NFL Waiver Wire Week 5: Top Selections and Pickups to Target

Week 5 is the first time this season where the waiver wire is being hit from both sides. Injuries are piling up, while the Chiefs and Panthers become the first teams to go on bye.

That makes this a more important waiver period than simply chasing whoever scored the most points on Sunday. There were some huge performances in Week 4, but I am far more interested in whether the role underneath them is something we can trust again.

The major injuries are impossible to ignore. Saquon Barkley left with a hamstring injury, D.J. Moore aggravated his shoulder, Ja’Marr Chase entered concussion protocol and Tee Higgins suffered an adductor injury. Those situations have created some of the best waiver opportunities of the season.

All advanced usage and efficiency statistics are from the FantasyPoints Data Suite for this article.

QUARTERBACK

Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals

18% Rostered | Suggested FAAB: 3-5% | Week 5: vs. Detroit

There is absolutely nothing sexy about recommending Jacoby Brissett after a game in which he threw three interceptions and averaged just 4.7 yards per attempt. We are not buying the quarterback here. We are buying the environment.

Brissett has already attempted 117 passes in three starts, completing 70.1% of them, because Arizona continues to find itself chasing games. Now he gets the best quarterback matchup in football. Detroit has allowed 28.9 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, the most in the NFL, including 1,308 passing yards and 11 passing touchdowns through four games.

The Cardinals should once again have to throw, and that volume gives Brissett a perfectly acceptable Week 5 streaming floor even if the real-life quarterback play remains messy. Remember we don’t care as much about actual quality of play if it yields fantasy points. Jameis Winston’s 30 for 30 season with the Buccaneers in 2019 is proof enough of that.

The matchup is doing the heavy lifting, but Brissett is my preferred widely available Week 5 quarterback streamer.

Jameis Winston, New York Giants

7% Rostered | Suggested FAAB: 1-3% | Week 5: at Washington

This is peak Jameis Winston. You are going to get throws that make you wonder what he saw, followed five minutes later by a touchdown pass that wins your fantasy matchup.

Winston threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns in Week 4 and now faces a Washington defense allowing 23.5 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, second only to Detroit in the FantasyPoints data supplied. Washington has already surrendered 1,004 passing yards and 11 passing touchdowns through four games.

I prefer Brissett because Arizona’s passing volume has been more stable, but Winston has the higher chaos ceiling. He is a perfectly usable one-week option if you are dealing with the Patrick Mahomes bye or simply hate your current quarterback choices.

NOTABLE MENTION: AARON RODGERS, PITTSBURGH

Rodgers has thrown for at least 290 yards and three touchdowns in consecutive games and gets Indianapolis next. The Colts are allowing 21 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, sixth most in the FantasyPoints data.

RUNNING BACK

Tank Bigsby, Philadelphia Eagles

30% Rostered | Suggested FAAB: 15-25% | Week 5: at Jacksonville

This one comes with a huge injury disclaimer, because we need updates on both Saquon Barkley and Bigsby himself before waivers run.

Barkley managed only two carries before leaving Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury. Bigsby took over the rushing workload and finished with 14 carries for 55 yards, giving us a pretty clear indication of how Philadelphia views the backfield hierarchy when Barkley is unavailable.

This was not completely out of nowhere either. Before Week 4, Bigsby had handled a 35.7% rushing attempt share when on the field and had already been used at the goal line earlier this season. Will Shipley will remain involved, particularly on passing downs, but Bigsby looks like the better bet for early-down and scoring-area work.

The problem is that Bigsby also required medical attention Sunday. If Barkley is out and Bigsby is healthy, this is easily one of the strongest claims of the week. If Bigsby’s injury turns out to be significant as well, Shipley immediately becomes one of the week’s biggest movers. Yahoo currently has Bigsby at roughly 28% rostered and Shipley at just 1%.

I am bidding aggressively on Bigsby once we know he is healthy.

Emanuel Wilson, Seattle Seahawks

61% Rostered | Suggested FAAB: 30% | Week 5: vs. San Francisco

Wilson will be gone in plenty of competitive leagues, but I am including him because his availability varies wildly by platform and this is exactly the sort of player worth checking manually rather than assuming he has already been rostered.

Jadarian Price has been placed on injured reserve, and Wilson responded with the biggest workload of his Seattle career. He carried the ball 21 times for 81 yards and a touchdown, then caught three passes for another 39 yards and a receiving touchdown. George Holani managed only seven carries behind him.

