he scored four touchdowns in the last two games, he also totaled five scores in a two-game stretch in 2013. Mike Clay of Pro Football Focus notes the player's skill:

However, he did end up totaling eight touchdowns last year, plus there are some big differences from a year ago. The main one is that Royal appears to be an even bigger part of the offense in 2014.

Despite the presence of Keenan Allen, Antonio Gates and other quality pass-catchers, Royal leads the team with 29 targets through four games. While you cannot guarantee this continues, he is certainly earning more opportunities as he keeps producing.

While the Chargers are attempting to replace the injured Danny Woodhead with Branden Oliver (four receptions out of the backfield in Week 4), Royal picks up some of that slack as well with strong play out of the slot.

Considering defenses still are not going to start spending time planning for Royal with other weapons in the offense, the receiver has a chance to keep putting up decent numbers.

Player	Pos.	Team	Owned*
Joe Flacco	QB	Baltimore Ravens	18.8 percent
Mike Glennon	QB	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	0.3 percent
Lorenzo Taliaferro	RB	Baltimore Ravens	14.8 percent
Branden Oliver	RB	San Diego Chargers	0.6 percent
Marvin Jones	WR	Cincinnati Bengals	0.8 percent
Jarius Wright	WR	Minnesota Vikings	0.2 percent
Devin Hester	WR	Atlanta Falcons	16.3 percent
Larry Donnell	TE	New York Giants	26.7 percent
Travis Kelce	TE	Kansas City Chiefs	37.1 percent
Pittsburgh Steelers	D/ST	-	20.7 percent

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