Ok, so it’s Week 5 and your team sucks. Take a deep breath and reset because, let’s be honest, what else did you expect? You reached for Tyreek Hill in the first round, and you thought Najee Harris would be a savvy pick in the fourth. Your tight ends haven’t produced more than three points this season, and if it wasn’t for your kicker, you would struggle to break 80 points every week. That’s OK. There are millions of disheartened people out there struggling with the same issue because, like always, fantasy football is 90% luck and 10% bullying one of your buddies into making a stupid trade. But sometimes you can make your own luck by doing a little dumpster diving and finding consistent scorers where others see nothing but trash. Below are three guys you should be targeting that won’t cost you any FAAB dollars and probably would just wallow in waiver wire oblivion if you weren’t so smart. Let’s dig through the trash.

Alec Pierce, WR, Indianapolis Colts

The Colts haven’t done much to impress anybody this season. They have a quasi-rookie quarterback in Anthony Richardson who is still figuring out what it means to play in the NFL and is as prone to bonehead mistakes as he is to jaw-dropping highlights. The howitzer he has for a right arm and gazelle-like strides can sometimes make up for his inexperience and rawness, but at this point, it’s a coin flip. Alec Pierce’s performance this season has been a microcosm of this Jekyll and Hyde act. In Week 1, he looked like a potential breakout star, going for 125 yards on 3 catches and a touchdown. The following week, he caught another touchdown and tallied 56 yards, but it’s been downhill ever since. He caught one pass in each of the next two games for a total of 53 yards and failed to find the end zone. There are two pieces of good news that should keep the third-year wide receiver on your radar, however: 1) The Colts’ schedule over the next three weeks is painfully easy—they play the 0-4 Jaguars this week, then the Titans, followed by the Dolphins. 2) They have Joe Flacco. Joe Flacco is the NFL’s de facto side character at this point, donning a random jersey every year and absolutely slinging balls all over the field. Filling in for an injured Richardson last week, Flacco balled out as usual and threw for 168 yards and 2 touchdowns in a Colts victory over the undefeated Steelers. With All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor looking like he will miss a few weeks with a high-ankle sprain, the Colts will continue to huck the football. Whether it is Flacco or Richardson under center for the next few games, there will be plenty of opportunities for Alec Pierce to get more involved. Scoop him up while you can and take advantage of a team that will be looking to throw the ball 40-50 times a game on the regular.

Derek Carr, QB, New Orleans Saints

The story of Derek Carr’s existence is people giving up on him. He seemed to live multiple lives as the Raiders’ quarterback, waffling between franchise cornerstone and unplayable bum. Fans seem to be perpetually arguing over whether Carr is “good,” but one thing is for sure this year: he is in charge of one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL. Carr was actually the most added quarterback after his Week 1 three-TD performance against the Panthers before eventually becoming the most dropped quarterback this week after back-to-back stinkers against the Eagles and Falcons in Weeks 3 and 4. The Saints have a primetime matchup with the Chiefs on Monday night, which should provide plenty of opportunities for Carr to return some of his value. Carr has been solid on Monday Night Football, throwing for 2,784 yards and 15 touchdowns in 11 appearances. While the Chiefs defense provides a formidable opponent, they also all but guarantee a close game that will lead to plenty of passing attempts because, well, the Chiefs exclusively play close games. The Saints take on the Buccaneers and Broncos in Weeks 5 and 6, but both of those are home games where Carr has been much better. Don’t be one of the casuals that gives up on Carr too early. He may not be the flashiest player in the league, but he does have the ability to lead a fantasy team to victory on any given week.

Hunter Henry, TE, New England Patriots

This is one of those dumpster pickups that you have to hold up to the light just the right way to see the true beauty underneath the muck that has caked up around the edges. I know what you’re thinking—Hunter Henry is not good and the Patriots are terrible. One or both of those things is definitely true. However, this particular plunge into the trash is about looking toward the future. Henry has been downright unplayable so far this year with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback, outside of a stunning 8-catch, 109-yard performance against the Seahawks in Week 2. While he has failed to find the end zone this year, there might be some positive changes on the horizon for the 29-year-old as the rumblings about 3rd overall pick Drake Maye taking over have begun to surface. The powers that be in Foxborough have grown tired of Brissett checking the ball down or running into a sack on every play, and the calls for Maye to take over as the starting signal-caller have intensified over the past two weeks. I think they make this change sooner rather than later, despite a pitiful offensive line and not much talent at the skill positions. One thing rookie quarterbacks love to do is throw to their big, beefy tight ends, and Hunter Henry is one of the biggest and beefiest in the league. This may be more of a stash play until the eventual move to Maye is made, but with the Dolphins, Texans, and Jaguars next on the Patriots’ schedule, the time is approaching to see what the future looks like with their young QB at the helm. Grab Henry while he wallows in obscurity.

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