There is one major complication. Zach Charbonnet has been designated to return from the PUP list and is eligible to play in Week 5. That prevents me from treating Wilson as some unquestioned rest-of-season RB2, but Price must miss at least four games and Wilson has done enough to stay involved regardless.

If Wilson is somehow sitting on your wire, he is ahead of almost every speculative running back listed this week.

Will Shipley, Philadelphia Eagles

1% Rostered | Suggested FAAB: 5-10%

Shipley is the contingency play attached to the biggest injury situation on the waiver wire. Bigsby is clearly my preference if both backs are healthy, but we currently have Barkley dealing with a hamstring injury and Bigsby also leaving Sunday’s game banged up.

That makes Shipley more than a normal handcuff. If both players above him are compromised, we could be talking about a genuine Week 5 starter on one of the league’s better offences.

Do not wait until Wednesday morning to start thinking about Shipley. His value is entirely tied to the next Eagles injury update which we should get on Tuesday.

WIDE RECEIVER

Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills

15% Rostered | Suggested FAAB: 10% | Week 5: at Los Angeles Rams

This is the wide receiver I want the most this week.

Coleman caught six of seven targets for 116 yards and a touchdown against New England after D.J. Moore aggravated the shoulder injury that has already caused him problems this season. More importantly, the increased opportunity fits what I saw using FantasyPoints usage data. Coleman’s Week 4 target share jumped to 21.2%, comfortably his highest mark of the season.

His first three games were frustrating. Coleman had only a 16% TPRR and 10.5% target share, despite producing a useful 1.74 YPRR. That is exactly why I am interested now. The efficiency has been better than the volume, and Moore’s injury could finally solve the volume problem.

Buffalo then gets the Rams in Week 5 in a game carrying one of the highest projected totals on the slate.

If Moore sits, Coleman goes from bench stash to legitimate fantasy starter.

I would spend up to 10% of FAAB here if we get bad news on Moore.

Malik Washington, Miami Dolphins

49% Rostered | Suggested FAAB: 5% | Week 5: vs. Cincinnati

Washington hasn’t given us the huge box-score game yet, but the underlying workload continues to scream that one is coming.

Through the first three games, Washington had a 26.7% target share, 25% TPRR, 1.65 YPRR and 14.5 expected fantasy points per game. His Week 4 target share then climbed again to 29.4%.

That is the profile I want to buy before the touchdowns arrive. Miami’s offense has been ugly, but Washington does not need it to suddenly become elite if he continues commanding close to 30% of the targets. Volume like this is rarely available on waivers by October.

The Week 5 matchup with Cincinnati also helps. The Bengals just lost both starting receivers during the game in which Jacksonville moved the ball efficiently, and Miami should have enough opportunities to keep Washington involved.

This is a process pickup rather than a box-score pickup.

Dohntye Myers, Cincinnati Bengals

0% Rostered | Suggested FAAB: 3-5% | Week 5: at Miami

This is one of the week’s most obvious injury-created opportunities.

Ja’Marr Chase left Sunday’s game with a concussion and Tee Higgins suffered an adductor injury late. Andrei Iosivas is already on injured reserve. That left Meyers playing significant snaps alongside Mitchell Tinsley, and Meyers responded with seven catches on nine targets for 82 yards.

There were already signs his role was growing before the injuries. His route involvement climbed from 10.8% in Week 1 to 19.4% in Week 2 and 60% in Week 3, while his Week 4 target share finished at 16.7%.

Meyers is not someone I am pretending suddenly became a must-start fantasy receiver. His value is entirely dependent on Chase and Higgins. But if either misses Week 5, Meyers should run enough routes in a Joe Burrow offense to immediately enter FLEX consideration.

If both Chase and Higgins are out, increase the bid.

Roman Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers

8% Rostered | Suggested FAAB: 3-6% | Week 5: vs. Indianapolis

Wilson is the boring addition who might end up being more useful than several of the explosive names being chased this week.

He has seen six targets in every game this season and has now produced at least 15 fantasy points in consecutive weeks, including 74 yards and a touchdown against Cleveland.

The role is not going away, and Aaron Rodgers has now thrown for 290-plus yards and three touchdowns in back-to-back games.

I would rather swing at Coleman or Washington if they are available, but Wilson is a very reasonable addition if you need weekly depth rather than a lottery ticket.

NOTABLE MENTION: DARIUS COOPER, PHILADELPHIA

Cooper’s Week 4 target share exploded to 25.9% after sitting at 8.1% or lower in each of the opening three games. The two-touchdown performance will get attention, but I am not chasing it aggressively until we know the status of Philadelphia’s injured receivers.

