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

In most leagues, the fantasy football regular season lasts 13 weeks.

That means that after the Minnesota Vikings defeated the New York Giants on Monday night, we were essentially a third of the way to the finish line.

With that sample size, you have an idea of what your team is and what it could be. Don’t lose your mind if you’re 2-2, but at 0-4, it might be time to make a move. (To be fair, though, it’s not unheard of for a late-blooming 0-4 team to storm into the playoffs and even win the championship.)

Byes have arrived, which often lead to an even juicier waiver wire as owners drop valuable players to fill starting spots. Let’s talk about some potential season-changing sleepers you can stash now and reap the rewards of later.

   

Kenneth Dixon

RB, Baltimore Ravens

ESPN ownership: 20.8 percent

Yahoo ownership: 26 percent

The Ravens cut Justin Forsett on Tuesday.

To some, it was an eyebrow-raising move. The 30-year-old pocket-sized veteran has been Baltimore’s go-to running back since 2014, and he hasn’t been horrible this season.

But Forsett, after splitting carries with Terrance West for the opening three weeks of 2016, was inactive on Sunday. West rumbled for 113 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries against the Oakland Raiders.

That means West is the new bell cow, right?

Not necessarily.

A sprained MCL has sidelined rookie running back Kenneth Dixon since the preseason. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, he’s likely to play in Week 5:

One fallout from the #Ravens decision to move on from Justin Forsett: Promising rookie RB Kenneth Dixon will make his debut.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 4, 2016

No, Dixon is not a scoop-and-start against the Washington Redskins. This is a long-term play.

According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, the Ravens think “the fourth-round pick from Louisiana Tech can be special,” and that statement is not coming out of left field. Before going down, Dixon was getting first-team reps.

While West’s Week 4 stat line was satisfying to owners who plugged him into their lineups, it’s not a guarantee of things to come. Here’s Matt Waldman of Footballguys:

West has the talent to continue as the Ravens starter but from what I saw, I’m leaning towards his game as a case where the Ravens’ best player—Marshall Yanda—met the weakest side of the Raiders defense. West’s best carry in the first half was a 20-yard run to that side and before that he had 4 carries for 5 yards. All of his runs over five yards came against the right side of the Oakland front.

Dixon, who essentially rewrote the Louisiana Tech record books, is a superior pass-catcher to …

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