The fantasy football season is now nearly through Week 5 and there are a number of solid free agent waiver options to pick up around fantasy football after the games on Sunday, including players like Rashad Jennings, Ryan Mathews, Zac Stacy, Austin Pettis, Terrelle Pryor and Alshon Jeffery.
Jennings is getting more carries since McFadden was injured, Pettis had a solid game on Sunday, while Terrelle Pryor was good on Sunday night in the Raiders win and he could be a solid option going forward. The fantasy football season is heading into week 6 and team owners are going to be looking for the best sleepers and free agents to pick-up and some names to check out over the past few weeks James Starks, Charles Clay, Philip Rivers, Jason Snelling, Eddie Royal, Knowshon Moreno, Kendall Wright and Andre Ellington. Here is a look back from a few weeks ago of players who could be coming up heading into the middle stretch of the season.
An early game to keep an eye on for fantasy owners is the Green Bay Packers and the Cincinnati Bengals, as both teams could have players putting up big numbers, including ones like Aaron Rodgers, James Starks, Andy Dalton, AJ Green, Jordy Nelson and James Jones. Starks is a sleeper player to watch this week after it was announced that he would get the start for the Packers after Eddie Lacy suffered a concussion last week against the Washington Redskins.
Starks rushed for over 130 yards and a touchdown in the game and he helped end a streak that lasted since back in 2011 that saw the Packers go without a 100-yard rusher in a game. Starks should get plenty of touches on Sunday against the Bengals, as Lacy will be out after the concussion and the Bengals defense has been weak against the run in spots this season. Rodgers was fantastic last week against the Redskins, throwing for nearly 500 yards and adding four touchdowns and he helped put the Packers up 24-0 heading into the second half.
Starks is now the primary option for the Packers after he came into the season as somewhat of an afterthought after helping the team win the Super Bowl a couple years ago. Starks was behind DuJuan Harris and Alex Green heading into camp and the preseason and with rookies Lacy and Jonathan Franklin also on the roster, Starks appeared to be the odd man out. Now that Harris has been lost for the season and Green has been released, Starks has moved up the depth chart. Franklin has not been a factor so far this season, while Lacy obviously is banged up, but he could get some solid touches later on in the season.
Eddie Royal has been a big surprise though two games this season and one reason has been the play of Philip Rivers, who has looked much improved after throwing over 30 interceptions over the past two years. Rivers had a heck of a day against the Eagles on Sunday and with Danario Alexander also out for the season after getting injured in the preseason, Royal has moved into a starting role and half his catches this season have been for touchdowns. Royal is a speedy receiver and with the Chargers losing options like flies, he should be productive the rest of the season.
Kendall Wright is a sleeper option to check out after Kenny Britt imploded for the Titans this week and he has already been more productive and is available in most leagues. The Patriots offense has been struggling, but the team is 2-0 and with the game against the Bucs Sunday, two players to look at are Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins. They both had some drops last week from Tom Brady, but they should still get their chances with Danny Amendola out.
