CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 5

CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 5

This article is part of our CFB Waiver Wire series.

ACC

Rashad Greene, WR, Florida State

Greene is only a true freshman, but he has nonetheless seemed to emerge as Florida State's top receiver. Through four weeks he has 294 yards and five touchdowns on 14 catches, averaging 21 yards per reception. He has been equally effective with both E.J. Manuel (shoulder) and Clint Trickett, so it seems like the quarterback situation at Florida State is mostly irrelevant in regard to Greene's fantasy production.

Dwayne Allen, TE, Clemson

Allen has always been a promising player, but he has really come to life in Clemson's new offense. Through the team's first four games he has 14 catches for 216 yards and three touchdowns, including 11 catches for 147 yards and two touchdowns against Auburn and Florida State the last two weeks. He could finish the year as one of the nation's top tight ends, and he's a must-own in all formats.

Big East

Anthony McClung, WR, Cincinnati

With three touchdowns and 217 yards on 17 receptions through four games, it's looking as if McClung may finish the year as Cincinnati's top fantasy receiver. D.J. Woods and Kenbrell Thompkins could still get it on track, but McClung's six-catch, 94-yard showing against North Carolina State in Week 4 indicates he's not going anywhere.

Dustin Garrison, RB, West Virginia

With both Vernard Roberts and Andrew Buie failing to impress, Garrison stepped up against LSU on Saturday, running for 46 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries while adding 26

ACC

Rashad Greene, WR, Florida State

Greene is only a true freshman, but he has nonetheless seemed to emerge as Florida State's top receiver. Through four weeks he has 294 yards and five touchdowns on 14 catches, averaging 21 yards per reception. He has been equally effective with both E.J. Manuel (shoulder) and Clint Trickett, so it seems like the quarterback situation at Florida State is mostly irrelevant in regard to Greene's fantasy production.

Dwayne Allen, TE, Clemson

Allen has always been a promising player, but he has really come to life in Clemson's new offense. Through the team's first four games he has 14 catches for 216 yards and three touchdowns, including 11 catches for 147 yards and two touchdowns against Auburn and Florida State the last two weeks. He could finish the year as one of the nation's top tight ends, and he's a must-own in all formats.

Big East

Anthony McClung, WR, Cincinnati

With three touchdowns and 217 yards on 17 receptions through four games, it's looking as if McClung may finish the year as Cincinnati's top fantasy receiver. D.J. Woods and Kenbrell Thompkins could still get it on track, but McClung's six-catch, 94-yard showing against North Carolina State in Week 4 indicates he's not going anywhere.

Dustin Garrison, RB, West Virginia

With both Vernard Roberts and Andrew Buie failing to impress, Garrison stepped up against LSU on Saturday, running for 46 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries while adding 26 yards on four catches. His role is not clear, but he's worth a speculative add in a number of scenarios with Bowling Green next on the schedule.

Big Ten

Keenan Davis, WR, Iowa

Marvin McNutt is still Iowa's top receiver, but Davis has also been productive thanks to the surprising effectiveness of new quarterback James Vandenberg. Davis has been especially strong in the last three games, totaling 17 catches for 256 yards and three scores. With Iowa's defense being rather unimpressive this season, it wouldn't surprise if the Hawkeyes continue to throw the ball a healthy amount. Davis likely would remain a good fantasy option in a surprising number of scenarios if that should occur.

Jared Abbrederis, WR, Wisconsin

Nick Toon is clearly the main factor among Wisconsin's receivers, but Abbrederis is proving to be surprisingly useful, too. He's mainly a consideration in deeper leagues, but he has 11 catches for 184 yards and a touchdown the last two weeks. Particularly against Wisconsin's more competent opponents, it wouldn't be surprising if he maintained a similar level of production as defenses single out Toon.

Big 12

Collin Klein, QB, Kansas State

If Klein was available in your league after Kansas State's ugly Week 1 showing against Eastern Kentucky, hopefully he still is after the Wildcats showed improvement against Kent State and Miami. In those two games, Klein posted 207 yards and three touchdowns through the air while adding 232 yards and three more scores on the ground. Baylor's defense hasn't impressed, making Klein a strong pickup for Week 4.

Hubert Anyiam, WR, Oklahoma State

Anyiam is mostly a target for deeper leagues, but he has steadily increased his presence in the Oklahoma State passing attack since the start of thisseason. After failing to catch a pass against Louisiana-Lafayette in Week 1, he caught three, four and 10 passes in the next three games, respectively. The 10-catch performance came on the road against Texas A&M - easily the toughest defense Oklahoma State has seen so far this year.

Conference-USA

Aaron Dobson, WR, Marshall

Since a six-catch, 22-yard showing against West Virginia in Week 1, Dobson has been very productive for Marshall. In the next three games he totaled 14 catches for 223 yards and four touchdowns, including five catches for 103 yards and a touchdown against Virginia Tech in Week 4. It would be disappointing if he didn't post more strong numbers, particularly when Marshall starts taking on more of its Conference-USA opponents.

Reggie Bullock, RB, East Carolina

Bullock seemed to lose the starting running back role against Virginia Tech in Week 2, carrying the ball just five times while backup Michael Dobson took four carries. But against UAB in Week 4, Bullock went off for 169 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries while Dobson received just three carries. North Carolina poses a potentially tough matchup in Week 5, but East Carolina's Conference-USA schedule opens back up after that.

Independents

Raymond Maples, RB, Army

The inconsistent workload of Army ballcarriers means Maples is mostly an option in deep leagues, but he heads into Week 5 with 33 carries in the last two games. He took those carries for 220 yards and two touchdowns, including 125 yards and both scores against Ball State in Week 4.

