Week five of the National Football League is officially in the books. And with that, football fans are looking towards the fantasy football waiver wire to see if their team can be improved in any way. Some fantasy footballers will still react — or, overreact — to their players performances unjustly. Plenty of buzz and player recommendations will surface in preparation of your league’s waiver period causing owners to make rash decisions and drop players they spent months researching. But if I had one recommendation at all, it would be to sit back, relax and let your leaguemates be the ones to overreact.

Before we get to this week’s potential waiver wire pickups, it’s important to note that I WOULD spend my first waiver priority on the likes of Ronnie Hillman, Branden Oliver or Andre Williams if either they are the handcuff to a running back you currently own or you are at risk of missing out on the playoffs. You can’t take the number one waiver priority with you when the season is over, so be sure to use it if you need to make the postseason. Also, players listed below are in no particular order.

Ronnie Hillman, JuWan Thompson and C.J. Anderson | Denver Broncos

Montee Ball hasn’t been all that effective to start the 2014 season for the Broncos, but to be fair, he’s faced some pretty stiff competition. But Ball went down in week five with a significant groin strain and could miss “several weeks.”

In Ball’s absence, Ronnie Hillman earned the bulk of snaps (40) with JuWan Thompson being second in line with eight. The former carried the ball 15 times for 64 yards (4.3 yards per carry)  but failed to haul in the only pass in which Peyton Manning targeted him. JuWan Thompson, the rookie ball carrier out of Duke, carried the ball on three of his eight snaps for eight yards and a touchdown against a stingy Cardinals rush defense.  The touchdown run seemed to come while Thompson was on in relief of Hillman who carried on four consecutive downs, so I’m not sure we’re calling Thompson the goal line back just yet. In four games during the preseason (I know, preseason), Thompson carried the ball 23 times for 149 yards (4.9 yards per carry) and caught three passes on three targets for an additional 23 yards. C.J. Anderson has 11 carries on the season for 55 yards and one reception on one target.

The running back by committee always worries me, but if you’re in a pinch, I’d be looking to add them in the order I listed them above. Thompson is the most intriguing back to me, but Hillman could get more volume in the short-term due to experience.

Consider in leagues: All
Waiver Priority Worthy: 1 and lower
Spend this much FAAB to acquire: 15%
Players I’d drop for him: Shonn Greene, LeGarrette Blount, Jacquizz Rodgers

Branden Oliver | San Diego Chargers

Branden Oliver burst onto the scene in the Chargers Week 5 demolition of the hapless New York Jets. The 23-year-old out of the University of Buffalo dominated after the exit of disappointing first string running back Donald Brown. Brown, who departed due to injury, couldn’t get anything going, but the diminutive Oliver finished the day with 182 total yards — 119 rushing and 68 receiving — as well as two touchdowns. If Oliver is able to rack up these sorts of numbers against one of the leagues most elite run defenses, there’s no telling what he might be able to do against the likes of the Oakland Raiders next week.

BUT WAIT: The Chargers offensive line, according to Pro Football Focus grading system, were all once again horrific last week. Even worse, they lost their third string center Doug Legursky for the year due to a knee injury he suffered during the game. So now they are on to their fourth string center Chris Watt, until Rich Ohrnberger can return from a back injury. Oliver, who may remind some of Darren Sproles, thanks to his speed and (lack of) size, suffered mostly the same fate that Donald Brown had been facing — being hit in the backfield constantly thanks to poor blocking. The difference is that Oliver broke away from a would be tackler for an extra 48 yards after contact during his game-long 52-yard run. Take away that 52-yard gain, and Oliver only averages a measly 3.4 yards per carry during the contest. Do NOT get carried away with Oliver by spending all of your FAAB money on him, as this offensive line is still about as porous as a pasta strainer.