TIGHT END

T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings

40% Rostered | Suggested FAAB: 10% | Week 5: at New Orleans

If Hockenson was dropped during his slow start, correct the mistake now.

He caught all 13 of his targets for 119 yards against Miami and actually sacrificed another touchdown opportunity by going down at the one-yard line to close out the game. His Week 4 target share was an enormous 35.1%, more than double his 16.4% season share entering Sunday.

Justin Jefferson’s absence obviously matters, but this is also an established high-level receiving tight end getting healthy volume again. That is very different from blindly chasing a random two-touchdown tight end performance.

Hockenson is my No. 1 tight end claim if he is available.

Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars

42% Rostered | Suggested FAAB: 5-8% | Week 5: vs. Philadelphia

Strange finally delivered the game his underlying role had been threatening.

He caught seven of eight targets for 95 yards in Cincinnati, finishing with a ridiculous 34.8% target share. That follows route participation north of 70% across the opening three weeks, meaning this was not a part-time tight end randomly stumbling into eight targets.

His pre-Week 4 efficiency was ordinary at 1.16 YPRR, but tight end is a position where routes and targets matter far more than obsessing over efficiency. If Strange continues running this many routes, he does not need another 95-yard game to become a weekly starter.

Jacksonville hosts Philadelphia in London next.

Michael Mayers, Las Vegas Raiders

13% Rostered | Suggested FAAB: 3-5% | Week 5: at New England

Mayer is more interesting than the normal second tight end because Las Vegas is actively using him as a receiver even with Brock Bowers on the field.

He caught eight of 10 targets for 82 yards against Kansas City, giving him a 19.2% target share. Before Week 4, Mayer was already running routes on 76% of passing plays while averaging a respectable 18% TPRR.

I still prefer Hockenson and Strange because their pathways to weekly target volume are cleaner, but Mayer belongs on the streaming radar rather than being dismissed simply because Bowers exists.

NOTABLE MENTION: MIKE GESICKI

Gesicki is only 16% rostered and has already scored at least 12.7 fantasy points in three of four games. The injuries to Chase and Higgins could create another short-term target boost.

KICKER

Will Reichard, Minnesota Vikings

57% Rostered | Week 5: at New Orleans

Reichard has scored almost 50 fantasy points over his last three games, and Minnesota now heads indoors to New Orleans. The Vikings should be able to sustain enough drives to give him another strong opportunity total.

He is slightly above the normal waiver threshold, but kicker ownership changes rapidly enough that I am checking regardless.

Dominic Zvada, New York Giants

2% Rostered | Week 5: at Washington

If Reichard is unavailable, Zvada is the deeper streamer I want.

He has produced 28.9 fantasy points over the last two games and now gets Washington, whose defense has allowed sustained scoring opportunities all season.

The Giants offense does not need to be brilliant here. In fact, an offense capable of moving the ball but struggling to finish drives is often exactly what we want from a fantasy kicker.

D/ST

CINCINNATI BENGALS

12% Rostered | Week 5: at Miami

The Bengals are my preferred widely available defensive streamer.

Miami has struggled badly to sustain its offense, and Cincinnati managed four sacks against Jacksonville in Week 4. Current Week 5 models also have the Dolphins carrying one of the lowest implied team totals on the entire slate.

This is not a defense I am wedded to for the season. It is a matchup play.

CLEVELAND BROWNS

18% Rostered | Week 5: at New York Jets

Cleveland is the other defense I am targeting.

The Browns have been generating pressure and now get a Jets offense that has struggled to create reliable fantasy production. Cleveland are amongst the strongest streaming options available.

If Cincinnati is gone, Cleveland is an easy pivot.

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Bigsby’s ranking is dependent on the injury reports. If he is healthy and Barkley misses time, he is the clear No. 1. If Bigsby is also ruled out or looks likely to miss Week 5, Shipley rockets up the list.

Coleman is my favourite receiver because there was already efficiency beneath the surface and D.J. Moore’s injury could finally unlock the volume. Washington remains the quieter buy because he is commanding elite target shares without getting the fantasy production yet.

And at tight end, do not overcomplicate this. If somebody dropped Hockenson, add him.

Week 5 is not about finding the player who scored the most points on Sunday. It is about finding the player whose Sunday performance changed what his team is likely to ask him to do next.

Good luck this week. Don’t forget to tune into Kadeem and I on Thursday as we cover off who to start and sit in Week 5.