MAC

Jawon Chisholm, RB, Akron

He plays for Akron, so it's not as if Chisholm is the most rock-solid option available, but he still deserves a great deal of credit for the way he has performed the last three weeks. His quarterback (Clayton Moore) has completed less than 50 percent of his passes, yet Chisholm totaled 384 yards and a touchdown on the ground against Temple, Cincinnati and VMI, averaging six yards per carry. He might have another nice showing against Eastern Michigan in Week 5.

Keith Sconiers, WR, Akron

It's not a typo — there really are two Zips on the list. Sconiers' value seems a bit more sketchy than Chisholm's, but he nonetheless has made strong showings the last two weeks against Cincinnati and VMI, posting 15 catches for 291 yards and three scores. With Eastern Michigan's questionable defense ahead in Week 5, Sconiers is a surprisingly decent spot start in a decent number of leagues.

MWC

Tyler Shoemaker, WR, Boise State

Many owners who drafted Shoemaker bailed on him after he caught just two passes against Georgia in Week 1, but his numbers since indicate he's worth owning in most, if not all, formats. He has nine catches for 154 yards and five touchdowns since Week 1, leaving him with six touchdowns on the year despite just 11 receptions. As long as quarterback Kellen Moore keeps looking his way near the end zone, Shoemaker will remain valuable despite his modest reception totals.

Phillip Payne, WR, UNLV

Payne isn't the most trustworthy player as far as consistency goes, but there's little doubt that he's one of the most talented receivers in the non-AQ conferences. Outside of a weak one-catch, three-yard showing against Washington State in Week 2, Payne has 24 catches for 302 yards and four touchdowns in his other three games. With Boise State as his only remaining intimidating opponent, Payne is in good position to post strong numbers.

Pac-12

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington

Seferian-Jenkins is a true freshman, but he has the look of the next big star at tight end. Despite already pushing 260 pounds at 6-foot-6, Seferian-Jenkins runs more like a receiver, and that has proven to be a big problem for defenses so far. Although Seferian-Jenkins has only nine catches through the first four weeks, he's taken those receptions for 170 yards and three touchdowns for a ridiculous average of 18.9 yards per reception.

James Rodgers, WR, Oregon State

UCLA has a weak defense, but Rodgers was still fairly promising in his first game back from a knee injury, catching five passes for 76 yards Saturday. While he's primarily only worth adding in Pac-12-only and deep leagues, it's not often you see a player with as good a track record as Rodgers available on the waiver wire. He's probably not a good play against Arizona State this week, but Arizona and BYU could prove to be favorable matchups.

SEC

Rueben Randle, WR, LSU

Randle has always been known as a big talent, but he's finally starting to put it all together this year. He has 18 catches for 282 yards and three touchdowns in the first four weeks, including 17 catches for 272 yards and two scores in the last three games. It's no secret that LSU's bread and butter is bullying opponents in the running game on offense, but Randle seems like the default playmaker whenever the team looks to throw.

Mychal Rivera, TE, Tennessee

With Justin Hunter (ACL) done for the year, Da'Rick Rogers is the only remaining proven wideout on the Tennessee roster. Despite that fact, it's not as if the Volunteers plan to abandon their big-play passing offense, and other players are going to need to pick up the slack. Rivera is a likely candidate to do just that. He didn't catch any passes in the opener against Montana, but he has 11 catches for 125 yards and a touchdown in the two games since, including five catches for 71 yards and the touchdown on the road against a tough Florida defense.

Sun Belt

Sancho McDonald, WR, Middle Tennessee

McDonald appears to be enjoying a breakout campaign in his senior year, starting the season with 14 catches for 188 yards while averaging a touchdown per game despite facing off against two BCS opponents (Purdue, Georgia Tech). With a miserable Memphis defense lined up in Week 4, you could almost definitely find a worse name on the waiver wire, for this week at least. Memphis has allowed 328.3 yards per game and more than two touchdowns per game through the air this year.

Logan Kilgore, QB, Middle Tennessee

Of course, any benefits that McDonald reaps against the Memphis defense will have to go through Kilgore first. Excluding his game against a rough Georgia Tech defense, Kilgore's numbers have been superb so far this year. In two road games against Purdue and Troy he has 745 yards and seven touchdowns compared to two interceptions. He might have his best game yet at home against Memphis.

WAC

Brandon Rutley, RB, San Jose State

Outside of a nine-carry, 12-yard showing on the road against Stanford in Week 1, Rutley has been extremely impressive this year. The highlight, of course, is his 209-yard, two-touchdown showing against New Mexico State in Week 4, a game in which he averaged 6.3 yards per carry. He also ran for 167 yards and two scores on just 26 carries against UCLA and Nevada before that, good for an average of 6.4 yards per carry. He also has averaged two catches per game the last three weeks.

Cody Fajardo, QB, Nevada

Fajardo is perhaps a long shot to pay off, but his upside makes him worth a roster stash in some cases. Senior Tyler Lantrip is expected to remain Nevada's starting quarterback for the time being, but given his ineffectiveness, and that Fajardo has already forced his way into a timeshare, it could be a matter of time before Nevada switches to Fajardo, who, unlike Lantrip, actually has a future in the program. Fajardo threw for 59 yards and a touchdown at Texas Tech in Week 4 while demonstrating vastly superior running ability to Lantrip, bolting for 139 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 carries. Given that Fajardo ran for 58 yards and a score on just six attempts against Oregon in Week 2, his running ability seems fairly convincing.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mario Puig
Mario is a Senior Writer at RotoWire who primarily writes and projects for the NFL and college football sections.
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