Consider in leagues: All
Waiver Priority Worthy: 1 and lower
Spend this much FAAB to acquire: 5-10%
Players I’d drop for him:  Shonn Greene, LeGarrette Blount, Jacquizz Rodgers

Andre Williams and Odell Beckham, Jr. | New York Giants

Both of these men for the “Big Blue” burst onto the fantasy radar in Week 5. In the case of Andre Williams, he benefited from the departure of top back Rashad Jennings — who left the game due to a sprained MCL. The 5’11 rookie out of Boston College has scored touchdowns in back-to-back weeks and has racked up 131 yards on 35 carries (3.74 YPC). He’s an elite-level add in all standard leagues and a worthwhile add in PPR as well, based on sheer expected volume. While the Giants used a committee in their 45-14 dismantling of the Washington football team — let’s avoid using their surname — we shouldn’t expect that to happen with Rashad out, because behind Williams is the infamous one-year-wonder Peyton Hillis. If he steals carries from Andre Williams I think we can all agree that Tom Coughlin deserves some time in a mental ward.

Fantasy owners and New York Giants fans alike have been waiting for the arrival of first-round pick Odell Beckham Jr. for quite some time now after being sidelined with a hamstring ailment. The LSU alum impressed in his debut, racking up a 4-44-1 line on five targets, despite playing just 38 of 71 snaps. While Beckham could be a very special talent, dynasty and even re-draft owners would be wise to understand how serious hamstring injuries are. They have a way of wrecking very promising careers — yes Miles Austin we are looking at you. He’s a very worthwhile add, but the sheer thought of another setback would have me fielding offers for him the second he puts up an elite game.

Consider in leagues: 10-team
Waiver Priority Worthy: 1 and lower
Spend this much FAAB to acquire: 5-20%
Players I’d drop for him: Shonn Greene, LeGarrette Blount, Jacquizz Rodgers, 

Benny Cunningham | St. Louis Rams

Following the news that Cunningham’s stable-mate Zac Stacy suffered “just a strained calf”, and is expected to be active, owners in shallow leagues should stay away from Cunningham, as he’s nothing more than the backup in a less than exciting committee. However 12-team leagues are a different story since the waiver-wire is generally more bare of decent talent. Cunningham is serviceable so if Stacy were to re-aggravate the injury, Cunningham would find himself in a favorable position.

Consider in leagues: 12-team
Waiver Priority Worthy: 8 and lower
Spend this much FAAB to acquire: 5%
Players I’d drop for him: Shonn Greene, LeGarrette Blount, Jacquizz Rodgers

Tim Wright | New England Patriots

Finally, a Tim Wright sighting in New England, just what we’ve been waiting for. The tight end out of Rutgers provided some healthy production for fantasy football owners last season in Tampa, but with Rob Gronkowski being the apple of Tom Brady’s eye, some wondered what kind of role Wright would play in his new offense. Wright saw five targets from Brady and hauled in each of the five for 85 yards and a touchdown in week five. Clearly the best outing of the year for Wright, but the problem is, he only took the field on 19 snaps. In the first five weeks, Wright has played 21, 8, 5, 16 and 19 snaps respectively, but only has nine receptions on ten targets to show for it. You have to love the catch percentage and the gun-slinger that targets him, but will Wright earn enough volume to warrant being used regularly as a starting tight end your league? I’m a bit optimistic. Given his recent success and the Patriots history of working in two tight ends (remember when Gronk & Aaron Hernandez were both on the field??), Wright is worth a flier to say the least, but is likely more of a bye week fill-in.

Consider in leagues: 12-team
Waiver Priority Worthy: 8 and lower
Spend this much FAAB to acquire: 5%
Players I’d drop for him: Niles Paul, Garrett Graham, Coby Fleener

Quick Hitters: Dwayne Allen, Brian Quick and Justin Forsett have graduated from this column, but if by chance they’re still floating around in your leagues, be sure to pick them up. Once waivers clears, it’s probably a good idea to look ahead to week seven’s byes if you haven’t done so already.