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Time to Drop Ladd McConkey? Fantasy Football Week 5 Waiver Wire Outlook (2025)

Ladd McConkey - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Should I drop Ladd McConkey for fantasy football Week 5? Is Ladd McConkey a safe player to cut? Read the fantasy football waivers outlook.

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey has been one of the most disappointing fantasy assets this season.

After being selected in the late second round of most drafts, the young wideout has only been able to eclipse double-digit PPR points in one game and has averaged a modest 8.3 PPR points per game.

Should fantasy managers drop McConkey from their roster? Let's dive in!

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Should I Drop Ladd McConkey in Fantasy Football?

No, fantasy managers should not consider dropping McConeky. Even though he has failed to live up to his low-end WR1 projection, McConeky should remain or be rostered in all formats heading into Week 5.

Over his final 10 games of his rookie season, McConkey looked like the next emerging star wide receiver, averaging a dominant 17.6 PPR points per game with 88.4 yards and 5.8 receptions per game. However, this season, McConkey has only exceeded 50 receiving yards in one game and has only caught more than five passes in one contest.

Despite this, the Georgia product remains a clear target in the offense and has also continued to see a high target share. He has been targeted 6.8 times per game (27 total times) but has only been able to catch 16 of them. He has also logged 87% of the team's snaps, which is the most among Los Angeles wide receivers.

However, he has been greatly overshadowed by Quentin Johnston's Year 3 breakout and the re-emergence of veteran Keenan Allen.

 

Who Should I Pickup for Fantasy Football?

While fantasy managers should not consider dropping McConkey, they should look to target a WR on the waiver wire that offers a safer floor for the time being. While McConkey will eventually return to his high-end WR2 form, for now, he is best left as a low-end FLEX option.

Grene Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs has emerged as the top option in that passing attack, with Jayden Reed (collarbone) sidelined. Last weekend, Doubs enjoyed a career game, catching three touchdowns. While his yardage output is typically low, he is Jordan Love's go-to option in the red zone, which significantly raises his ceiling in comparison to McConkey.

Managers should also consider either Wan'Dale Robinson or Darius Slayton of the New York Giants as the top option in the offense with Malik Nabers (knee) sidelined for the remainder of the campaign. Given Jaxson Dart's impressive NFL debut, one of those options could emerge as a must-start WR3/FLEX by the end of the season.

However, given how often the Chargers have opted to pass the ball and McConkey's high target share, it is only a matter of time before he snaps this early-season slump and returns to his must-start status.

 

Who Should I Pickup Tool

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

Who Should I Pickup for Week 12?

Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to pickup...

Who To Pickup?
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Who Should I Pickup? Looking for a replacement? Some common 2025 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Brashard Smith, Jaydon Blue, Emari Demercado, Theo Johnson, Jayden Higgins, DeAndre Hopkins, Parker Washington. But not to worry, we are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2025. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2025. 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 pickup... all free! Make the right decisions.

2025 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on players like Brashard Smith, Jaydon Blue, Emari Demercado, Theo Johnson, Jayden Higgins, DeAndre Hopkins, Parker Washington. They are some of the most common searches for 2025 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 2025. 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 Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup

Looking for a replacement? Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2025 for Brashard Smith, Jaydon Blue, Emari Demercado, Theo Johnson, Jayden Higgins, DeAndre Hopkins, Parker Washington:

