Who you can trust in week 5

The NFL season is currently 25 percent complete and there may not be a more difficult year for fantasy football players than the 2024 season. Injuries have decimated many top players, while other proven starters have had suboptimal starts to the season, leading to this resulted in managers scrambling every week to find a solution to the waiver.

As we have done all season, this golden column offers a look at the latest names trending on the Wire and determines whether these players should be trusted or if they are doomed to fail. Let’s start in Kansas City, where the running back room took another turn in Week 4.

Kareem Hunt, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs offense continues to suffer physical setbacks, as Rashee Rice could miss the season with a suspected ACL tear and joins Marquise Brown and Isiah Pacheco on the bench. The latter’s absence prompted the fantasy market to take the plunge on Carson Steele and Samaje Perine two weeks ago (a move we advised against in this space), and now it looks like Kareem’s pairing Hunt was replaced.

Kansas City brought its former star back to the practice squad after Pacheco’s injury and gave him the top spot in the backfield thanks to Steele’s ball security issues. Hunt dominated the workload, hauling in 14 throws for 69 yards and adding two catches for 16 more yards, although Perine caught the rushing touchdown.

While it appears as if Hunt has overtaken the two existing defensemen on the depth chart, the situation remains uncertain with former first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire likely to be removed from the non-football injured list soon. Teams in need of immediate help should take a look at Hunt, but anyone with options should stay away from a situation that will surely lead to a committee situation while Pacheco is out.

Verdict: bust

Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Green Bay Packers

All eyes in Green Bay are on the injury report on Christian Watson’s condition after he suffered a dreaded upper ankle sprain in the Packers’ loss to Minnesota on Sunday. Head coach Matt LaFleur said Watson will be out Monday at least this week, but upper ankle sprains are typically multi-week misses and Watson hasn’t proven to be the most consistent player in his short tenure in the NFL.

One man who stepped in in Watson’s absence was Dontayvion Wicks, who was a favorite target for the returning Jordan Love. Wicks led the team with a whopping 13 targets, catching five of them for 78 yards and two touchdowns in Green Bay’s failed comeback attempt.

The target volume is new for Wicks, who has only made nine total appearances through the first three games, but two of those saw run-heavy game plans for Malik Willis and had a healthy Watson available. The more telling number is that Wicks was targeted on more than a quarter of the routes he ran, suggesting that volume should remain as long as Watson sits on the shelf.

Degree: Trust

Xavier Legette, WR, Carolina Panthers

While most fantasy managers’ eyes were on Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers in the rookie receiver department, some of the other pass catchers taken in April’s draft were useful fantasy contributors. Another man joined the fray on Sunday as Carolina’s Xavier Legette had his breakout career as a pro, catching 6 of 10 targets for 66 yards and a touchdown in the Panthers’ loss to Cincinnati on Sunday.

The Panthers gave Legette his biggest workload of the season after placing veteran Adam Thielen on injured reserve because of a hamstring injury in Week 3, and he responded well. Andy Dalton has helped drive Carolina’s offense effectively since taking over for Bryce Young and has supported two receivers with fantasy relevance in the past, giving Legette a chance at fantasy relevance even after Week 3.

While Legette’s workload is promising, he’s still behind Diontae Johnson on the depth chart and tied to an experienced quarterback who hasn’t been a regular starter in two years. The long-term outlook for Legette is bright, but it’s not worth investing in this situation, especially if Thielen can come back in three weeks and push him back down the depth chart.

Verdict: bust

Zach Ertz, TE, Washington Commanders

Few could have predicted that Washington’s offense would be one that fantasy owners would want to be a part of, but Jayden Daniels’ performance has given the Commanders every hope. With Daniels posting historic efficiency numbers for a rookie, Washington is 3-1 and in first place in the NFC East thanks to its explosive offense.

While the Commanders’ top receivers were cut during summer fantasy drafts, tight end Zach Ertz, who quietly signed with Washington in the offseason to provide an experienced security blanket for the rookie quarterback, has slipped through. The connection between Daniels and Ertz was strong in the first month of the year, as the pair met 16 times in four games.

Although Ertz has yet to find the end zone, he was able to score a two-point conversion in Week 4 and is a constant PPR presence at the tight end position. In a year where tight ends have been a dumpster fire for fantasy owners, you can do far worse than plugging Ertz for a solid 5-7 points per week.

Verdict: Trust

Rico Dowdle, RB, Dallas Cowboys

The running back situation for Dallas has been a confusing one all season, as Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle have shared duties for the Cowboys to replace Tony Pollard, who left for Tennessee in the offseason. However, the arrow points towards Dowdle, who has looked more explosive than Elliott and has taken the start away from Mike McCarthy in each of the last three games.

The Cowboys got Dowdle’s best work of the season in Week 4, when he carried 11 times for 46 yards and caught a touchdown on a 15-yard reception. While Elliott still has a role to play in short yardage and at the goal line, it’s best for Dallas to give Dowdle more work as he looked like the fresher runner in the early going.

The upcoming schedule isn’t great for Dallas, but a series of injuries to the Cowboys’ defense could lead to more emphasis on ball control to protect that unit, which would increase the workload for Dowdle going forward. There’s still a window to get excited about Dowdle, but it should close quickly if he puts in a strong effort against Pittsburgh’s teeming defense on Sunday night.