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John's favorite rookie waiver wire pickups, fantasy football breakout candidates heading into Week 5 of 2025. Which NFL rookies have league-winning fantasy upside?
Starting especially this year, it's becoming a bit harder to get rookies with waiver wire pickups, even if they haven't yet had a great game. Fantasy managers are becoming sharper each season.
Despite this, there are still players that fly under the radar, especially in leagues with 12 or fewer teams. And that makes it possible to add significant value to your rosters.
While last season didn't feature any clear league winners from the waiver wire, and this year might be much the same story, at least you can get players you can use as trade bait or spot starters. So let's dive in!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Woody Marks, RB, Houston Texans
Marks had the biggest impact of any waiver wire rookie this season, and it appears that he's earned himself a much more prominent role in his team's backfield. The Houston Texans have a remarkably struggling offense, and lucky for them, they got to beat down the far worse Tennessee Titans in Week 3.
Marks racked up 27.9 PPR fantasy points by rushing 17 times for 69 yards and a touchdown and catching four of his five targets for 50 yards and another touchdown. Marks had failed to eclipse 7.0 PPR points in any of his other games.
MAKE IT 2️⃣ FOR THE ROOK 😤
📺: @nfloncbs / @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/MAHDH3j7Zu
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 28, 2025
Marks looks to have at least made a good case to the Texans coaching staff to make him the primary RB and have him supplant RB Nick Chubb's role. With RB Joe Mixon (foot/ankle) not set to come off the reserve/non-football injury list in the near future, the job could belong to Marks pretty soon.
There are also reports that Mixon might not return at all this season. At least, he's expected to miss significantly more time with his foot and ankle injuries. At worst, it seems that Marks will be competing with a Chubb, who has battled numerous injuries throughout his career.
Look at @HoustonTexans RB Woody Marks absolutely pancake his block assignment 😤 pic.twitter.com/Dq326oGUN6
— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2025
Another nice aspect of his game appears to be his pass blocking. We often see running backs that are less athletic than their fellow counterparts in the backfield continue to get plenty of work because they can protect the quarterback. The Texans have one of the worst offensive lines in the league. They can use all the help they can get.
With that in mind, Marks should be added in all leagues. If you don't trust their offense -- which has admittedly struggled -- to help Marks continue to have success, you can at least try to trade him for someone you trust more. His breakout game gives him legitimate trade value.
Jaxson Dart, QB, New York Giants
Dart (hamstring) had a nice first game in Week 4, against the Los Angeles Chargers, which was an impressive debut. Dart scored 19.8 PPR fantasy points, completing 13 of 20 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown and rushing 10 times for 54 yards and a score.
He's now dealing with a hamstring injury, so his status for Week 5 isn't fully known yet, but that doesn't matter much. Dart showed his rushing upside in his first game with the team, and quarterbacks with rushing ability are a cheat code in fantasy football.
Jaxson Dart is a MANIAC
& I love it pic.twitter.com/MFXRQsyvWZ
— Marshall Green (@MarshallGreen_) September 28, 2025
Unfortunately, Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (knee) will be out for the rest of the season after he tore his ACL in the contest. As a result, Dart will have tight end Theo Johnson and wide receivers Wan'Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton, and Jalin Hyatt to work with.
That's not a great crew of wideouts, but he's at least worth grabbing and stashing on benches. His performance against the well-coached and well-run Los Angeles Chargers defense was impressive, at least as a runner, and shows that it could be sustained throughout the season.
Dart is a player that should be a priority add and bench stash in 12-team leagues. QBs like New York Jets signal-caller Justin Fields often don't put up big passing totals, but it doesn't matter, because they're talented runners, and rushing yards count for 2.5 times the fantasy points that passing yards do.
Mason Taylor, TE, New York Jets
Taylor has seen a gradual increase in his workload over his first four games as a Jet. He saw a season-high seven targets in Week 4, catching a season-high five passes for 65 yards. While this isn't earth-shattering, it at least might indicate he could become the team's de facto WR2.
Notably, the Jets faced the Miami Dolphins, who have one of the NFL's worst defenses. They're not good at defending the pass. Fields threw for just 226 yards, and it's hard for him to support more than one fantasy-relevant pass-catcher.
Mason Taylor had a big game for the Jets despite the loss tonight
- 5 catches on 7 targets
- 65 receiving yardsWas my 2025 TE3 pre-draft pic.twitter.com/jC9PIhMfub
— Prospect Film Room (@FilmProspect) September 30, 2025
But, in general, it's not a bad idea to have a lot of roster turnover trying to find the next solid tight end. Spending multiple weeks snagging a new TE, then dropping him later as his usage or scoring declines (if it does), can often lead to the best results -- finally finding one that maintains solid production down the stretch.
Taylor is a rookie, but already appears to have impressed his coaches. Jets head coach Aaron Glenn said before the game that Taylor deserved more playing time, and that's apparently materialized. The team doesn't have a viable WR2 right now, so someone else to throw the ball to would be nice.
Taylor could fit into a role nicely, though he won't face a defense as soft as the Dolphins each week. He might have a rough stretch in his next few games, but the talent that led to the team selecting him early in the 2025 NFL Draft could propel him to be a nice sleeper.
Isaiah Bond, WR, Cleveland Browns
The Browns are heavily in need of a legitimate top wide receiver. It appeared that WR Cedric Tillman (hamstring) could take that role, but he didn't produce much in his first four games and was knocked out of his Week 4 contest with a hamstring injury.
Tillman is now set to miss multiple weeks, which clears the runway for someone else to get significantly more targets. WR Jerry Jeudy has now been with the Browns for two seasons, and other than an explosion of production driven by gunslinger quarterback Jameis Winston, he hasn't impressed.
Isaiah Bond… what a catch on this dig route. pic.twitter.com/lPci7Grl7L
— Cam White (@RouteUniverse9) September 30, 2025
Bond is the only receiver the Browns have that's looked genuinely impressive, in my opinion, this season. He could give the struggling offense a shot in the arm if he keeps making excellent plays like the one above. He's been running nice routes and making very athletic catches.
ISAIAH BOND! #DAWGPOUND pic.twitter.com/wSxs1VzXwK
— SleeperBrowns (@SleeperBrowns) September 28, 2025
He doesn't have to be a world-beater to start getting significant target volume. Based on his play so far, it seems reasonable that the Browns could trust him more moving forward. They haven't gotten great play out of Jeudy, and his role and production haven't been impressive.
Bond went undrafted in 2025, but this was due to legal issues that are now resolved and didn't result in his conviction for any offense. Were that not the case, his talent would have likely made him a Day 2 pick. He produced very similarly to first-round receiver Matthew Golden at Texas last season before he got injured.
Bond should be added in all leagues. Their WR room is very murky right now and presents a promising scenario for a talented first-year player to emerge and become a viable fantasy starter.
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