Week 5 Waiver Wire: Deshaun Watson, Devin Funchess Highlight Pickups to Know

Fantasy football owners know it must be another great week to make adds via the waiver wire when names such as Deshaun Watson and Bilal Powell sit among the top-scoring figures before Monday. 

Week 4 was an odd one indeed, with some lesser-known names blowing up and guys such as Jay Cutler in an interesting matchup failing to even hit the 10-point mark. 

These sorts of developments weren't hard to see coming, though. They aren't as dramatic typically, but the miserable offensive showing by most teams over the course of the first few weeks meant teams needed to adjust and weave in new guys and approaches. 

With such a theme in mind, let's take a look at the top Week 5 add candidates. 

Week 5 Waiver-Wire Targets

Deshaun Watson, HOU

Andy Dalton, CIN

Jacoby Brissett, IND

Elijah McGuire, NYJ

Eddie Lacy, SEA

Andre Ellington, ARI

Wendell Smallwood, PHI

Devin Funchess, CAR

Will Fuller V, HOU

Jaron Brown, ARI

Cooper Kupp, LAR

Tyler Kroft, CIN

Cameron Brate, TB

Deshaun Watson, HOU

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Watson truly is the perfect example of the above.  

The Houston Texans looked like a laughingstock early in the season before benching the starter in favor of Watson, a rookie the team wasn't necessarily ready to roll with yet. 

Now the Texans are 2-2 and first in the AFC South. 

Watson's latest breakout came against the Tennessee Titans in Week 4, where he threw for four scores and tallied 34.72 points. Former NFL coach Tony Dungy put it best: 

That means Watson has scored at least 17 points in each of his three games with meaningful playing time. 

Granted, owners can expect a regression regardless of upcoming competition because he isn't throwing four scores every game. But he is making a difference and giving owners an interesting streaming option. 

Elijah McGuire, NYJ

Al Pereira/Getty Images

Fantasy football owners might not know who Elijah McGuire is, but the New York Jets certainly do. 

The Jets like the sixth-round rookie enough to give him 12 total touches in the offense despite a fumble the week prior, even giving him snaps in the fourth quarter despite strong play from Powell in Week 5 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

All McGuire did was respond with 93 yards and a touchdown on the ground and two catches for 38 yards through the air, giving him 19.1 points. 

A bulk of his production came on one massive highlight: 

This won't stop the Jets from going back to him, especially with Matt Forte still nursing an injury. 

When Forte does return, the coaching staff might have a hard time sitting McGuire, too. 

Devin Funchess, CAR

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

This was one of the more predictable breakouts of the week. 

With Greg Olsen down and Devin Funchess receiving notable targets in prior weeks, it was only a matter of time before the latter had a breakout game for the Carolina Panthers. 

That breakout came in Week 5 during a road upset of the New England Patriots, where Funchess turned a team-high nine targets into seven catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns, good for 19 points. 

Using his size and newfound trust from Cam Newton, Funchess didn't have any problems: 

Funchess, of course, should regress in terms of touchdowns. But the important takeaway here is targets, as his nine were five more than No. 1 wideout Kelvin Benjamin and three more than checkdown option Christian McCaffrey. 

Now a hybrid tight end and safety valve of sorts, Funchess has value regardless of matchup. 

Tyler Kroft, CIN

Jason Miller/Getty Images

The Cincinnati Bengals might have just cured what ailed the tight end spot for many. 

Playing in place of Tyler Eifert, Tyler Kroft exploded in Week 4, catching six of his seven targets for 68 yards and two touchdowns. 

Now this will sound familiar—Kroft isn't scoring twice every week. But the 18.8 points and seven targets, tied with A.J. Green, speak to how the Bengals value the tight end moving forward after weeks of miserable offensive performances. 

Considering Eifert has spent a large chunk of his career on the shelf and Kroft is only now emerging, owners can consider him one of the safer adds of the week, which is a big relief at such a miserable fantasy position so far this season. 

All scoring info, points-against info and ownership stats courtesy of Yahoo standard leagues.