Top 11 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups: Wide Receivers (Week 5)

We will have you covered throughout the fantasy football season with our bevy of tools, including our Waiver Wire Assistant. Find the top available players and get detailed analysis on how potential fantasy football waiver wire adds will impact your team. Of course, our team of analysts will also have written advice each week. Check out some of our top Wide Receiver fantasy football waiver wire targets for the week below. And also be sure to check out our full fantasy football waiver wire advice for the week.

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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets: Wide Receiver

WIDE RECEIVERS

Written by Derek Brown

Dontayvion Wicks (GB): 14% rostered

• Next Opponents: @LAR, ARI, HOU
• True value: $7
• Desperate Need: $11
• Budget-minded: $4

Analysis: Christian Watson‘s ankle injury opened up the door for everyone’s offseason darling to explode in Week 4. Wicks led Green Bay with a 24% target share (13 targets) while snatching two touchdowns and rolling up 78 receiving yards. Wicks already proved that he has the talent to be a difference-maker for fantasy when given the opportunity. Last year, among 112 qualifying wide receivers, he ranked 43rd in separation, 17th in yards per route run and 44th in route win rate (per Fantasy Points Data). Wicks could compete weekly with Jayden Reed for the team lead in targets until Watson is back.

Wan’Dale Robinson (NYG): 26% rostered

• Next Opponents: @SEA, CIN, PHI
• True value: $6
• Desperate Need: $9
• Budget-minded: $3

Analysis: Robinson has been humming along as a PPR dynamo this season. He has a 25.5% target share, 1.67 yards per route run and a massive 26.5% first-read share in the Giants’ passing attack. Robinson might not be a sexy name, but you know what is sexy? Fantasy points, and Robinson is scoring them. Volume is king, baby. Robinson is seeing a heaping amount of it weekly. Seattle is a daunting matchup in Week 5, but after the Seahawks, Robinson gets advantageous matchups with Cincinnati and Philadelphia. Those two pass defenses have respectively allowed the 14th-most and third-most PPR points per target to slot receivers (per Fantasy Points Data).

Jerry Jeudy (CLE): 48% rostered

• Next Opponents: @WAS, @PHI, CIN
• True value: $5
• Desperate Need: $8
• Budget-minded: $2

Analysis: Jeudy continues to produce despite the lackluster quarterback play in Cleveland. He has drawn at least six targets in every game while eclipsing 70 receiving yards twice. His upcoming matchups against Washington, Philadelphia and Cincinnati are juicy. Washington and Philly entered Week 4 having allowed the most and the third-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers. We have seen the Bengals secondary torched in recent weeks by Washington and Carolina. Jeudy has cemented himself as a weekly WR3.

Josh Downs (IND): 20% rostered

• Next Opponents: @JAX, @TEN, MIA
• True value: $4
• Desperate Need: $7
• Budget-minded: $2

Analysis: Well, so much for the concerns about Indy’s passing attack. Anthony Richardson started hot in Week 4 before injuring his hip. Joe Flacco did 2023 Flacco things after Richardson was lost for the week. He supported Downs and Michael Pittman solidly. Downs finished Week 4 with a 30% target share, 82 receiving yards and a score. Richardson might be back next week, but if he’s not, we should still feel great about Downs’ outlook against Jacksonville. The Jaguars have conceded the ninth-most PPR points per target to slot receivers (per Fantasy Points Data). Downs also has a solid matchup in Week 7 against the Dolphins, who have allowed the 13th-most PPR points per target to slot receivers.

Xavier Legette (CAR): 14% rostered

• Next Opponents: @CHI, ATL, @WAS
• True value: $4
• Desperate Need: $6
• Budget-minded: $2

Analysis: Finally! With Adam Thielen felled by a hamstring injury, Legette finally got full run as a starter in the Panthers’ offense in Week 4. He responded nicely with a 25% target share, 66 receiving yards (1.78 yards per route run) and a score. The hyper-athletic rookie could use this game as a stepping stone. The talent is there for Legette to challenge Diontae Johnson for the team lead in targets weekly if he hits the ground running. He should be the team’s WR2 for the rest of the season if the coaching staff doesn’t continue to insist upon Jonathan Mingo getting a shot.

