Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 5: Emanuel Wilson takes over in Seattle

Week 4 brought us another round of games and another wave of injuries that could change the fantasy landscape. Every player in this article is available in over half of all Yahoo leagues.

▶ Quarterback

Kirk Cousins, Raiders

Cousins is the QB6 in fantasy with a league-high 11 touchdown passes. His worst performance of the year came all the way back in Week 1 when he scored 15.8 fantasy points. Cousins has topped 20 in every subsequent game. He’s 10th in EPA per play this year. The Raiders have several games with shootout potential over the next month, including matchups versus Buffalo, LA, Seattle, and San Francisco. Cousins looks like a weekly QB2 at worst.

Aaron Rodgers, Steelers

Mike McCarthy is having Rodgers operate as a volume-based quarterback and the results—from a fantasy perspective—have been solid. Rodgers has amassed 591 yards and six touchdowns in his last two games. The Steelers are fifth in the league in pass rate over expected and Rodgers has the 10th-highest aDOT. This is strictly a low-end QB2 bet, but that’s what we should come to expect from waivers at quarterback going forward.

Jameis Winston, Giants

He went full Jameis in Week 4, throwing three touchdowns and two interceptions with an average target depth of 11.8. Pro Football Focus charted him with the most Big Time Throws (four) and the highest BTT rate (12.5 percent) of the week. By getting a win on Sunday, Winston also preserved his place in the starting lineup for another week. The Giants’ opponents over the next three weeks have a combined two wins. Winston could eke out another victory or two during that stretch, allowing him to keep the job for a while. He’s a high-risk bet, but one with a reasonable weekly ceiling.

▶ Running Back

Emanuel Wilson, Seahawks

Jadarian Price was placed on IR over the weekend after aggravating his chest injury. That left only Wilson and George Holani to handle the backfield touches versus the Chargers. Wilson was simply an every-down back for Seattle. He accounted for 21-of-28 running back carries plus 4-of-5 running back targets. Wilson turned his 25 touches into 120 yards from scrimmage and a pair of touchdowns. Zach Charbonnet had his practice window opened last week and is eligible to return for Week 5. If he does, Wilson’s value will all but vanish. On the other hand, if he remains out, Wilson will earn a spot in the RB2 ranks next week.

Tank Bigsby, Eagles

Saquon Barkley left Week 4 with a hamstring and did not return. Bigsby took over the backfield and ran 14 times for 55 yards. Will Shipley only saw six carries, though he ran 15 routes to Bigsby’s 10. A locked-in, two-down role for Bigsby would still be worth a small FAAB bid, but his health is up in the air as well. He left the game late with an apparent groin injury which is likely related to the abdomen issue he dealt with earlier in the year. With no update on Bigsby from the team, he likely takes FAAB priority over Shipley.

On the other hand, Shipley is a great stash. He should be overlooked in most leagues and could see the bulk of the backfield touches in Week 5.

Tyler Allgeier, Falcons

Allgeier just won’t go away. He is the Cardinals’ trusted option on passing downs, having run 68 routes to Jeremiyah Love’s 55 this year. He also saw eight carries in Week 4 and found the end zone from 22 yards out on one of them. Love may also be dealing with another injury, though he told reporters after the game he did not get injured.

It certainly looks like he did. Even if it’s a minor issue, any reduction in his playing time would open a path for Allgeier to increase his touch totals in the coming weeks.

Keaton Mitchell, Chargers

Things were trending in the wrong direction for Omarion Hampton for weeks. The Bolts finally called it quits on Sunday and gave Mitchell lead back duties. He paced the team with 10 carries and also led the backfield with five catches. Mitchell logged a team-high 26 snaps, though that was only good for a 37 percent snap share. Hampton still saw goal line work, punching in a short touchdown late in the game. Kimani Vidal finally mixed in with five carries and two receptions. Unfortunately for Mitchell, he didn’t take over the backfield. He forced a messy committee, which he appears to be the leader of. That’s still a solid bet to make on the waiver wire, but it’s not one you deplete the FAAB budget for.

▶ Wide Receiver

Keon Coleman, Bills

DJ Moore has missed the majority of two games, Weeks 2 and 4. Coleman has 12 catches for 179 yards and a touchdown in those two contests. Moore left Week 4 early after re-aggravating his shoulder injury. It’s not currently believed to be a long-term issue, but the fact that he can’t get over it might lead the Bills to put him on ice for a few weeks. Coleman is quietly averaging 2.4 yards per route run, just behind Moore and well ahead of Khalil Shakir and Josh Palmer. It’s possible things simply clicked in Coleman’s fourth year, and now he could get the opportunity to start if Moore is sidelined.

