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

Working the waiver wire is a necessary aspect of any fantasy football season. Seeing as how the 2020 NFL season has been marred by numerous key injuries, it's critical to be pulling quality players off the wire this year.

Bye-week season kicks off in Week 5 too—the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions are off—so, even managers with no injuries to overcome would be wise to scout for potential fill-ins.

Here, we'll run down the top waiver-wire targets for Week 5, specifically players who are rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues. Before we dig into this week's top options, though, let's take a look at the upcoming bye-week schedule.

Upcoming 2020 Bye-Week Schedule

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Week 5

Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions

Week 6

Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders

Week 7

Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens

Week 8

Washington Football Team, Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos

Week 5 Waiver-Wire Targets (Percent Rostered)

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Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Carolina Panthers (26 percent)

Justin Herbert, QB, Los Angeles Chargers (25 percent)

D'Ernest Johnson, RB, Cleveland Browns (20 percent)

Justin Jackson, RB, Los Angeles Chargers (17 percent)

Chase Edmonds, RB, Arizona Cardinals (46 percent)

Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals (38 percent)

Laviska Shenault Jr., WR, Jacksonville Jaguars (26 percent)

Scotty Miller, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (21 percent)

Robert Tonyan, TE, Green Bay Packers (47 percent)

Mo Alie-Cox, TE, Indianapolis Colts (35 percent)

D'Ernest Johnson, RB, Cleveland Browns

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Cleveland Browns running back D'Ernest Johnson is going to be one of the most popular fantasy adds this week. With starter Nick Chubb landing on injured reserve with a knee injury, Johnson becomes Cleveland's No. 2 back behind Kareem Hunt.

For most teams, this rise to the No. 2 role might not be significant. However, the Browns are a run-first, run-often team that ranks second in rushing attempts and first in rushing yards, touchdowns and yards per carry.

Johnson carried the ball 13 times for 95 yards against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4.

Now, here's the caveat with Johnson and something managers need to pay attention to. While he's a fine addition for those looking ahead, he's probably no more than a low-tier Flex option over the next two weeks.

Cleveland plays the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5 and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6. Indianapolis and Pittsburgh possess the league's sixth- and first-ranked run defenses in terms of yards per carry. Things get easier after that, though, as the Browns will face the Cincinnati Bengals, Las Vegas Raiders and Houston Texans.

Justin Jackson, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

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While Johnson is a better addition for the future. Los Angeles Chargers running back Justin Jackson could pay more immediate dividends. He faces the sixth-ranked New Orleans Saints run defense in Week 5, but then plays the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jackson becomes fantasy relevant because starting back Austin Ekeler suffered a hamstring strain in Week 4.

"I'm not sure how bad it is, but it looked pretty bad," head coach Anthony Lynn said, per NFL.com's Kevin Patra.

Ekeler is expected to miss at least a month.

Jackson will likely split time with rookie Joshua Kelley. During his favorable three-week stretch, starting fantasy backs like Alvin Kamara, Josh Jacobs, Dalvin Cook, Jonathan Taylor and Melvin Gordon III will be on bye.

It will be worth picking up Jackson as a bye-week option, but pay attention to his usage against New Orleans before committing to him in your lineup.

Robert Tonyan, TE, Green Bay Packers

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Green Bay Packers tight end Robert Tonyan isn't going to pay off immediately because he's on bye in Week 5. However, he could be a sneaky-smart add for the remainder of the season, depending on your existing depth at the position.

Tonyan is a hot target because he's coming off a three-touchdown game against the Atlanta Falcons. However, he's been trending upward over the past three weeks.

In Week 2, had three targets—according to Pro Football Reference—and finished with two catches, 25 yards and a touchdown. He caught five passes on five targets for 50 yards and a score in Week 3, then six on six targets for 98 yards and three scores this past week.

While Tonyan's target share will likely decrease some after the return of Davante Adams, he has likely earned the trust of quarterback Aaron Rodgers over these last three weeks. He should regularly see 4-6 targets per game even after Adams' return, and he's going to have a ton of red-zone value.

As a bye-week replacement, Tonyan could provide relief for Darren Waller managers in Week 6 and Mark Andrews managers in Week 7.

*Yahoo roster percentages from FantasyPros.