Week 5 Waiver Wire: Isaac Redman and the 5 Best Fantasy Football Bye Week Subs

Bye weeks in fantasy football are always tricky to navigate around, and the first batch of NFL teams get a break in Week 5.

What does that mean? It's time to go to the waiver wire to plug in the holes left by those teams that will be watching games this Sunday. 

Here are the some of the big names with bye weeks and how you might go about subbing for them on the waiver wire:

QBs with Byes

 Tony Romo, Cowboys; Joe Flacco, Ravens

Fill-in: Alex Smith, 49ers

Available in over 96 percent of ESPN leagues, Alex Smith might be the best guy on the market this week to fill in for two quarterbacks who start in nearly every league.

It's not as crazy as it sounds, either. Smith has thrown for more than 200 yards in back-to-back weeks and has two games in 2011 with at least two scores.

Plus, Tampa Bay travels from coast to coast after playing the Monday night game. There's potential there.

RBs with Byes

Felix Jones, Cowboys; Ray Rice, Ravens; Peyton Hillis, Browns; Steven Jackson, Rams

Fill-in: Isaac Redman, Steelers

There are some big running back names who won't be contributing this week because of the bye, so it's imperative for most owners to find an adequate replacement.

Isaac Redman (owned in less than three percent of ESPN leagues) could be that guy in Week 5. Rashard Mendenhall injured his hamstring against the Texans, and we've seen in Houston that those kind of injuries can derail players for several weeks (see: Arian Foster).

More to the point, Redman has simply outplayed Mendenhall through four games. He could get a big opportunity against the Titans on Sunday. 

WRs with Byes

Dez Bryant, Cowboys; Brandon Marshall, Dolphins; Santana Moss, Redskins

Fill-in: Victor Cruz, Giants

I'm jumping on the Victor Cruz bandwagon—and you should too, especially if you're an owner of Bryant, Marshall or Moss in Week 5.

Given a chance because of the rash of injuries to the Giants receivers, Cruz has put up big numbers in two straight weeks. He went for 110 yards and two scores against the Eagles two weeks ago, then followed that up with six catches for 98 yards in Arizona. His matchup against the Seahawks at home in Week 5 is a promising one as well.

It's going to be difficult to fully replace the production of those players, but Cruz—who is available in more than 80 percent of ESPN leagues—has done it two straight weeks.   

TEs with Byes

Jason Witten, Cowboys; Chris Cooley, Redskins; Ed Dickson, Ravens; Fred Davis, Redskins

Fill-in: Kyle Rudolph, Vikings

The second-round rookie out of Notre Dame might be a little bit of a stretch, but hear me out.

The Vikings are slowly moving their offense toward the tight end position, which is what we figured they'd do coming out of the gates this season. Rudolph is starting to benefit from that change, as he's caught three passes in each of the last two weeks.

I like him to break out against the Cardinals, who have given up 10 or more points to tight ends in three of the four weeks in 2011. 

DEF/STs with Byes

Cowboys, Redskins, Ravens, Cleveland

Fill-in: Bengals

With the way offenses have taken over games in 2011, if might not be the worst idea to start a defense that has a bye week. At least that way you know you're not losing any points this week.

However, the Bengals are a defense that could get you five to seven fantasy points in Week 5. They've yet to give up more than 24 points in 2011—an accomplishment this season—and they get rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who has five turnovers in two NFL starts.