Four weeks of NFL play are officially in the books, which means bye weeks are in full swing. Gone are the days where you could just coast by on a strong draft. Now more than ever, you’ll need to search the waiver wire for the best available defense. Heading into Week 5, you should set your eyes on the Tennessee Titans, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Note that in order to make this list, the player had to be available in over 50% of fantasy leagues. If you’re in smaller leagues, there may be better players available. Make sure to check your waivers to see if there are any diamonds in the rough before submitting your claims.
Wide Receiver Week 5 Waiver Wire Claims
Running Back Week 5 Waiver Wire Claims
Quarterback Week 5 Waiver Wire Claims
Tennessee Titans, Philadelphia Eagles Highlight Fantasy Football Week 5 Defense Waiver Wire Streams
Tennessee Titans
It seems like the Tennessee Titans make this list every single week. After an underwhelming Week 4, Tennessee bounced back with a strong performance against a talented Atlanta Falcons offense. The unit collected five sacks and recorded a fumble while allowing just 10 points. They finished as one of the best fantasy defenses in the league, and they should build upon that performance in Week 5.
Tennessee takes on a Buffalo Bills team with serious questions at the quarterback position. Josh Allen suffered a concussion midway through Week 4’s action and might not play in Week 5. If he’s out, the Bills are going to start Matt Barkley. Barkley has more career interceptions than touchdowns and should turn the ball over and take quite a few sacks. Even if Allen plays, he’s still prone to turnovers and taking sacks he shouldn’t. This defense has the talent to take advantage of this favorable matchup.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles secondary is one of the worst in the league, but they’re good enough to take care of business against the New York Jets. Sam Darnold hopes to play in Week 5, but he’s coming off of a strange case of mono and won’t be at full strength. If he plays, he’s going to be rusty and will probably make a few ugly mistakes.
If he can’t go, that means Luke Falk lines up under center. Falk made the first start of his career in Week 3 and looked absolutely terrible against the New England Patriots. The former sixth-round pick recorded just 98 passing yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. Philadelphia won’t limit him to that type of production, but it’s clear he’s not an NFL-caliber quarterback. Streaming defenses is all about playing the matchups, and there are few matchups better than this one.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Nobody wants to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense in fantasy. It’s not a good unit by any means, and they’re coming off a week where they allowed 40 points to the Los Angeles Rams. However, you can’t overlook the favorable matchup in Week 5.
The New Orleans Saints do not have a good offense with Teddy Bridgewater under center. While they’re still able to win, Bridgewater has yet to clear 200 passing yards in any one of his starts. Bridgewater simply cannot find what made him an adequate starter in 2015, and his conservative playstyle means that he’s not a threat to put up big numbers. If you’re in a really deep league and there are no good options available, you could do worse than the Tampa Bay defense.
Wide Receiver Week 5 Waiver Wire Claims
Running Back Week 5 Waiver Wire Claims
Quarterback Week 5 Waiver Wire Claims
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