Fantasy Football 2026 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

Emanuel Wilson, RB, Seahawks (49% Rostered): Wilson has grabbed hold of the lead role in the Seattle backfield while Zach Charbonnet is on the mend, earning 21 carries in two of the last three games and rushing for 80+ yards in both of those games. Wilson’s not a particularly explosive back, but he churns out hard yards and he reliably picks up what’s blocked. The fun is most likely over when Charbonnet is healthy, but until then Wilson is a lead dog in a very good offense. You can’t ask for more than that from a waiver add.

Makai Lemon, WR, Eagles (49% Rostered): Lemon’s role did increase in the absence of DeVonta Smith, playing 73% of snaps and earning six targets, both season highs. Unfortunately, the Eagles’ offense continues to be stuck in quicksand, with the new additions to the coaching staff unable to get the passing game going. Lemon caught just three passes in this game, and he’s been unable to get past three receptions or 40 yards thus far as a rookie. Better days lie ahead, and if Smith is out again Lemon will surely be on the field and running routes. But there are players with  much  more ceiling in Week 5 available.

Tre Tucker, WR, Raiders (42% Rostered): Tucker is a player who has more ceiling this week than Lemon, even if I’m unconvinced that Tucker’s a better player. The Raiders offense is humming with Kirk Cousins at the helm, and even though Tucker’s production can be uneven, he’s the top WR on the team and certainly the leader of the WR group in target share. He’s got a 119-yard, one-TD effort on the 2026 resume; he’s failed to break 50 yards in any of the other three games, but the potential is there and we’ve seen it at least once. Injuries abound, and bye weeks are beginning, so we’re past the point of caring about names. We need bodies who can reliably be on the field.

Khalil Shakir, WR, Bills (42% Rostered): Like Tucker, Shakir is a trusty player to be on the field and involved in the offense. The ceiling’s not particularly high for Shakir since he’s locked into a slot role on a team where the explosive plays are usually to the outside receivers or in the run game. However, he has seen six or more targets in three of Buffalo’s four games and he caught seven passes for 82 yards on Sunday against the Patriots. For teams who need to take big swings, Shakir won’t be so appealing, but if you’re simply filling a spot for a week due to bye or injury, Shakir can get you a few points.

Keaton Mitchell, RB, Chargers (35% Rostered): Mitchell might be my favorite add of the week. He’s not built for three down work, so even with Mike McDaniel casting about for a spark to the Chargers offense, get that idea right out of your head. With that said, Mitchell has seen his snap rate hover in the high 30s for two straight games and his carries have risen to eight and 10, respectively. At 4.6 yards per carry, he seems to have more juice than Omarion Hampton at the moment. If he can work his way into a role with 12-15 touches per week he’d definitely be a FLEX-worthy play most games due to his explosive capabilities. He’s shown he can catch the ball as well, so Mitchell is a player that’s certainly on the rise. 10 carries isn’t going to really lift his profile much, and the Chargers’ stink is going to likely allow managers to add him relatively cheaply. This could pay off big over time.

Malik Washington, WR, Dolphins (31% Rostered): Washington remains this year’s useful player absolutely nobody wants. He’s toiling on a Miami offense that has yet to break 13 points in a game, so I understand wanting zero pieces of it. But Washington is on the field virtually every play for them, and he’s drawn five or more targets in every game. This past week, he caught every pass thrown his way for 67 yards. It’s not much, but it ain’t nothing! Washington is going to continue getting a huge amount of work on this bad team, and a huge portion of any passing pie will fill you up even if the pie tastes terrible.

Kirk Cousins, QB, Raiders (23% Rostered): Cousins has thrown for two or more touchdowns in every game this year, and we have to take it seriously. The first three games were against subpar defenses, so a wait and see approach was warranted. On Sunday he threw for 365 yards and two touchdowns against the Chiefs, a real deal defense with Super Bowl aspirations, so I’m ready to declare him a hot hand ready to be ridden until he cools off. Brock Bowers is a genuinely transformational TE that can’t be treated like any other in the NFL, so the lack of bona fide WR talent is truly offset with Bowers’ presence. Having fellow TE Michael Mayer in the fold too gives the Raiders an unconventional, but clearly lethal duo for Cousins that is absolutely working. Plenty of teams are hurting at QB, and Cousins is a real answer right now.

