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Fantasy football cut list rankings for Week 5 of 2025. The top fantasy football players to drop and cut from rosters, prioritized for various league sizes.
Welcome to our fantasy football Cut List Rankings for Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season. With Week 4 almost in the books, it is time to look ahead to Week 5 and make our next round of waiver claims.
On Sunday, fantasy managers saw many young running backs begin to carve out a prominent role in their backfield -- does that mean that other RBs can be dropped instead? In addition, a consensus top wide receiver suffered a season-ending injury.
So ,which injured or disappointing players is it time to get rid of for fantasy football lineups? Read about our top players to cut for Week 5 of the NFL season. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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Who To Drop for Fantasy Football Week 5?
The top players to consider cutting for fantasy football, in priority order. Players at the top of the list should be dropped first and replaced on the waiver wire:
| Rank | Player Name | Pos. | % Ros. | Baller Move |
| 1 | Malik Nabers | WR | 100 | Drop in All Leagues |
| 2 | Baltimore Ravens DEF | DST | 80 | Drop in All Leagues |
| 3 | Los Angeles Chargers DEF | DST | 80 | Drop in All Leagues |
| 4 | Dylan Sampson | RB | 35 | Drop in All Leagues |
| 5 | Miles Sanders | RB | 10 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 6 | Green Bay Packers DEF | DST | 80 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 7 | Houston Texans DEF | DST | 75 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 9 | Geno Smith | QB | 55 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 10 | Kaleb Johnson | RB | 45 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 11 | KaVontae Turpin | WR | 10 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 8 | New England Patriots DEF | DST | 70 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 12 | Calvin Austin III | WR | 5 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 13 | Tre Tucker | WR | 65 | Hold in 12-Team Leagues |
| 14 | Chris Boswell | K | 45 | Hold in 12-Team Leagues |
| 15 | Tyquan Thornton | WR | 35 | Hold in 12-Team Leagues |
| 16 | Darnell Mooney | WR | 55 | Hold in 12-Team Leagues |
| 17 | Isaiah Likely | TE | 15 | Hold in 12-Team Leagues |
| 18 | Calvin Ridley | WR | 90 | Hold in 12-Team Leagues |
| 19 | Matt Prater | K | 55 | Hold |
| 20 | Blake Corum | RB | 30 | Hold |
| 21 | Cedric Tillman | WR | 35 | Hold |
| 22 | Harold Fannin Jr. | TE | 40 | Hold |
| 23 | Luther Burden III | WR | 15 | Hold |
| 24 | David Njoku | TE | 90 | Hold |
| 25 | Nick Chubb | RB | 85 | Hold |
Fantasy Football Drop Candidates
Read the recent news and fantasy outlooks of some of the top cut candidates:
Dylan Sampson, RB, Cleveland Browns
Week 5 Cut List Rankings: 5
Cleveland Browns running back Dylan Sampson is likely headed for a role as the team's kick returner, according to Zac Jackson of The Athletic. The Browns rookie running back has seen his amount of offensive snaps decline each week after being a popular waiver-wire addition thanks to a whopping eight catches in Week 1. Since, he has only eight yards rushing and did not get a target in Week 3.
Now that fellow rookie Quinshon Judkins is in the lineup, Sampson seems firmly in third in the pecking order behind Judkins and Jerome Ford. He's not a recommended starter in any format in Week 4 against Detroit and is safe to cut in all standard leagues.
Miles Sanders, RB, Dallas Cowboys
Week 5 Cut List Rankings: 10
Dallas Cowboys running back Miles Sanders (ankle) suffered an ankle injury during the first half of his team's Week 4 matchup with the Green Bay Packers and was unable to return to the game. Sanders recorded 25 yards from scrimmage on four total touches before getting hurt, and has now totaled 147 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown on 28 total touches so far in 2025.
The severity of Sanders' ankle injury is not yet clear. If he misses time, Cowboys rookie running back Jaydon Blue would likely step in as the team's RB2 behind veteran back Javonte Williams. Blue has been inactive for all four of Dallas' games to this point in the season. Given his injury and Williams' clear role as the team's top RB, Sanders is a top cut candidate ahead of Week 5.
Darnell Mooney, WR, Atlanta Falcons
Week 5 Cut List Rankings: 16
According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney (hamstring) suffered a hamstring injury Sunday in Atlanta's win. Still, with the bye coming up, he likely doesn't have to miss any games, sources say. Mooney exited Sunday's contest in the third quarter and had just one catch (on one target) for 15 yards.
The Falcons have a bye week approaching in Week 5, which allows for an extra week of recovery for Mooney as the Falcons prepare to host the Buffalo Bills in Week 6.
If Mooney were to miss any time, Ray-Ray McCloud III, Casey Washington, David Sills V, and Jamal Agnew would likely step up in Mooney's absence, although none of them should be on fantasy managers' radar at this point. Thus far this season, Mooney has disappointed a bit, with only 79 receiving yards and seven receptions in three games played.
Despite his underwhelming start, he is still worth holding in deeper 3-WR 14-team formats.
Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants
Week 5 Cut List Rankings: 1
New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (knee) suffered a torn ACL during his team's Week 4 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers, according to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Nabers was carted off during the first half after planting awkwardly on his knee and will miss the remainder of the season.
The superstar wideout recorded two catches for 20 yards on three targets before getting injured. Losing Nabers is a devastating blow for the Giants' offense. Without him, wide receivers Darius Slayton and Wan'Dale Robinson should both be expected to see an uptick in targets.
Waiver Wire Articles
After diving into the cut list rankings, read about some waiver wire pickups to consider instead:
- Week 5 waiver wire pickups (all positions)
- Week 5 running back waiver wire pickups
- Week 5 wide receiver waiver wire pickups
- Week 5 tight end waiver wire pickups
- Week 5 quarterback waiver wire pickups
- Week 5 defense (D/ST) streamers and pickups
- Week 5 kicker streamers and pickups
- Week 5 FAAB waiver wire bids
Each week, our NFL team puts out a complete array of fantasy football waiver wire articles to compliment our slick Who Should I Pickup? Waiver wire player comparison tool. Bookmark it!
In addition, be on the lookout for our other waiver wire articles all season long. We will be releasing weekly waiver wire articles for each position, FAAB bidding recommendations, streamers and more throughout the week.
More Waiver Wire Analysis
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Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.
