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Week 5 fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Darren Waller, Isaiah Davis, Malik Washington in 2025. Read their waiver wire outlooks for fantasy football.
There was a significant fantasy fallout following their Monday Night Football contests between the AFC East divisional foes, the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets.
The Jets lost running back Braelon Allen to a knee injury, and the Dolphins lost Tyreek Hill to a significant knee injury for the remainder of the season.
So, should you pick up Waller, Davis, and Washington in your fantasy football leagues for Week 5 of 2025? Let's dive in.
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Darren Waller Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered: 15% of Leagues
Baller Move: Add in most leagues
The Dolphins acquired Darren Waller in the offseason after trading Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Waller missed the first three games of the season due to a lingering hip injury.
Despite missing time, Waller looked like his former self in his return to action. In their victory over the New York Jets, Waller caught three of his four targets for 27 yards and two touchdowns. Waller made his mark in the red zone as he was clearly Tua Tagovailoa's go-to option.
While Waller had a role when Hill was still on the field, once he left, Waller emerged as the potential No. 2 option in the passing attack, outside of Jaylen Waddle.
Even though Waller logged only 25% of the team's snaps in his team debut and Julian Hill saw 70%, Hill caught only one of his two targets, and it appears Waller is the primary receiving tight end. As he continues to move past this injury, fantasy managers should expect him to take on an even larger role in the offense.
Seeing him draw four targets and especially high-upside targets in the red zone, logging only a quarter of the team's snaps, makes Waller an intriguing tight end to target on waivers as he could carve out a role in the offense. With Hill slated to miss the remainder of the season, outside Waddle and running back De'Von Achane, Waller does not face tough target competition.
He is worth adding in all 12-team leagues and in Week 5, and should be viewed as a primary target if you need a tight end.
he’s still got it 🔥
NYJvsMIA on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/vEisZimFZU— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2025
Isaiah Davis Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered: 1% of Leagues
Baller Move: Add in 12-14+ Team PPR Leagues
The other major injury on Monday night was to the Jets' No. 2 running back Braelon Allen, who exited in the second quarter with a knee injury. Before leaving, Allen logged our careers for 26 yards but lost a circle fumble at the goal-line.
However, with Allen exiting early, the team's No. 2 option, Isaiah Davis, was able to see a more prominent role. While Breece Hall still dominated the backfield, Davis was able to log three carries and scored two targets. However, he was not very effective with them, tallying just nine yards on the ground and bringing in both catches for 18 yards.
Hall was very effective on the ground, tallying 81 yards on only 14 carries and adding 30 yards on his five receptions (six targets).
While Davis should be in store for a larger role, fantasy managers should not expect this role to be prominent. On Monday evening, Hall saw 63% of the team's snaps in a game that the Jets were trailing in, which does not bode well for the pass-catching specialist Davis. Even though the Jets were trailing, they still looked to feature Hall in the backfield.
As a result, Davis is best left for 14+ team PPR formats as a deep-league stash option. He is not expected to hold much standalone value outside of positive game scripts in which the Jets need to push the ball downfield.
Malik Washington Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered: 5% of Leagues
Baller Move: Add in 12+ team PPR leagues
The other potential beneficiary from the Hill injury is Miami's No. 2 WR, Malik Washington. While Waller stole the headlines on Monday evening and appears to be the frontrunner to claim the No. 2 role in the passing attack, Washington could find a prominent role in the offense.
During their victory over the Jets, Washington caught two of his three targets for 13 yards. Through four games this season, Washington has only seen five or more targets twice and has averaged just 2.0 receptions per game with 11.8 yards per game.
However, with Hill out of the lineup, Washington figures to be the favorite to slide into the No. 2 WR role, as veteran Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has continually had a depth role and is not expected to surpass him on the depth chart.
Last season, Washington had a minimal role in Miami's offense in his NFL debut, seeing only six or more targets in just one game, and finishing his season with 26 catches for just 223 yards.
While managers should not rush to add Washington on the waiver wire, he is a name to monitor in deeper formats as he could slowly grow into a significant role opposite of Waddle. For now, he is best left for 14+ team 3-WR formats and is not worth adding in any shallower leagues.
It certainly seems we are about to find out if Jaylen Waddle is ready to be WR 1
Without Tyreek Hill, Miami would lean more on Darren Waller and Malik Washington
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) September 30, 2025
Who Should I Pickup Tool
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Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
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