The Weekly Bender: Don't Waste Your FAAB Early

Tue Oct 6 3:14pm ET
By HOWARD BENDER
Fantasy Writer

If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times: just because you have money burning a hole in your virtual pocket doesn’t mean you need to go spending it like a sailor on weekend leave. Welcome to Week 5, folks, the week where I get to stand on my soapbox, point directly at your 1-3 roster and say, “I told you so.” Every single season, without fail, fantasy managers burn through half their Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB) or flush top-tier waiver priority down the toilet during the first month of the season. For what? For some ultimately inconsequential, flavor-of-the-week bench warmer who had one fluke touchdown in Week 2. Haphazardly churning over the bottom of your roster out of sheer boredom or panic is a colossal mistake. Everyone is constantly hyperventilating in search of that mythical “league-winner,” but your total inability to sit on your hands and practice basic patience is actively destroying your team’s long-term ceiling.

Now, look at where we are in Week 5. The injury gods have done what they always do. They’ve come around with a sledgehammer and shattered starting rosters across the league. The difference between the managers who sit at the top of the standings and the ones wallowing in the basement is that the smart ones actually saved their capital for moments like this. Real, immediate starting opportunities have finally opened up. Depending on your current record and roster construction, there are legitimate, volume-driven waiver pickups available right now that make your desperate Week 2 claims look like a completely laughable waste of time. Grab your coffee, wipe the salt out of your eyes and let’s take a look at who is actually worth your bid this week.

Will Shipley, RB Philadelphia Eagles

If you listened to me and held onto your cash, here is where you deploy it. With Saquon Barkley nursing a hamstring issue and Tank Bigsby sidelined with core muscle surgery, Will Shipley suddenly finds himself thrust directly into the spotlight in Philadelphia. Sure, the Eagles will likely promote someone like Dameon Pierce or Jaydon Blue to eat up a few administrative snaps, but don’t kid yourself. Shipley is the guy lined up to take the lion’s share of the three-down work. He has pass-catching upside, run-blocking equity in a high-powered offense and guaranteed volume for as long as Saquon is sidelined. Stop overthinking it; this is the exact type of injury windfall you saved your budget for.

Emanuel Wilson, RB Seattle Seahawks

Look, Emanuel Wilson might already be rostered in sharper leagues, but if some casual owner dropped him or he’s somehow floating around on your wire, fix that mistake immediately. Yes, we know Seattle is going to devolve back into an ugly, frustrating committee approach the moment Zach Charbonnet or Jadarian Price get fully healthy and are cleared to play. But with Joe Mixon failing his physical and remaining firmly off the roster, Wilson remains the absolute lead back in this offense right now. He showed plenty of juice over the past two weeks, getting solid touches and goal-line looks. In a landscape where starting running backs are dropping like flies, getting a guaranteed 12 to 15 touches on a productive offense is pure gold.

Carnell Tate, WR Tennessee Titans

If your wide receiver room looks like a triage unit, Carnell Tate needs to be your absolute highest-priority bid, if he is even available. The rookie’s usage over the last two weeks hasn’t just been good; it has been staggering. His 38.6-percent target share over this recent stretch ranks in the top five among all rookie wideouts since 2021, putting his elite underlying profile right alongside names like Puka Nacua, Zay Flowers, Malik Nabers and Drake London. The Titans are flat-out bad, and game scripts are going to force them to abandon the ground game early and often. Tennessee is going to be throwing the ball 35 to 40 times a week while chasing points, and Tate is establishing himself as the focal point of this passing attack. Lean on him with confidence.

Dohnte Meyers, WR Cincinnati Bengals

When Ja’Marr Chase went down with a concussion in Week 4, it was Meyers who saw the immediate, drastic spike in snap share. Now, compound that with Tee Higgins hobbling around with a fresh adductor injury, and Meyers is set to potentially be the primary target for Cincinnati against a completely abysmal Miami secondary. He’s got route-running chops and instant opportunity. If you’re looking for a contingency option in case Higgins ends up suit-less on the sidelines come Sunday, Mitchell Tinsley is also worth a dirt-cheap stash bid, but Meyers is the man who gets the direct, high-volume bump here.

