Fantasy Week 5 Waiver Wire: Pickups and Drops After 4 Weeks of Action

Injuries are unavoidable. They happen every year to some of the best players in the league, and even though they can suck the life right out of your team, you deal with them and move on because hey, this is fantasy football, not fantasy badminton.

So now that you've come to terms with the reality that Andre Johnson is out for a few weeks, what do you do? Hopefully, you have a little depth that you can plug right in there. But what if you don't?

This is where the all-important Waiver Wire comes in handy and why you need to know exactly who to pick up...and who to drop.

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Initial Week 5 Rankings for QBs, RBs, WRs and TEs

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Pickup: RB Isaac Redman (Pittsburgh Steelers)

The fact is, this is a bit of a stretch when you're talking about a season-long fix, but Isaac Redman is on a good team, and if Rashard Mendenhall is down past Week 5, Redman could end up being an amazing pick-up for your team.

He's a hard runner who will always have something to prove as a career-long backup. I'd rather have him on my bench than a Marshawn Lynch any day.

Pickup: RB Kendall Hunter (San Francisco 49ers)

If Frank the Tank is healthy, you obviously can't start this guy, but if you already have Frank Gore on your squad, Kendall Hunter a no-brainer as a handcuff.

With his latest ankle injury, Gore has officially become the most brittle RB in the league, and the chance he stays healthy the remainder of the season is pretty much nil.

Grab Hunter while you can.

Pickup: WR Preston Parker (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

If it seems like young Preston "Spiderman" Parker is getting a lot of looks from Josh Freeman, you'd be right.

Parker's on pace for 64 receptions at this point and catches almost everything thrown his way (16 catches on 21 targets). He also leads the Tampa Bay Bucaneers in receiving yards and has been far more dependable than Arrelious Benn thus far.

If your wideouts are near the bottom of the barrel, at least consider this guy. Preston Parker will be available.

Pickup: TE Jared Cook (Tennessee Titans)

I assume somebody in your league had Jared Cook on their squad at some point, but it's quite possible they dropped him along the way as well.

I say this because one of my buddies dropped this dude in a league a couple of weeks ago, yet picked him back up because of the Kenny Britt injury and made it worth it with that long TD last weekend.

Cook may only have seven catches on the season thus far, but he's a physical freak and is about to show the world his stuff.

Grab him if he's still available.

Pickup: WRs Jacoby Jones and Kevin Walter

Jacoby Jones is the preferred pickup of the two, but I assume someone in your league already has him on their squad. If not, grab him immediately as he was the workhorse last year during the three games Andre Johnson was out.

Kevin Walter, however, isn't too shabby of a find either. Andre Johnson will be out for at least the next three games and Jacoby can't replace his numbers alone.

The tight ends will get a ton of work, but Walter is big at 6'3" and could grab a few TDs along the way.

Pickup: TE Jermaine Gresham (Cincinnati Bengals)

Jermaine Gresham might actually be available in your league if everyone around you was scared to grab Bengals players with a rookie QB running the show. I doubt it, but it's possible.

If not, trade one of the guys mentioned later in the "Drops" section and get them to give you Gresham in the deal. You won't be sorry.

The guy wasn't taken in the first round for nothing, and he's finally starting to show it.

It just so happens that when the Bengals win, this skyscraper of a man catches a TD. When they lose, it's because Andy Dalton didn't get it to him enough.

He's averaging seven targets a game thus far, though I expect that number to rise as the year moves on. Rookie QBs end up loving their TEs by the middle of the season.

Drop: QB Kyle Orton (Denver Broncos)

I said it last week and got a few jeers in the comment column because of it, but I'm saying it again this week anyway: grab Tim Tebow!

The Tebow era is set to begin in Denver. Maybe not this week...but soon.

There is no chance whatsoever the Broncos go with Brady Quinn, as they've never thought of Quinn as their QB of the future.

Plus, in terms of fantasy, Tebow is literally 10 times the asset that Quinn could ever hope to be.

In three starts last season, Tebow averaged 26.6 fantasy points a game (basic scoring system) which would have put him at second in the league behind Michael Vick. It's hardly ever recognized just how huge of an advantage a really good running QB is in fantasy.

Drop: QB Donovan McNabb (Minnesota Vikings)

Put a fork in Donovan McNabb from a fantasy perspective.

If you grabbed him in your draft hoping for a resurrection in Minnesota, I think you've found your answer—it's not going to happen.

Drop: RB Shonn Greene (New York Jets)

I'm actually jumping the gun on this one because the possibility is still out there that Shonn Greene does a little something with this "ground-and-pound" mentality Coach Ryan wants to take on again...but I doubt it.

Basically, I would trade him now while he still has a little value in the league, because when he doesn't do a thing against the Patriots this weekend, Greene will have no value at all.

I had high hopes for him, but Shonn Greene just might be the biggest bust of the year.

Drop: TE Kellen Winslow Jr. (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

It's the same old story with this guy. Year after year after year, I hear just how good Kellen Winslow looks, how strong he is, and how much athletic ability he is showing after some time off.

However, potential does not always meet its ceiling.

Sell WInslow on his name and look for a guy with some real potential, like the aforementioned Jared Cook, or maybe Ed Dickson if you can.

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Initial Week 5 Rankings for QBs, RBs, WRs and TEs

Follow Pyro® on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/pyroman1ac

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