Fantasy Football 2025 Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickup Advice
Is your fantasy team in need of new blood? Each week I’ll bring to you the best pickups to make ahead of the waiver deadline. All the players I list will be rostered in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the roster percentages coming from Yahoo.com.
Immediately Useful
Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, Giants (49% Rostered): Robinson can’t be viewed as a one-for-one replacement for Malik Nabers. Not only is he nowhere near the talent that Nabers is, his role and function in this offense is completely different. With that said, we’ve seen Robinson, at times, serve as a target hound and extension of the Giants’ running game. That’ll be needed now more than ever with Nabers likely out for the rest of the season. Robinson is still not an exciting play, but he will often be hyper-targeted, and that makes him a weekly FLEX option.
Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, WR, Chiefs (44% Rostered): Brown hasn’t soaked up as many targets as I thought he might in this offense with Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy out, and with Worthy back, his target share can no longer be counted on. Still, he remains a big play threat for Patrick Mahomes, who remains the NFL’s best QB. His snap rate is diminishing, so he’s more of a stash/hold at this point, but I believe the talent warrants a roster spot, and his skill set is still built for taking the tops off of defenses.
Kareem Hunt, RB, Chiefs (41% Rostered): Hunt didn’t look like the top option for the Chiefs’ backfield last week on the stat sheet, but he nearly doubled Isiah Pacheco’s rushing attempts in this one, with Pacheco rescuing his fantasy outing with a receiving touchdown. Hunt played more snaps, has shown previously to be a preferred option on the goal line, and was given more opportunities. This hasn’t been a backfield to want any parts of lately, but Hunt appears to be the tip of the spear, and Kansas City can turn into a wagon at any point. Useful running backs belong on rosters, plain and simple.
Romeo Doubs, WR, Packers (40% Rostered): Doubs’ eruption shouldn’t surprise anyone, as the Dallas defense is one of the worst in the NFL, particularly against wide receivers. Three-touchdown efforts won’t be the norm, but Doubs has the most stable role in the Packers’ ever-shifting receiving corps, and he’s developed real chemistry with Jordan Love. He’s still a low-end FLEX option, but with bye weeks beginning Doubs is the type of depth piece that comes in handy.
Rachaad White, RB, Buccaneers (40% Rostered): White has bombed in three of four games, and his dud in Week 4 was especially troubling because he played a season-high 41.7% of snaps. He’s not an electric back, but he’s very capable and will produce if and when he gets opportunity. The issue currently is that Bucky Irving is a star, and it just doesn’t make any sense for Tampa Bay to give any of Bucky’s work to White. He’s probably just a handcuff at this point, but he’s a league-winner if Irving gets hurt, and there was a concussion scare in Week 4.
Harold Fannin Jr., TE, Browns (37% Rostered): Fannin’s production has fallen off since a hot start, but it’s worth noting that Cleveland’s last three games have come against the Ravens, Packers and Lions. The schedule eases up just a bit in the coming weeks, and Week 4 marked his first game with a snap rate north of 85%. He is becoming an even more integral part of Cleveland’s passing game, and while it hasn’t shown up on the stat sheet, the production will come.
Troy Franklin, WR, Broncos (32% Rostered): Franklin had a pretty pedestrian game (four catches, 55 yards) in a beatdown of the Bengals that didn’t require much through the air after a while. His snap share was down, which bears monitoring, but he still drew eight targets and seems to still be very involved. He’s not going to be a locked-in starter for anyone, but he should be rostered in most moderate to very deep leagues, and he is playable in weeks in which injuries, byes or both are hammering you.
Woody Marks, RB, Texans (31% Rostered): Marks had a coming out party on Sunday, rushing 17 times for 69 yards and a touchdown while also reeling in four passes for 50 yards and another score. It’s been obvious since Week 1 that Marks was the guy in this backfield with juice, and while Nick Chubb is a legend, he’s well past his expiration date as a lead back. With a 56.3% snap share, Marks is the guy now, at least until Joe Mixon comes back, and with the Texans struggling mightily to throw the football he’s an important piece.
Elic Ayomanor, WR, Titans (31% Rostered): Ayomanor’s role is secure for Tennessee, the issue is that the offense is horrific. Cam Ward has come in and failed to provide the spark many hoped for when the Titans rid themselves of Will Levis, and while Ward hasn’t made the comical mistakes we saw from Levis, he’s just not putting many points on the board. Right now, Ayomanor needs to score to have value. That makes him nothing more than a dart throw FLEX for now, but there’s definite upside if the Titans’ offense improves.
