Fantasy football free agent pickups: Kirk Cousins, Keon Coleman lead top options
Eric Karabell lists who he thinks are the top available players worth adding for the week ahead.
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Each Monday, before the current NFL week ends, we will identify players worthy of your attention who are available in at least 50% of ESPN standard leagues. Things change quickly for player valuation and roles each week in the NFL, and free agency is a critical way to acquire players. We are here to help!
Top pickup options at every position
Looking for the top recommendation at each skill position? Look no further! Here are the players to target heading into Week 5, along with their current roster percentages and a recommendation of how much of your free agent budget (FAB) you should consider using for your bid.
Cousins, 38, continues to thrive, scoring 22.6 points against a solid Kansas City Chiefs defense. He has now scored over 20 fantasy points in three consecutive games. He has outscored Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts and Trevor Lawrence this season. Has your QB achieved this? The Raiders sure seem to be legitimate and there is no imminent switch on the horizon to first overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza. Cousins may keep the top job for months. The Raiders face the New England Patriots next and remember that the bye weeks are here, removing the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes, the Panthers' Bryce Young and all of their teammates in Week 5.
Wilson, 27, took advantage of a wonderful opportunity to score 27 fantasy points against the Los Angeles Chargers. His main competition for volume and goal-line looks are both injured. Rookie Jadarian Price (chest) and Zach Charbonnet (knee) will return at some point, but like with Cousins, let's just worry about this week. The Seahawks face the San Francisco 49ers where Wilson should be viewed as a top-20 RB.
Try to latch on to Bills WR Keon Coleman if you can. Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images Keon Coleman, WR, Bills (4.2%, 1% FAB) Coleman, a talented but frustrating underachiever during his first two NFL seasons, had seen just nine targets entering Week 4. However, the absence of DJ Moore (shoulder) and the avoidance of TE Dalton Kincaid (only two targets) created opportunity for him Sunday. Coleman caught 116 yards worth of passes on seven targets, including a 34-yard touchdown. We have seen solid outings from him in the past, but little consistency. Perhaps this is Coleman finally emerging as a reliable option.
Higbee, 33, saw only two targets over the first two games of the season, but things have changed. Since the start of Week 3, he has had 13 receptions on 17 targets, resulting in 129 receiving yards and 31.9 fantasy points. The loss of Terrance Ferguson (ankle) has helped -- and he may miss several weeks. The Rams will face the friendly defense of the Buffalo Bills in Week 5.
Other quarterbacks
C.J. Stroud, Texans (37.3%, 2% FAB): Stroud scored a season-high 23.08 points against the Dallas Cowboys, clearly quite enjoying the return of WR Nico Collins, who had missed two games due to a hamstring injury. When Collins plays, perhaps Stroud is more than a fantasy streamer. After all, Stroud enters Week 5 as the No. 11 QB scorer. Next up, the Texans face the overwhelmed Tennessee Titans.
Aaron Rodgers, Steelers (6.5%, 1% FAB): Rodgers, 42, played cautiously over the first two weeks, averaging 204 passing yards with only four completions for 20-plus yards (and none for more than 40 yards). Things have changed with a pair of division games, as Rodgers threw the football downfield, averaging 295 passing yards and totaling six touchdown passes along with 10 20-plus yard completions -- three for 40-plus yards. Perhaps this aggressiveness, only mildly offset by turnovers, will continue this week against the Indianapolis Colts.
Deshaun Watson, Browns (8.6%, 1% FAB): Watson still isn't playing nearly as well as he did in his Houston Texans days, but he has become a reasonable streamer for fantasy, with six TD passes versus two interceptions. He is adding value as a runner, too. The Browns face the New York Jets this coming Sunday.
Deep-league options/streamers
Jameis Winston, Giants (2.8%, 2% FAB): Winston, 32, threw for 229 yards over his first two games, but one of those was in relief and the other was with rotten weather. Winston looked better against the Arizona Cardinals, passing for 250 yards and three touchdowns. He may be a turnover machine, but the Giants were willing to let him throw downfield and it worked. They won. This kind of production may continue this week against the shoddy defense of the Washington Commanders.
Tyson Bagent, Bears (1.3%): Bagent, the backup to Case Keenum in Week 3 but the starter on Sunday, threw for 268 yards. He managed only 8.82 fantasy points, but he earned the win and it seems likely he starts again this week against the rival Green Bay Packers. The risk in adding Bagent is that Caleb Williams (hamstring) returns to active duty soon.
Tyler Huntley, Ravens (0.1%): Huntley, 28, relieved an injured Lamar Jackson (ankle) on Sunday and completed 8 of 9 passes for 63 yards, while running four times for 16 yards. We have seen Huntley before, of course. He started twice last season and a total of 16 times over his six-year career. He is known more for his running prowess than throwing, but then again, so is Jackson. If Jackson sits in Week 5 against the Atlanta Falcons, Huntley, with ample talent surrounding him, becomes an attractive addition.