Darnell Mooney (ATL): 47% rostered

• Next Opponents: TB, @CAR, SEA
• True value: $2
• Desperate Need: $4
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: Mooney has been a consistent source of volume as a steady flex over the last three games. He has a strong 20.1% target share as the WR2 in the Falcons’ passing attack. Mooney has had at least 56 receiving yards in each of Atlanta’s last three games. Toss a touchdown on top of that production in any week, and Mooney is flirting with WR2 fantasy numbers. He should continue his hot streak over the next two weeks before hitting a brick wall with Seattle’s outside corners in Week 7.

Romeo Doubs (GB): 40% rostered

• Next Opponents: @LAR, ARI, HOU
• True value: $2
• Desperate Need: $4
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: Christian Watson‘s injury elevates everyone in the Packers’ passing attack for as long as he’s out. Green Bay’s WR position will remain a roulette wheel weekly depending on the corner and coverage matchups, but Doubs should remain heavily involved. In Jordan Love‘s two starts, Doubs has had a 17% target share while averaging 44.5 receiving yards. He has two beautiful matchups on deck against the hapless secondaries of the Rams and Cardinals, who have allowed the most and sixth-most PPR points per target, respectively, to perimeter wide receivers (per Fantasy Points Data).

Allen Lazard (NYJ): 36% rostered

• Next Opponents: @MIN, BUF, @PIT
• True value: $2
• Desperate Need: $4
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: Lazard has been a beneficiary of Garret Wilson getting shadow coverage and bracket treatment by opposing defenses. Lazard has scored three touchdowns in four games while seeing at least eight targets and producing 58 or more receiving yards in half of his games. As long as teams try this hard to take Wilson away, Lazard will see a bump in usage. His built-in rapport with Aaron Rodgers is paying off for fantasy GMs this season.

Jordan Whittington (LAR): 3% rostered

• Next Opponents: GB, BYE, LV
• True value: $2
• Desperate Need: $4
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: Whittington acquitted himself well in his first game as a full-time starter. He drew a 27.5% target share with 62 receiving yards (2.0 yards per route run). Whittington led the Rams in targets (eight) while finishing second to only Tutu Atwell in receiving yards. Cooper Kupp could be back in the lineup within the next four games, which will hurt Whittington’s target share, but he should still be a full-time receiver in this offense until Puka Nacua comes back (which will take a bit longer). Whittington could develop into a solid weekly WR3 if he continues this type of production until Nacua is back.

Demarcus Robinson (LAR): 28% rostered

• Next Opponents: GB, BYE, LV
• True value: $1
• Desperate Need: $2
• Budget-minded: $0

Analysis: Robinson won’t be heavily sought after on waivers this week after his three targets, two receptions and 37 receiving yards against Chicago, but he offers the most consistent role in this Rams’ passing attack for the rest of the season. The Bears’ love of two-high coverage can be blamed for Robinson’s sleepy Week 5. His next two matchups are against the Packers and Raiders, who feature single-high at top-12 rates in the NFL (56.7-57.1%, per Fantasy Points Data). Against single-high, Robinson has a decent 16% target per route run rate and 1.64 yards per route run. While these aren’t eye-popping stats, he will remain a flex fixture for the rest of the season, as at least the WR3 for the Rams.

Tutu Atwell (LAR): 8% rostered

• Next Opponents: GB, BYE, LV
• True value: $0
• Desperate Need: $1
• Budget-minded: $0

Analysis: Atwell popped off in Week 4 with a team-leading 82 receiving yards while drawing a 20.6% target share. While I would love to tell you that this will continue, it was partially thanks to the Bears’ love of two-high coverage. Atwell’s next two matchups are against the Packers and Raiders, who feature single-high at top-12 rates in the NFL (56.7-57.1%, per Fantasy Points Data). Atwell is only relevant as a fantasy producer until Cooper Kupp comes back, and then he will likely be sent packing to the bench. Atwell could be a low-end flex against Green Bay and Las Vegas, but don’t bid on him unless you’re searching in desperation to fill a flex spot in a 14-team league.