Tyquan Thornton, WR, Chiefs (31% Rostered): Thornton has scored in three straight games, and it’s tempting to trust him after that, when coupled with Kansas City’s offensive explosion vs. the Ravens. Be careful! He only had one catch vs. Baltimore, and has had two or fewer in three of four games. With Xavier Worthy back, and duplicating Thornton’s skill set, he can fall off very easily. However, if Kansas City designs touches, even if it’s a handful, he can house them. Consider Thornton an extremely volatile dart throw.
Speculative/Deep Cuts
Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Steelers (23% Rostered): Gainwell’s blowup was a product of being the only show in town for the Steelers’ at RB this week, but he proved that if he got that level of work he can go off. With a bye week in Week 5, Gainwell should be someone you can add cheaply. Once Jaylen Warren returns, Gainwell is little more than a handcuff, but his status seems cemented at this point as that No. 2, with an outside chance at a score in any given game.
Jaxson Dart, QB, Giants (23% Rostered): The narrative will be that Dart had a successful debut and helped the Giants gut out a tough victory over a strong opponent in the Chargers. The truth is that Dart looked very shaky once they were beyond the scripted early portions of the game, and that he has a long way to go before he’s a fantasy viable threat with his arm alone. So if he’s a shaky passer who lost his top receiver for the rest of the year, why’s he on here?
The Giants seem to think he’s the second coming of Josh Allen, and while he’s going to take a beating if he continues rushing at this rate, he’ll be fantasy relevant while he lasts. Dart ran the ball 10 times for 54 yards and a touchdown in this one, and the run game will be paramount moving forward. Dart’s weekly floor is low, low, low but he’ll be in the mix around the goal line.
Sam Darnold, QB, Seahawks (21% Rostered): Darnold has found himself in a good situation with the Seahawks, paired up with an elite WR1 in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, with rookies Tory Horton and TE Elijah Arroyo proving to be real weapons. Neither of those players are guys I’d be in a rush to play, but they do allow Darnold to produce even when JSN is swarmed by defenders. Darnold’s next two games are home for Tampa Bay and at Jacksonville, which are favorable. If you’re hurting at QB, I like Darnold to be a solid contributor with more rushing ceiling than he’s shown in 2025.
Chris Rodriguez, RB, Commanders (13% Rostered): Rodriguez is not the lead back for Washington, and his lack of long speed is a limitation, but he’s clearly in the RB rotation for an offense that’s going to score points this season. Rodriguez is well suited for short-yardage work, and he’ll be much more effective with Jayden Daniels back at QB which looks on track to happen in Week 5. Like I said with Kareem Hunt, useful RBs belong on rosters and way too many are sleeping on Rodriguez.
Malik Washington, WR, Dolphins (4% Rostered): Washington was a player I liked entering last season, but didn’t see a path to playing time for. It bore out that way, but he’s made inroads in 2025. As a super speedy receiver, he fits exactly what the Dolphins are trying to do, and now that Tyreek Hill is done for the rest of the season Washington has a chance to step in and be a major contributor. He’s been on the field more in 2025, and while it hasn’t translated to any big games just yet, this is also an offense that was stuck in neutral until Monday night. If they’ve found their mojo, Washington might step right into Tyreek Hill’s role in the passing game. Now, this doesn’t mean he’s anything close to Tyreek Hill; the biggest fantasy beneficiary here is certainly Jaylen Waddle, but Washington was prolific in college and has elite speed to be a menace after the catch.
Darius Slayton, WR, Giants (2% Rostered): Slayton has been on the Giants since 2019, and since an eight-TD rookie campaign he has underwhelmed every season despite flashing major potential as a downfield threat. With Nabers out of the picture, the opportunity is there for Slayton to take over as the primary weapon down the field. That doesn’t mean he’s someone who can turn into a WR2 for fantasy managers, especially with a limited QB, but volume is king and Slayton’s going to see his volume increase. He becomes a desperation FLEX in Nabers’ absence.
IR Stashes
Tyjae Spears, RB, Titans (32% Rostered)
Jalen Coker, WR, Panthers (9% Rostered)
Handcuffs
Tyler Allgeier, RB, Falcons (35% Rostered)
Blake Corum, RB, Rams (28% Rostered)
Ollie Gordon II, RB, Dolphins (20% Rostered)
Rico Dowdle, RB, Panthers (20% Rostered)
Ray Davis, RB, Bills (19% Rostered)
Kyle Monangai, RB, Bears (9% Rostered)
Miles Sanders, RB, Cowboys (6% Rostered)
Kendre Miller, RB, Saints (5% Rostered)
Justice Hill, RB, Ravens (4% Rostered)
Emanuel Wilson, RB, Packers (1% Rostered)
Devin Singletary, RB, Giants (1% Rostered)