Theo Johnson
vs
Luther Burden III
Theo Johnson
vs
Andrei Iosivas
Theo Johnson
vs
Josh Downs
Theo Johnson
vs
Greg Dortch
Theo Johnson
vs
Juwan Johnson
Theo Johnson
vs
Dalton Schultz
Theo Johnson
vs
Devin Singletary
Theo Johnson
vs
Jayden Higgins
Theo Johnson
vs
Mike Evans
Theo Johnson
vs
Elic Ayomanor
Theo Johnson
vs
Parker Washington
Theo Johnson
vs
Tank Bigsby
Theo Johnson
vs
Kyle Monangai
Theo Johnson
vs
Brian Robinson Jr.
Theo Johnson
vs
Tez Johnson
Theo Johnson
vs
Blake Corum
Theo Johnson
vs
Tre Tucker
Theo Johnson
vs
Xavier Legette
Theo Johnson
vs
Tyler Allgeier
Theo Johnson
vs
Chris Godwin
Theo Johnson
vs
Colston Loveland
Theo Johnson
vs
Brenton Strange
Theo Johnson
vs
Tyjae Spears
Theo Johnson
vs
Harold Fannin Jr.
Theo Johnson
vs
Noah Fant
Theo Johnson
vs
Dawson Knox
Theo Johnson
vs
AJ Barner
Theo Johnson
vs
Brock Wright
Jayden Higgins
vs
Dalton Schultz
Jayden Higgins
vs
Elic Ayomanor
Jayden Higgins
vs
Greg Dortch
Jayden Higgins
vs
Tank Bigsby
Jayden Higgins
vs
Andrei Iosivas
Jayden Higgins
vs
Brian Robinson Jr.
Jayden Higgins
vs
Theo Johnson
Jayden Higgins
vs
Blake Corum
Jayden Higgins
vs
Luther Burden III
Jayden Higgins
vs
Xavier Legette
Jayden Higgins
vs
Josh Downs
Jayden Higgins
vs
Chris Godwin
Jayden Higgins
vs
Juwan Johnson
Jayden Higgins
vs
Brenton Strange
Jayden Higgins
vs
Devin Singletary
Jayden Higgins
vs
Harold Fannin Jr.
Jayden Higgins
vs
Mike Evans
Jayden Higgins
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Noah Fant
Jayden Higgins
vs
Parker Washington
Jayden Higgins
vs
Keaton Mitchell
Jayden Higgins
vs
Kyle Monangai
Jayden Higgins
vs
Jaleel McLaughlin
Jayden Higgins
vs
Tez Johnson
Jayden Higgins
vs
Michael Wilson
Jayden Higgins
vs
Troy Franklin
Jayden Higgins
vs
Darnell Mooney
Jayden Higgins
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Alec Pierce
Jayden Higgins
vs
Christian Watson
Jayden Higgins
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Jerry Jeudy
Jayden Higgins
vs
Jayden Reed
Jayden Higgins
vs
Tre Tucker
Jayden Higgins
vs
Roman Wilson
Jayden Higgins
vs
Sterling Shepard
Parker Washington
vs
Kyle Monangai
Parker Washington
vs
Mike Evans
Parker Washington
vs
Tez Johnson
Parker Washington
vs
Devin Singletary
Parker Washington
vs
Tre Tucker
Parker Washington
vs
Juwan Johnson
Parker Washington
vs
Tyler Allgeier
Parker Washington
vs
Josh Downs
Parker Washington
vs
Colston Loveland
Parker Washington
vs
Luther Burden III
Parker Washington
vs
Tyjae Spears
Parker Washington
vs
Theo Johnson
Parker Washington
vs
Isiah Pacheco
Parker Washington
vs
Andrei Iosivas
Parker Washington
vs
Chris Rodriguez Jr.
Parker Washington
vs
Greg Dortch
Parker Washington
vs
Jayden Reed
Parker Washington
vs
Dalton Schultz
Parker Washington
vs
Bhayshul Tuten
Parker Washington
vs
Jayden Higgins
Parker Washington
vs
Jerry Jeudy
Parker Washington
vs
Elic Ayomanor
Parker Washington
vs
Bam Knight
Parker Washington
vs
Michael Wilson
Parker Washington
vs
Troy Franklin
Parker Washington
vs
Darnell Mooney
Parker Washington
vs
Alec Pierce
Parker Washington
vs
Christian Watson
Parker Washington
vs
Xavier Legette
Parker Washington
vs
Chris Godwin
Parker Washington
vs
Roman Wilson
Parker Washington
vs
Sterling Shepard
Parker Washington
vs
Mack Hollins

More Waiver Wire Analysis



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