Jalen Royals & Cyrus Allen, WR Kansas City Chiefs

Before you start screaming at your screen: yes, I know Kansas City is on a bye in Week 5. This isn’t a quick-fix streaming play; this is called actual roster planning, something half of your league mates clearly don’t do. Rashee Rice is dealing with a hamstring tweak that could keep him out or limit him, but more importantly, Tyquan Thornton is out for the next 12 to 14 weeks with a nasty dislocated ankle. Jalen Royals stepped right into that void opposite Xavier Worthy, seeing a massive bump in snaps and targets before the break. He is an immediate add.

As for Cyrus Allen, keep him firmly on your watchlist or stash him at the end of a deep bench. If Rice’s hamstring issues linger past Week 6, Allen becomes the next man up in a Patrick Mahomes-led offense.

The Tyreek Hill Luxury Stash

Now, if you’re sitting pretty at 4-0 or 3-1, this is a play specifically tailored for the rich getting richer. If you have the bench space to burn, go pull the trigger on a stash claim for Tyreek Hill. Look, let’s be completely realistic here: there are zero guarantees he signs anywhere, and even if he lands on a team, there’s no promise he steps onto the field and looks like the dominant Cheetah of old.

But look around the NFL right now. Wide receiver rooms are getting completely decimated, with Kansas City in particular undergoing an absolute receiver triage situation. If a desperate, contender-minded squad pulls the trigger and brings him in, you just acquired top-tier upside for absolutely nothing. If you’re 1-3 or 0-4, leave this move alone. You need immediate, active points today. But if you have the luxury of wins in the bank, park him at the end of your bench and see how the chaos unfolds.

More Big Fantasy Updates:

Before we dive back into the player updates, let’s address Big Fantasy. What is Big Fantasy? Big Fantasy is that endless, echo-chamber hivemind of mindless social media drones who spend their entire day hyping up unproven, unproductive players who have no business being touted in the first place. These armchair analysts stare blindly at box scores from college three years ago and somehow expect those numbers to automatically translate to Sundays in the NFL.

And heaven forbid you present actual film evaluation, snap counts or realistic data that contradicts their precious narrative. The moment you speak the truth, the Twitter/X horde charges at you with pitchforks to tear down your “negativity.” Well, guess what? Analysis isn’t about protecting your feelings; it’s about being right. Let’s take a look at how Big Fantasy’s favorite darling projects are actually doing out there in the real world:

Jonathan Brooks: Shockingly, he is still hurt and spending his Sundays wearing warmups on the sideline while watching Chuba Hubbard completely dominate touches and run away with the Carolina backfield. But hey, keep holding out hope for Week 12!
Mike Washington: Despite all the offseason hype videos and threads explaining why he’s a “league-winning sleeper,” he continues to be nothing more than a bench ornament and pure handcuff for Ashton Jeanty. Stop making him something he isn’t.
MarShawn Lloyd: Stuck in a completely horrible, unpredictable, drive-killing timeshare in Green Bay. Good luck guessing which week he actually gets more than six carries.
De’Zhaun Stribling: Still hurt, still taking up an injured reserve spot on your bench while doing absolutely nothing for your total points scored.
Luther Burden: The literal only guy on this list who is actually doing something productive on a football field. He’s showing real talent and commanding targets, proving that even a broken clock is right once in a blue moon.
Dontayvion Wicks: Insanely, maddeningly inconsistent. The Big Fantasy crowd screamed at you to plug him in as a “smash-spot start” last week, and what did he deliver? A complete, unmitigated dud. Classic.

The Weekly Bender: Don't Waste Your FAAB Early

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