There were certainly some epic plays and games this past weekend.  Many fantasy owners were surprised to see a number of fantasy starters not perform to their normal abilities and some even left their games due to injuries.  What does that means for fantasy owners?   It means that the wire will be burning up this week so let’s get down to it and find out who is going to be Hot Off The Wire fantasy players for week 5.  By the way, got a little special tip rolled up into this one that will pay dividends for weeks to come. Come with me as I take a trip into the waiver and pull out a fantasy gem that you can ride with confidence.

Top Fantasy Waivers Pickups In Week 6

Running Backs

• Branden Oliver – He is going to be a great play this week. I don’t know if a situation will develop when Matthews comes back in the next couple of weeks, but for week 6 Oliver looks like he will be the bell cow.  He should see plenty of touches against the Raiders, who rank second to last in the NFL for rushing yards per game.  Ryan could be back by week 8 so it’s most likely a one or two week option.  Oliver got worked into the starting role because all other backs are hurt including Donald Brown.
• Ronnie Hillman – He got the call after Montee Ball went down.  He doesn’t have the same dynamic play-making skills that Ball has, but knows the offense well and can catch from the backfield, which gives him an edge in the Manning offense. He should be the featured back while Ball is out and would see the bulk of the carries, but Anderson could get some work as well.  Ball could be out for several weeks so this is a good option.
• Andre Williams – Williams will get the shot to show what he can do. With Rashad Jennings going down for an extended period of time, Williams will be thrust into the starting role. He would be a solid pickup at this point and could see the same type of workload that Rashad was getting.  Load him up for a start this week against an Eagles defense that ranks near the bottom in rushing yards and attempts per game.
• Benny Cunningham – With Zac Stacy going down, Benny stepped in and busted some nice runs including a touchdown.  If Zac is going to be ready for week 6, which it does look like will be the case, Benny doesn’t have much fantasy value yet, but could be worth stashing if you have room.
• Antone Smith – This guy should be named the touchdown express.  He feeds on touchdowns like they are fuel.  Over the past 3 games he has touched the ball 4 times per game, but has scored in all 3.  His touchdown to touch ratio is 25%.  Wouldn’t you want someone in your lineup that scores on 25% of the plays he is in.  For the entire season, he has touched the ball 17 times, but has 4 touchdowns.  He averages nearly 1 touchdown every 4 touches.  Remarkable play-maker.  They will continue to find ways to get him the ball. Expect more of this to continue.

Wide Receivers

• Odell Beckham Jr – Well the rook has made his way onto the scene in a big way scoring a touchdown in his first NFL game.  With the rookie getting 5 targets, converting 4 for 44 yards and 1 touchdown, the Giants clearly want to get him involved in the game. Expect him to continue to be targeted at least 4-6 times per game and that could go up as the connection with Manning becomes stronger.  He is worth picking up as they need to get another play-maker and red-zone target for Eli.
• Brian Quick – He’s already been mentioned here, but appears that people are still sleeping on this dude. He is worth grabbing if still available.
• Travis Benjamin – The rookie caught 4 passes for 48 yards, but two of those were touchdowns giving him 3 on the season.  The young receiver is finding his way, but is certainly getting opportunities to make plays.  He would be a very low WR3 option.
• Kendall Wright – He finally has a good game, but don’t expect that to continue every week.  Yes he does get good amount of targets, but they don’t go down the field enough and he winds up with average points on most weeks.  It’s a gamble to try to figure out when he’s getting the touchdown because otherwise the yards will not be enough.
• Andre Roberts – He is getting a fair amount of work in the Redskin offense and it appears to be coming at the expense of Garcon.  In week 5, Garcon was only targeted 3 times compared to Jackson who had a team high of 11 followed by Roberts who had 9.  Roberts has touchdowns in the past 2 games, but doesn’t get a lot of yards.  He is certainly more valuable in PPR leagues because you can’t count on touchdowns every week.

Quarterbacks

• Austin Davis – He is getting a lot of attention after his performance this week.  Granted, those that follow this blog would have known that I recommend him as a great start last week.  He is putting up decent numbers, but he has a very rough schedule coming up that doesn’t favor passing match-ups.  He really only has 3 good match-ups left on his schedule with the others coming against top passing defenses.  He plays in a tough division.
• Kirk Cousins – Again he showed what he can do at QB.  It’s not a fluke.  His QB rating ranks 9th in the NFL and is ahead of many other top fantasy starters.  He ranks 6th in yards per game so he is throwing the ball a lot.  He also doesn’t have great match-ups coming up, but they are better than what Davis has to face.
• Ryan Tannehill – The next match-up isn’t so good for him.  He is getting added a lot, but there isn’t much to like against a team that has the 5th lowest completion percentage and completions per game.  They have more interceptions than they have allowed passing touchdowns.  He is playing at home, but hasn’t played so well there this year.  It’s not a good play, but does get better the following weeks.

Quarterback Fantasy Gem Alert

Okay, now it’s time to reveal the fantasy gem that is getting added off the wire a lot and for good reason.  Normally, he is not a fantasy consideration and should be available in nearly 100% of fantasy leagues, except for the ones his family and friends are in.  With that said, there’s a fantasy quarterback that will be a great play off the wire for weeks to come and should be added even ahead of some of the guys listed above.

• Brian Hoyer – Yes, I said it.  He is stacked and poised to make a great run over the next 4 weeks with 3 home games.  He’s got nearly the perfect schedule covering some of the worst passing teams in the NFL that should have him playing like a Pro-Bowler.  Keep in mind his QB rating currently ranks 9th in the NFL, ahead of many other starters, and he has only been picked off once this year.  His match-ups include meetings with the league’s worst passing defense, the Jags, as well as with the Bucs, Raiders, and Steelers, all of whom he plays at home and have allow more passing touchdowns than interceptions.  The Raiders give up a league high completion percentage and have only 2 picks all year.  In fact, out of the 4 teams combined, they have a total of 10 picks all season while giving up 35 passing touchdowns.  Incredible match-ups for this guy at home, while playing the best fantasy match-up on the road.  Nothing to the worry about here but lots of fantasy points.