Week 5 Waiver Wire Rankings - Fantasy Football Pickups Include Tank Bigsby, Emanuel Wilson, Joe Mixon, Keon Coleman, Darius Cooper, Tyreek Hill, Tyler Higbee, T.J. Hockenson,more

October 5, 2026

Fantasy football waiver wire rankings for Week 5 of the 2026 NFL season. Top free agent options to add off waivers, and our rankings will help you prioritize.

Week 5 officially arrives once Monday Night Football ends, and at RotoBaller HQ, we kick off the week with updated waiver wire rankings. Injuries continue to pile up, as Saquon Barkley, DJ Moore, Ladd McConkey, Rashee Rice, Tee Higgins, Lamar Jackson, and Kyle Monangai are all dealing with injuries. On top of injuries, fantasy managers will also have to deal with bye weeks, as the Panthers and Chiefs are off in Week 5. Below, you will find our fantasy football waiver wire rankings before Week 5 of 2026 to help find those bye-week and injury replacements. 

Several players still have low ownership percentages but could make an impact or will have a bigger role now due to injuries. With DJ Moore re-aggravating a shoulder injury, is Keon Coleman Buffalo's No. 1 wide receiver after catching six passes for 116 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 29-26 loss to New England? Is Emanuel Wilson Seattle's primary back after the Seahawks placed first-round rookie Jadarian Price on injured reserve? Is Tank Bigsby the top Week 5 pickup after Saquon Barkley exits early with a hamstring injury?

Our Week 5 fantasy football waiver wire rankings will help answer these questions and many more—they've been a staple on RotoBaller for years, bringing readers a quick-hit list of the top 85 fantasy football player names to consider as free agent pickups. If you're new to this series, RotoBaller's lead NFL analyst, Nick Mariano, brings you these waiver wire rankings in priority order. Good luck on waivers!

Who To Pick Up Before Fantasy Football Week 5?

Waiver wire pickup options, including how to prioritize them for your league based on league size. Quarterbacks and Defenses (D/ST) are grouped at the bottom of the list:

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlooks

Top names include Tank Bigsby, Emanuel Wilson, Keon Coleman, Darius Cooper, Tyreek Hill, and others. We recap why these players rostered under 55% in Yahoo! leagues should be on your waiver wire radar before Week 5:

Tank Bigsby, RB, Eagles

Week 5 Waiver Wire Ranking: 2

Philadelphia Eagles running back Tank Bigsby (undisclosed) left Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams with only a few minutes left in the fourth quarter, per Ashlyn Sullivan. It's unclear what is going on with Bigsby, but he walked to the locker room under his own power with three minutes left.

This is never good to hear, especially with running back Saquon Barkley (hamstring) leaving early during this game. The Eagles will provide more updates this week, and fantasy managers should continue to monitor Bigsby's practice status throughout the week. Bigsby carried the ball 14 times for 55 yards in the loss to the Rams. Will Shipley could see an expanded role if Barkley or Bigsby can't play in Week 5. Despite the undisclosed injury, Bigsby is worth adding in most leagues with Barkley tending a hamstring injury and is available in 28% of Yahoo Fantasy leagues.

Darius Cooper, WR, Eagles

Week 5 Waiver Wire Ranking: 44

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Darius Cooper caught three of seven passes for 33 yards and two touchdowns in the team's 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Philadelphia's offense entered Sunday riddled with injuries, forcing Cooper into a more-than-41 % snap share for the first time in his career. In fact, the former undrafted free agent fell just a snap behind teammate Dontayvion Wicks (56) for the team lead. His yardage and receptions matched career highs, while his target total set a new high-water mark.

It was decent production in a game in which quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for a paltry 93 yards. If fellow wideout DeVonta Smith (hamstring) misses another week, then fantasy managers can turn to Cooper as a nice DFS play. However, the latter is expected to slide back into a depth role once Smith returns. Philadelphia will face Jacksonville in London next Sunday.

Emanuel Wilson, RB, Seahawks

Week 5 Waiver Wire Ranking: 3

Seattle Seahawks running back Emanuel Wilson totaled 21 carries, 81 rushing yards, three catches, 39 receiving yards, and two touchdowns during Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Wilson stepped up as the Seahawks' every-down back after Jadarian Price (chest) was placed on injured reserve. He has now logged 20+ carries in two of his last three games and has proven he can handle a heavy workload. It will be interesting to see how this backfield shakes out going forward.

