Week 5 was the first week fantasy owners had to take a long look at the waiver wire with six teams receiving a bye. It was another week with inevitable injuries as well as poor performances, which saw new players become fantasy relevant. This week will see six new teams on bye, which means these new players will become hot commodities for owners immediately. If you're looking for players like Victor Cruz or Doug Baldwin, they were already discussed last week. This week is wide receiver heavy as defenses have adjusted to take the top receiver out of the game plan. See if any of these players can help out your team.
Jackie Battle, RB, KC - Battle came from nowhere this week to do his best Ryan Torain Week 4 impression. Battle ran for 119 yards on only 19 carries (6.3 YPC) and was much more effective than veteran Thomas Jones (3.4 YPC on the season). Coach Todd Haley admitted that a fan sent a letter urging Haley to give Battle more carries which somehow persuaded him to turn to Battle after reading it to him before the game. Battle is one of the bigger running backs at 6-foot-2, 238, but has a good burst in addition to the ability to break tackles. It would be surprising if he doesn't get the lion's share of carries for the Chiefs given the limited upside of Thomas Jones.
Tim Tebow, QB, DEN - With Kyle Orton making horrible decisions and hitting more San Diego players with his throws than his own team, John Fox switched to Tim Tebow during Sunday's game. While Tebow finished 4-for-10 for 79 yards and a touchdown, his teammates made a few bad drops that should have been caught. Tebow also rushed for 38 yards and a score, making him an intriguing fantasy option should the starting gig be handed to him. His running ability gives him the ceiling to be a top-10 fantasy option. He recorded six rushing touchdowns and a 8.0 YPA in only nine games last season. Keep in mind he likely hasn't worked too much with the first team during practice and will have a full two weeks to prepare for heading to Miami, a favorable fantasy matchup.
James Jones, WR, GB - With the stellar play of Jordy Nelson coupled with a lack of targets over the first three week, many wrote off Jones as a fantasy contributor this season. Jones has proved otherwise, totaling 188 receiving yards and two touchdowns over the Packers last two games. The truth is Aaron Rodgers loves to spread the ball around ,and outside of Greg Jennings and Jermichael Finley, it's hard to predict consistent production for the rest of the receivers. Look at Jones as a No. 3 WR or flex play if you need help during the bye weeks.
Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, OAK - Heyward-Bey turned in his second straight solid fantasy game, narrowly missing the century mark with 99 receiving yards and a touchdown. He's now received 19 targets the last two games and has taken advantage of opposing defenses looking to shut down Denarius Moore. Heyward-Bey was discussed in this column earlier this season before a knee injury that limited him over the first three weeks of the season. Only 24, he still has time to prove he wasn't a bust after being taken with the seventh overall pick in the 2009 draft.
Jacob Hester, RB, SD - Hester got his biggest workload of the season, carrying the ball 11 times for 47 yards and catching two passes for 13 yards last week. The increase in his touches can largely be attributed to both Ryan Mathews (calf) and Mike Tolbert (concussion) sustaining injuries during the game. Both players have already dealt with injuries earlier this season and it could be Hester who benefits from these injuries. Keep watch to see the severity of the two injuries before adding Hester, who would likely receive around the same amount of touches should either teammate not be ready for Week 7.
Damien Williams, WR, TEN - With Kenny Britt out and Nate Washington typically drawing coverage from the top corner on opposing teams, Williams has been given the opportunity to produce for the Titans. He scored a touchdown for the second straight week, and while Tennessee was playing from behind, his 11 targets are difficult to ignore. Williams claims his recent success is in part due to him getting on the same page as Matt Hasselbeck who was zeroed in on Britt before his season-ending injury. At the very least, see if he continues to earn the trust of Matt Hasselbeck before plugging him into your lineup.
Delone Carter, RB, IND - It shouldn't come as a complete shock that Joseph Addai is again hurt, since he's averaged less than 12 games over the three previous seasons. Drafting Carter with the 199th pick of this year's draft was an insurance policy for the Colts who don't seem to have much faith in Donald Brown. After Addai left with a hamstring injury, Carter went on to have 12 rushes (including two goal line carries) to Brown's eight. This suggests that Carter will be given more of an opportunity while Addai is out, though Donald Brown could end being the main guy after posting a better YPC Sunday.
Kregg Lumpkin, Allen Bradford, RBs, TB - Many will look at acquiring Earnest Graham should LeGarrette Blount be sidelined with his knee injury. However, Graham is 31, had only 34 carries over the previous two seasons and has been dealing with a hamstring injury himself. Enter Bradford and Lumpkin, both more youthful options that could see an increase in touches if Blount is out. Watch the practice notes this week and see if Raheem Morris tips his hand toward who'll get the touches against New Orleans this week. Consider Lumpkin and Bradford nothing more than deep sleepers to keep an eye on.
Greg Little, WR, CLE - Little was named a starter as Cleveland was on a bye this week and outside of an injury, he could remain a fixture for years to come. The coveted rookie out of North Carolina had his best game in Week 4, hauling in six passes for 58 yards on eight targets. Despite being a rookie he has the physical tools to make an impact; Julio Jones, Eric Decker and A.J. Green have made an impact as rookies.
Early Doucet, WR, ARI - Doucet had a whopping 16 targets Sunday as the Vikings were determined to double Larry Fitzgerald and make another receiver beat them in the passing game. This resulted in a season-high eight catches for 96 yards. Doucet had another fantasy-worthy game in Week 1 with 105 receiving yards and a touchdown, so it's not like this production is out of nowhere. With one of the worst defenses in the league, Doucet could have more big weeks with his team likely to be playing from behind a lot.
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