Week 5 Waiver Wire Rankings - Fantasy Football Pickups Include Woody Marks, Romeo Doubs, Darius Slayton, Kenneth Gainwell, Justice Hill, Kendre Miller

September 30, 2025

Fantasy football waiver wire rankings for Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season. Top free agent options to add off waivers, and our rankings will help you prioritize.

Incredibly, Week 5 is already here as the 2025 NFL regular season continues to fly by. Injuries continue to pile up as New York Giants star wide receiver Malik Nabers is expected to miss the season after suffering a torn ACL in Sunday's win over the Chargers. At RotoBaller HQ, we are back with more fantasy football advice to help replace Nabers and others with our updated Week 5 fantasy football waiver wire rankings for Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season. Nick Mariano has ranked the top 80 free agent options to help you prioritize who to add off the waiver wire.

Several players still have low roster percentages and could have an immediate impact on fantasy teams in 2025. Is Woody Marks Houston's primary running back after rushing for 69 yards on 17 attempts and a touchdown while adding four receptions for 50 yards and an additional score against the Titans? Is Darius Slayton, Wan'Dale Robinson, or Jalin Hyatt the Giants' No. 1 wide receiver with Nabers likely out for the season? Did Kenneth Gainwell earn more touches after racking up 134 total yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's win over Minnesota?

We have answers to these questions and will guide you with our top 80 fantasy football waiver wire pickups list for Week 5. Time to go make some moves, tweak your fantasy teams, and grab some waiver wire stashes. Good luck, RotoBallers!

Who To Pickup for Fantasy Football Week 5?

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

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlooks

Some of the top names include Woody Marks, Kenneth Gainwell, Romeo Doubs, Justice Hill, and more.  We recap why these players rostered under 55% in Yahoo! leagues should be on your waiver wire radar for Week 5.

Woody Marks, RB, Houston Texans
Week 5 Waiver Wire Rankings: 1

Houston Texans running back Woody Marks posted a huge game versus the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. Marks has been watching his role increase each week, but got a huge opportunity this weekend. The rookie back rushed 17 times for 69 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He wasn't finished there as he hauled in four of his five targets for 50 yards and another score.

This was an awesome performance by Marks, but fantasy managers shouldn't expect this every week. Marks figures to continue splitting up the backfield duties with Nick Chubb. The rookie back is certainly worth rostering after this performance, but his ceiling is currently limited.

Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 5 Waiver Wire Rankings: 2

With Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren (knee) inactive on Sunday, Kenneth Gainwell performed well in the lead role, putting up 134 total yards and two touchdowns in a win against the Minnesota Vikings. Crucially, Gainwell was a highly involved pass catcher who saw a team-high six targets, all of which he caught, for 35 yards.

He added 99 rushing yards on 19 carries and a pair of touchdowns, a well-rounded day for managers who made him a late addition to their starting lineups. But with Pittsburgh on a bye in Week 5 and Warren likely to be back, Gainwell will likely return to the No. 2 role when the Steelers are back in action.

Justice Hill, RB, Baltimore Ravens
Week 5 Waiver Wire Rankings: 30

Baltimore Ravens running back Justice Hill had three carries, 76 rushing yards, five catches, 41 receiving yards, and two total touchdowns during Sunday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Baltimore lost by three possessions and also watched Lamar Jackson (hamstring) leave with an injury, so it's fair to say that Hill's big game was one of the lone bright spots. He probably won't be able to replicate his big outing next week, especially since one of his touchdowns came on a 71-yard rush in garbage time.

However, his general involvement and productivity indicate that he could still be in line for a larger role going forward. Hill played more than 50 percent of the snaps in Week 3 and has 11 catches over his last three games. Last season, he scored at least 11.5 fantasy points (PPR) in one-third of his contests. Moving forward, he should be viewed as a mid-to-low RB4 with RB3 upside in PPR leagues.

Romeo Doubs, WR, Green Bay Packers
Week 5 Waiver Wire Rankings: 4

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Doubs caught six of eight targets for 58 yards and three touchdowns in Sunday's 40-40 tie against the Dallas Cowboys. The 25-year-old led the Packers in targets and exploded for three scores in Sunday's tie. Doubs has seen at least four targets in three of the last four games and topped 50 receiving yards for the second time this season.

Green Bay spreads the ball around and relies on the ground game to make Doubs a weekly option. However, with the recent solid production and his knack for finding the end zone, Doubs is a great pickup for fantasy managers who need receiving help or have just lost Nabers. The Packers have a bye in Week 5 but draw an excellent matchup the following week against the Cincinnati Bengals. Rostered in only 39% of Yahoo Fantasy leagues, Doubs should be on the fantasy radar, especially with the tasty matchup against the Bengals on tap.

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:

More 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 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.

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