On one hand, we have no doubt that Wilson could lead the way and rank as a fringe RB2 in fantasy football. On the other hand, the Seahawks have been linked to free agent running back Joe Mixon as a potential Price replacement, and projected No. 1 running back Zach Charbonnet (knee) is eligible to return from injured reserve as early as this upcoming week. Wilson has some short-term appeal in redraft leagues, but his floor will drop pretty quickly once Charbonnet returns to action

Tyreek Hill, WR, Free Agent

Week 5 Waiver Wire Ranking: 55

Kansas City Chiefs players such as quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce are "all for" a reunion with free agent wide receiver Tyreek Hill, per Michael Silver of The Athletic. Hill is working his way back from a major knee injury, and Silver reports he is targeting a November return. The Chiefs lost downfield wide receiver Tyquan Thornton (ankle) to a dislocated ankle during their win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Once healthy, Hill could help replace Thornton's big-play ability. The 32-year-old should not be expected to provide the elite production he once did during his first stint with the Chiefs from 2016-2021. Still, Hill remained an impact player in his most recent fully healthy season, recording 81 catches for 959 yards and six touchdowns on 123 targets across 17 games with the Miami Dolphins in 2024. Fantasy managers with a bench spot to burn may want to consider adding Hill off the waiver wire.

Keon Coleman, WR, Bills

Week 5 Waiver Wire Ranking: 12

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman had one of the better games of his career in his team's loss to the New England Patriots, recording six catches for 116 yards and a touchdown on seven targets. Coleman's usage spiked after Bills WR1 DJ Moore (shoulder) was forced to leave the game with a shoulder injury. It's the second time in four games this season Moore has had to leave early with his shoulder.

In those games, Coleman has recorded 12 catches for 179 yards and a score on 13 targets. In Buffalo's other two contests, Coleman has logged just two receptions for 38 yards on three targets. If Moore is forced to miss time going forward, Coleman profiles as a must-add waiver wire target for fantasy managers.

Running Backs - Week 5 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Wide Receivers - Week 5 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Tight Ends - Week 5 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Quarterbacks - Week 5 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order, with emphasis on Week 5:

Defenses (D/ST) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order, with emphasis on Week 5:

Week 5 Waiver Wire Articles

After diving into the Week 5 rankings, read about some other free waiver wire resources available at RotoBaller:

• Week 5 waiver wire pickups (all positions)
• Week 5 FAAB waiver wire bids
• 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

Each week, our NFL team puts out a complete array of fantasy football waiver wire articles to complement 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. Stay tuned!

Who Should I Pickup Tool

Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here:

Who Should I Pickup for Week 5?

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Who Should I Pickup? Some common 2026 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Tank Bigsby, Emanuel Wilson, Keon Coleman, Malik Washington, Darius Cooper, Tyler Higbee, Dohnte Meyers, Tre' Harris, Brenton Strange, Antonio Williams, Austin Ekeler, Mike Gesicki, Joe Mixon, Najee Harris, Ted Hurst, T.J. Hockenson, Efton Chism III, Khalil Shakir, and Will Shipley. But not to worry, we are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2026. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2026. Our free Who Should I Pickup? tool will help make your fantasy football waiver wire decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to pick up... all free! Make the right decisions.

2026 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players: Ollie Gordon II, Kenyon Sadiq, Adonai Mitchell, Emanuel Wilson, and Roman Wilson. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy football waiver wire pickups.

Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Pickup? button to see who the recommended waiver wire pickups are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.

Recent Improvements For Who Should I Pickup? You may have noticed our Who Should I Pickup? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win on the waiver wire in 2026. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!

How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football waiver wire rankings and projections based on their research, and updates them constantly throughout the week. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.

Popular Waiver Wire Searches. Curious to see some tough waiver wire decisions for 2025? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Pickup? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at. Click any of the links to see the results and recommendations.

Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup

Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2026 for Tank Bigsby, Emanuel Wilson, Keon Coleman, Malik Washington, Darius Cooper, Tyler Higbee, Dohnte Meyers, Tre' Harris, Brenton Strange, Antonio Williams, Austin Ekeler, Mike Gesicki, Joe Mixon, Najee Harris, Ted Hurst, T.J. Hockenson, Efton Chism III, Khalil Shakir, and Will Shipley:

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