10 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets Heading Into Week 5

Bilal Powell, RB, New York Jets

ESPN Ownership: 36.2%
Yahoo Ownership: 22%

While the New York Jets do not seem worried about the injury that caused Matt Forte to be carted to the locker room on Sunday, they should be concerned about the 30-year-old back wearing down after the massive workload they gave him in the first two games (59 touches). That may already be happening, with Forte totaling just 29 carries, 92 yards, and zero touchdowns in the past two weeks, while also losing passing-downs work to Bilal Powell.

Powell had an underrated finish to the 2015 season, especially in PPR formats where he had three top-seven PPR performances at the running back position over the final four weeks. His work in the running game was also above average, with an even 0.00 Rushing NEP per rush, which bested the league average of -0.04.

On Sunday, Powell was much more effective, with 26 rushing yards on 4 carries and 6 receptions (on 9 targets) for 54 yards. Meanwhile, Forte could manage just 27 yards on 14 carries and just 2 receptions for 14 yards before being injured.

In the event that Forte wears down or is more injured than the team presumes, Powell is a priority handcuff at worst and offers value as a speculative upside add in PPR leagues if you have the roster space.