Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups: Best Fantasy Sleepers to Target on Yahoo

Entering the second month of the 2018 NFL season, working the waiver wire becomes much more important for fantasy owners. Injuries are affecting lineups across the league, players' roles are becoming more defined and, of course, we're now firmly into bye-week season.

The Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are off in Week 5. This means that even if you're not looking to upgrade your roster, you may need a temporary replacement for Tarik Cohen, Mike Evans or DeSean Jackson.

You should always be looking to upgrade your roster, though, and snagging that perfect sleeper can mean the difference between a win and a loss in Week 5—and potentially beyond.

Between potential streamer quarterbacks, complementary backs with upside and emerging pass-catchers, there are plenty of sleepers who should be available in most leagues this week. We're here to examine some of the top options.

Here are 10 potential sleepers along with their owned percentages on Yahoo as of Wednesday at 6 a.m. ET:

Waiver-Wire Sleepers

1. QB Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins (22 percent owned)

2. QB C.J. Beathard, San Francisco 49ers (3 percent owned)

3. QB Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars (33 percent owned)

4. RB Duke Johnson, Cleveland Browns (42 percent owned)

5. RB Mike Davis, Seattle Seahawks (3 percent owned)

6. WR Antonio Callaway, Cleveland Browns (38 percent owned)

7. WR Ryan Grant, Indianapolis Colts (5 percent owned)

8. WR Paul Richardson, Washington Redskins (7 percent owned)

9. WR Mohamed Sanu, Atlanta Falcons (15 percent owned)

10. TE Vance McDonald, Pittsburgh Steelers (44 percent owned)

QB Blake Bortles Jacksonville Jaguars

If you're looking for a streaming option at quarterback, a bye-week fill-in or perhaps a replacement for injured Jimmy Garoppolo, you could do worse than Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles, who is available in more than 60 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Bortles has had some down weeks this season (fewer than 200 yards in Weeks 1 and 3), but when he's been on, he's been fantastic.

"He's out there like a surgeon, just precisely throwing great passes, leading the troops, making the right calls," Jaguars defensive end Calais Campbell explained, per Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com.

Last week against the New York Jets, Bortles racked up 388 yards passing with two touchdowns and an interception. He should be in store for a similar outing against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5.

The Chiefs have the league's second-worst pass defense, which has allowed an average of 328.5 yards per game. They also average 36.2 points per game, most in the NFL. Therefore, we can expect Bortles to throw early and often in order to keep pace on the scoreboard—and to have success doing so.

WR Ryan Grant, Indianapolis Colts

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton left Sunday's game against the Houston Texans with a hamstring injury. With the Colts facing the New England Patriots on Thursday, there simply may not be enough time for Hilton to recover.

This should lead to more action for fellow wideout Ryan Grant, who snagged five receptions and 64 yards last week.

With the Colts' running game struggling—Marlon Mack has missed two straight games with a hamstring injury, and the team is averaging just 72 yards rushing per contest—Andrew Luck will likely be carrying the offense with his throwing arm.

Expect Grant to benefit.

WR Mohamed Sanu, Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley has taken the fantasy world by storm, emerging as the second option to Julio Jones and scoring six touchdowns in his first four games. This has left Mohamed Sanu out of the spotlight, but the veteran wideout showed in Week 4 that he's still relevant.

Against his former team, the Cincinnati Bengals, Sanu amassed six receptions and 111 yards. He'll have another favorable matchup against another AFC North foe in Week 5.

Atlanta heads to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers, who have the league's fourth-worst pass defense. Pittsburgh has allowed an average of 304.8 yards per game through the air and an average of 29 points per game.

While Pittsburgh is coming off a disappointing loss in which it scored just 14 points, scoring generally hasn't been a problem this season—the Steelers average 25.5 points per game. Seeing as how the Falcons have their own defensive issues (30.5 points per game allowed), this one could quickly turn into a shootout.