Shakir is also worth an add. His 1.9 YPRR isn’t bad and he has also been productive when Moore is hurt. In the two DJM early exits, Shakir has 14 catches for 120 yards.

Dohnte Meyers, Bengals

A former CFL wideout, Meyers made the Bengals roster on the back of an impressive preseason. He was then tasked with an every-route role this week after Ja’Marr Chase left the game early because of a concussion. Tee Higgins also attempted to play through an abductor injury but didn’t see the field much in the second half. Meyers ran 93 percent of the routes and earned a respectable 17 percent target share. Mitchell Tinsley will also be in the mix for more routes next week, but all signs point to Meyers being Joe Burrow’s WR1 if Higgins and Chase are sidelined.

Antonio Williams, Commanders

Williams took over as the Commanders’ WR2 in Week 4 with Terry McLaurin sidelined. He logged a 73 percent route rate and a 24 percent target share, both of which were season-highs. He didn’t do much in the expanded role, but that can partially be written off by Marcus Mariota exiting the game after two drives. As long as Jayden Daniels starts in Week 5, the passing attack should rebound. If Daniels starts and McLaurin remains out, Williams could be in line for a breakout game.

Malik Washington, Dolphins

Washington keeps stacking elite target numbers. He keeps doing nothing with them. Washington only saw five targets in Week 4, but that was good for a monstrous 29 percent target share. That matches his season-long target share and he added two carries, albeit for just three yards. Washington has at least 43 receiving yards in every game, but his season-high came last week at a pedestrian 67. Washington is a true WR1 on the worst passing game in football. That’s still worth something, even if the results are wildly frustrating compared to the role.

Darius Cooper, Eagles

With DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert out, the Eagles naturally leaned on… Darius Cooper, a career special teams player who caught nine passes last year. Cooper led the team with a 32 percent target share and 53 percent of the air yards. He was also the intended target on all three of Jalen Hurts’ end zone targets, including this incredible touchdown.

He finished the day with three grabs for 33 yards and two scores. It feels absurd for Cooper to be the focal point of this passing attack, but that is what happened in Week 4.

Roman Wilson, Steelers

Wilson has seen over 100 air yards in three of four games this year and has cashed in on the volume with back-to-back WR2 performances. The bad news is that the return of Michael Pittman has relegated him to the No. 3 receiver role. Wilson has a 45 percent route rate over the past two weeks, and his route rate fell from the first half of Week 4’s game to the second half. Germie Bernard was on the field for more passing plays in the final two quarters, giving him a higher route rate for the entire game. Wilson is worth a minimum FAAB bid but nothing more.

▶ Tight End

T.J. Hockenson, Vikings

Hockenson exploded with Justin Jefferson out in Week 4. He caught all 13 of his targets for 119 yards. It was his highest yardage total since 2023 and his highest reception total since 2022. Murray’s 5.7 aDOT on Sunday was perfect for Hockenson to rack up PPR-friendly targets. Hockenson will be a TE1 again in Week 5 if Jefferson isn’t ready to return.

Brenton Strange, Jaguars

Strange hadn’t be awfully involved in the Jacksonville offense through three weeks. A date with the Bengals was more than enough to fix that. Strange earned a 35 percent target share—the highest mark of his career—and brought down seven passes for 95 yards. Unfortunately for Strange and the entire Jags offense, they face a sputtering Eagles team next week. If Philly can’t get points on the board, we will likely see a lot of Chris Rodriguez and Bhayshul Tuten next Sunday. I suspect he will be stuck in the TE2 ranks for that game.

Mike Gesicki, Bengals

Gesicki found paydirt in Week 4 with his third touchdown of the year. This was undoubtedly fueled by the losses of Chase and Higgins. The downside is that Gesicki didn’t seem all that involved even after Chase went down. He earned a paltry nine percent target share and ran 69 percent of the routes. Those numbers may climb next week if one or both of Cincy’s top wideouts can’t suit up, but the lack of a target boon has me treating Gesicki as a boom/bust TE2 for Week 5.

Oronde Gadsden, Chargers

Gadsden earned a solid 23 percent target share in Week 4, but the Chargers capped his routes at 63 percent. Even with Charlie Kolar and David Njoku out, Mike McDaniel is bending over backwards to stop Gadsden from seeing a full-time role. Ladd McConkey re-injured his foot in Week 4, so the team may have no choice to get Gadsden on the field more, but that is far from a given. Even if they don’t, Gadsden’s ability to earn targets at a high per-route basis will at least keep him in the TE2 mix.