Speculative/Deep Cuts

Jacoby Brissett, QB, Cardinals (16% Rostered): Brissett was very disappointing in what should have been a smash matchup against the Giants, and it certainly cools enthusiasm about him being a weekly wagon playing from behind every game. He has another opportunity this week to re-establish himself, going up against the Lions’ horrific defense. If Brissett falls short this week, we can give up the dream but I’d still be happy to play him in Week 5 over a whole host of far more widely rostered QBs.

Deshaun Watson, QB, Browns (9% Rostered): Watson has been one of the more stunning stories of the NFL season, leading a 3-1 Browns team and looking very competent while doing so. His numbers are not amazing, so this is definitely more of a desperation play than anything, but there are some pros. He has two strong WRs in rookies KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston, both of whom tormented the Steelers on Thursday night. He has a real TE in Harold Fannin, and he’s right at the top of the leaderboard among QBs in rushing attempts, which we love. With 20+ rushing yards in every game thus far, Watson does make up for some of the passing yardage deficiency that has to be built in. His floor is still extremely low, but he’s definitely not the disaster we all expected him to be.

Tre Harris, WR, Chargers (9% Rostered): If you buy the idea that the Chargers can turn the ship around, Harris will likely be a part of it. Ladd McConkey’s simply not healthy, and Quentin Johnston isn’t capable of doing much more than racking up random big plays in very catered usage. Harris was drafted as a real deal X receiver, and while his development hasn’t been rapid, we’re seeing his usage and production rise. The world is begging to give up on Justin Herbert, and I’m just not there. I think he makes sense to add speculatively.

Mike Gesicki, TE, Bengals (7% Rostered): Gesicki is a guy whose entire career has been hope followed by letdown. However, he’s produced in spots, and those spots have usually been when one of Cincinnati’s big WRs is missing. Well, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are both in danger of missing Week 5, which sets up Gesicki to be the top target for Joe Burrow. That doesn’t mean we can assign huge numbers to him, because he’s not that type of player. It does mean we can probably pencil in elevated volume though, and with Burrow throwing the passes that makes him a TE1 in Week 5.

Antonio Williams, WR, Commanders (6% Rostered): Rumor has it Terry McLaurin was pushing heavily to play against the Colts on Sunday, so if he’s ready to roll then Williams is someone I’m less excited about. If McLaurin does miss another game, Williams has very nice big play potential in a plus matchup against the Giants’ weak secondary, especially since it seems Jayden Daniels will be back in action.

Roman Wilson, WR, Steelers (3% Rostered): There’s a fantasy cliché that “targets are an earned stat.” If that’s true, then Wilson is straight up working his way past Michael Pittman, and has become the WR2 for the Steelers. Wilson has drawn six targets in all four of Pittsburgh’s games, and he’s scored in back-to-back weeks. If he’s earned the trust of Aaron Rodgers, then this roster rate is far too low because his volume will be consistent. It’s weird to see a player do absolutely nothing through two years and suddenly become a key cog of a passing game, but that really appears to be what’s happening with Roman Wilson. Of course we’d like to see more receptions but for now he’s done more than enough to be added onto rosters.

Tyler Higbee, TE, Rams (2% Rostered): Terrance Ferguson going on IR has clearly meant more usage for Higbee, whom we’ve seen in the past be a pretty stable option at TE. He’s drawn 17 targets in the last two games and put up 60+ yards in both. That is usable production, and while the floor is low, that goes for all TEs not named Brock Bowers or Trey McBride.

Will Shipley, RB, Eagles (1% Rostered): Shipley is a very desperate play, but assuming Barkley misses time with his hamstring injury, he’ll be on the field on all passing situations for the Eagles. It’s tempting to envision a massive workload for Shipley with Tank Bigsby now on IR, but I’d expect some additions to be made and some thumpers to get work. There is not a high ceiling for Shipley, but if he’s locked into all passing downs he’ll be FLEXable for the games Barkley misses.

Handcuffs

Kaelon Black, RB, 49ers (42% Rostered)

Chris Rodriguez Jr., RB, Jaguars (35% Rostered)

Tyler Allgeier, RB, Cardinals (36% Rostered)

Emmett Johnson, RB, Chiefs (36% Rostered)

Mike Washington Jr., RB, Raiders (35% Rostered)

Brian Robinson, RB, Falcons (30% Rostered)

Kendre Miller, RB, Saints (15% Rostered)