Other running backs
How well will Tank Bigsby fill in for an injured Saquon Barkley? Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Tank Bigsby, Eagles (15.6%, 4% FAB): Bigsby, 25, is likely next in line for volume with starter Saquon Barkley (hamstring) expected to miss several games. Bigsby rushed for 55 yards on 14 carries against the Los Angeles Rams, while Will Shipley earned six rushing attempts. Neither played a role in the passing game. The sputtering Eagles, with an underachieving, battered offensive line, head to London this week to face the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Deep-league options/streamers
Austin Ekeler, Commanders (2.3%, 1 FAB): Ekeler, 31, is fully recovered from a torn Achilles tendon. He re-signed with the team last week, then assumed five touches in a relief role for Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Rachaad White (shoulder) did not play. If healthy, one presumes White would be ahead of Ekeler for third-down work or general volume, but this is the Commanders, so who really knows?
Tyler Allgeier, Cardinals (28.2%): Allgeier, who scored 8.8 points during Weeks 2 and 3, certainly was not in demand as a free agent pickup, but he scored on a 22-yard run Sunday. He remains the clear backup to rookie Jeremiyah Love. His mention in this space serves as a reminder as to how little available free agent running back help is actually available. Opting for Allgeier, Jaguars backup Chris Rodriguez (17.3%) or any Packers RBs is risky.
Other wide receivers
Roman Wilson, Steelers (3.6%, 1% FAB): Wilson, 25, caught a short shovel pass from Rodgers last Thursday -- his second consecutive game with a touchdown. He also hauled in a 49-yard pass. Wilson boasts precisely six targets in each of four games, and while it is premature to roster him over Steelers struggling newcomer Michael Pittman Jr., it sure looks like Rodgers prefers involving Wilson.
Tyreek Hill, free agent (27%, 2% FAB): Hill, 32, is an eight-time Pro Bowler who was among the top fantasy options for roughly half of his 10 years in the NFL. He is on the mend from an ACL tear and rumor has it that the Chiefs are interested in signing him. Hill starred for the Chiefs before doing so for the Miami Dolphins. The Chiefs lost both Rashee Rice (hamstring) and Tyquan Thornton (ankle) on Sunday. While it sounds great to add someone with the talent of Hill to your team, note that Hill is not likely to play in October. The Chiefs, off in Week 5, may need to give rookie Cyrus Allen (1%) more chances, too.
Deep-league options/streamers
It's not often we recommend a former member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in this space. Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images Dohnte Meyers, Bengals (0.2%): Meyers, 26, is a Canadian Football League veteran from Delta State who entered Sunday with four NFL receptions on seven targets this season. Star Ja'Marr Chase (concussion) left the game early, and Tee Higgins (adductor) went to the locker room as well, albeit after catching 11 of 16 targets for 157 yards. It is premature to know which Bengals will be available for this week versus the feeble Dolphins, but Meyers -- along with Mitchell Tinsley (0.0%) -- may be in a prime position to succeed.
Darius Cooper, Eagles (0.2%): Cooper, 24, may be Philadelphia's goal-line target with DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and Dallas Goedert (knee) both out of the lineup, but this is a bad time to depend on the team's passing game. Hurts passed for just 93 yards against the Rams. Cooper caught a TD pass in Week 2, and two more on Sunday, but he has only five receptions on 10 targets for the season.
Other tight ends
Mike Gesicki, Bengals (9.6%, 1% FAB): A repeat recommendation in this space, Gesicki enters Week 5 as the No. 12 TE scorer, thanks to touchdowns in three games so far. The Bengals may be missing key receiving personnel this week and beyond, making Gesicki a more attractive fantasy option than usual.
Brenton Strange, Jaguars (16.7%, 1% FAB): Strange, in his fourth season, is also no stranger to this weekly column, but he hasn't earned consistent targets this season. He scored 16.5 points against the Cincinnati Bengals, thanks to seven receptions and 95 receiving yards against a team that often struggles to handle tight ends, but he had entered play with a total of seven catches and 72 receiving yards over three games.
Defense
Bengals D/ST (17.5%): This unit has scored only 11 fantasy points during the past three games, after opening with 20 points in Week 1. Still, the Bengals face the Dolphins this week. The Bengals are one of three decent streaming options this week, along with the Cowboys D/ST (6.4%) hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a rookie QB, plus the Giants D/ST (7.8%): facing a Commanders offense that may be relying on their own rookie QB.
Browns D/ST (41.4%): If looking for a defense you may keep for more than just one week, Cleveland has a road game with the Jets -- and that offense looked quite underwhelming in Week 4. After that, they face the Ravens (perhaps without Lamar) and the Titans. The Browns have had four interceptions and 11 sacks during the past three games.
