Week 5 was defined by injuries, which means, frankly, we’re not looking at injury replacements today. We are not sheep! We do not do the easy thing! We look where others don’t bother to look, which, too often, is at what’s in front of our faces, so let us turn our eyes to the problem at hand without too much thought.

TARGETS FOR COMPETING TEAMS

The big one: Keenan Allen (WR, LAC)

The Chargers look like the best team in the AFC west of the Mississippi, and they’re riding high on the strength of Justin Herbert’s connection with Mike Williams, which has been downright electric to start the year. This is just a reminder than Allen is still one of the most technically skilled players in the league and as Williams continues to rampage, he seems likely to soak up some more attention, and any extra eyes on Williams means fewer on Allen, whose time will absolutely come. If you’re betting on Herbert—and you should bet on Herbert—and can get Allen for even 90 percent of his August value, I’d strongly encourage it. The looks will start to balance out, and you’ll have the 1A/1B receiver on one of the most dynamic offenses in football, not just for this year, but just as the wave is starting to form.

The surprising one: Odell Beckham Jr. (WR, CLE)

There’s no way to put it other than this: Beckham has been bad this year. The Browns are actually quite good, but Beckham seems like he doesn’t fit in the offense, having secured a grand total of two catches Sunday in a game the Browns didn’t turn the ball over and scored 42 points. That Beckham is in the “surprising” category rather than “the big one” is itself a surprise, but there are reasons to think things will get better. First off, he’s still recovering from injury. Second, and most importantly, he was covered by Derwin James on Sunday, and Derwin James is so good he can cover literally anyone in the NFL. Better days are ahead and people are sick of OBJ. Buy now at bargain prices and reap the rewards later.

The long-term play: Jonnu Smith (TE, NE)

I’m playing with fire a little bit here, but I think that Smith will eventually hit his stride in New England, just as Hunter Henry has started to pay off for the Pats after a slow start. Is there a chance he’s just a total nonentity going forward? Sure. But the degree to which his stock has fallen, and, frankly, the amount he’s being paid and the degree to which the Pats are committed to him, well, if you can get him on the cheap he could pay off later on this year. It’s a long enough season that two months from now everything could look markedly different—especially behind a rookie quarterback—and Smith could pay off a small investment rather easily.

Waiver Wire/Free Agent targets

The one I like this week: Donald Parham (TE, LAC)

I have him in one of my leagues, a 12-teamer, but in my 14-teamer he’s available, so go figure. But I love him, and love the Chargers, and I think that as much as Jared Cook is the de facto TE1 in Los Angeles (powder blue division), Parham is likely coming for the job. It’s hard for young tight ends to make any sort of impression, and that Parham is already cutting into Cook’s production is a great sign that Brandon Staley has his horses lined up for the long haul. Cook is not a long-haul guy. Parham is.

TARGETS FOR REBUILDING TEAMS

The big one: A.J. Brown (WR, TEN)

It’s a little mortifying to see A.J. Brown down here, but here we are. The umbrella point is that I don’t trust the Titans’s passing offense this year whatsoever, and I can’t see myself coming around to it. I don’t think this is a novel take, and it’s for that reason that Brown is a great target for a team building long-term. Wide receiver is an incredibly deep position right now, and young receivers have been so good that it’s ridiculous, but even among this crowd Brown has stood out for his sheer physicality and talent with the ball. That he’s available right now, in theory, is a fluke, and you should take advantage of that fluke if you’re able to. You won’t regret it. At worst, you can always trade him away. At best, he’s your best player.

The surprising one: Quez Watkins (WR, PHI)

Watkins has seemingly surpassed Jalen Reagor on Philadelphia’s depth chart, but the truth is I think you should trade for Reagor if you can, too. The broad view of this says there’s a chance the Eagles trade for DeShaun Watson, and then every receiver gets a bump, but even the short view is attractive. Jalen Hurts is a competent thrower, and Watkins seems to have his eye, and the talent to exploit it once the ball is in his hands. Even if he’s a DeSean Jackson-type, he’s a DJ type at a waiver wire price point, not a Henry Ruggs price point. Same dude, basically. Get the cheap one.

The long-term play: JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR, PIT)

He was already a bargain before he got hurt, and now he should cost you next to nothing, comparatively. Yes, he’s the third wide receiver on the Steelers for all intents and purposes, but also the Steelers don’t have a quarterback, and quarterbacks are important for wide receivers, I’m told. In the likely event the Stillers have a dude who can actually throw the ball next year, JuJu is worth owning. In the similarly likely event that the Steelers have a dude who can actually throw the ball next year but JuJu is playing somewhere else, he’s worth owning. If he signs somewhere, it means he’s valued there, and for all the peaks and valleys he’s produced in his young career, he belongs in the league, catching passes, and that’s much harder to do than it sounds.

Waiver Wire/Free Agent targets

The one I like this week: Donald Parham (TE, LAC)

Competing, rebuilding, whatever. It doesn’t matter. Get Parham. If it’s real, it’s worth whatever you have to pay 10 times over.