Weekend Waiver Wire Rankings for Week 5: Fantasy Football Pickups for Will Shipley, Keaton Mitchell, Dameon Pierce, Tyreek Hill, Tre Tucker, Roman Wilson, Mike Gesicki, more

October 10, 2026

Updated weekend fantasy football waiver wire rankings for Week 5 of the 2026 NFL season. Top fantasy football free agents and streamers to add off waivers including Roman Wilson, Tyreek Hill, Damien Pierce, Keaton Mitchell, and Tyler Higbee.

Hey RotoBallers! We have finalized our waiver wire rankings ahead of Week 5 for any last-minute pickups that could help your team or potentially add a high-upside bench stash. Most waivers have run by now, so it's always smart to scout the waiver wire and add a player to stream or bolster your roster. Below are the top 85 weekend waiver wire rankings to help you prioritize who to pick up in Week 5.

As injury updates come in throughout the week and roster percentages rise as players are picked up, we adjust our waiver wire rankings, which you can find below. See where key waiver wire pickups such as Will Shipley, Keaton Mitchell, Dameon Pierce, Tre Tucker, Roman Wilson, Dohnte Meyers, Mike Gesicki, and Tyler Higbee rank below.

These Week 5 waiver wire rankings are updated by Nick Mariano, RotoBaller's lead fantasy football analyst and forecaster. If you're not familiar, he brings you his weekly waiver wire rankings and priority adds for the top 85 options to consider across positions and league sizes. Good luck in Week 5!

Who To Pick Up for Fantasy Football Week 5?

Quarterbacks (QB) and Defenses (D/ST) are grouped together at the bottom of the list:

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlooks

Dameon Pierce, RB, Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles running back Dameon Pierce, who was promoted from the practice squad to the active 53-man roster this week due to injuries to both Saquon Barkley (hamstring) and Tank Bigsby (abdomen), could have a significant role in Philly's backfield going forward, according to Zach Berman of The Athletic. "He's an NFL starting running back. Maybe wouldn't have said that when he was on our practice squad publicly, because of the fear of losing him. But he's an NFL starting running back.

Excited for his opportunity," head coach Nick Sirianni said of Pierce. The 26-year-old was originally a fourth-round pick by the Houston Texans in 2022 from Florida. He had 220 rushing attempts for 939 yards and four touchdowns in 13 starts in his rookie campaign but could never find his footing in Houston after that. He played in only five games last year with Houston and the Kansas City Chiefs and had just 14 carries for 36 yards combined. Pierce will have an opportunity with the Eagles this Sunday in London against the Jacksonville Jaguars, making him worth deep-league waiver consideration at the position, but Will Shipley should see most of the backfield work with Barkley unavailable.

Roman Wilson, WR, Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Roman Wilson's fantasy football stock continues to rise on Thursday after head coach Mike McCarthy announced that receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (foot) will be out for multiple weeks after aggravating a foot injury, according to Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. In the team's loss to the division-rival Cleveland Browns last Thursday night, the 25-year-old Wilson caught three of his six targets for 74 yards and his second touchdown of the 2026 season.

Wilson has now found the end zone in back-to-back weeks and has exactly six targets in each of the team's first four games. With Pittman now in line to miss multiple weeks, Wilson should see even more targets from veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has voiced multiple times that he has plenty of trust in Wilson. He has already eclipsed the 166 receiving yards that he had in 13 regular-season games last year and matched the two touchdowns he scored. Wilson is only rostered in 13% of Yahoo leagues and will be a sneaky flex option for fantasy managers in deeper leagues this weekend against the Indianapolis Colts.

Keaton Mitchell, RB, Chargers

Los Angeles Chargers running back Keaton Mitchell has seen his usage increase week over week, and in Sunday's close loss to the Seahawks, he led all Chargers backs with a 36.6% snap share. Mitchell, Omarion Hampton, and Kimani Vidal all saw at least 25 snaps on Sunday, signaling a potential shift to a true committee approach.

Over four weeks, both Mitchell and Vidal have been more efficient than the more highly touted Hampton while seeing more involvement in the passing game, though none can currently be relied on as a weekly fantasy start. However, with Mitchell having the most obvious big-play ability and earning more trust from the coaching staff each week, he's a Week 5 waiver target with long-term upside.

Tyreek Hill, WR, Free Agent

Free-agent wide receiver Tyreek Hill (knee) took the stand in his assault and battery civil trial on Thursday and denied allegations that he ever physically abused his estranged wife while also saying he was "deeply ashamed" for having threatened his wife's safety by saying he was "able to get people to hurt her," according to ESPN's Xuan Thai. The NFL is reviewing Hill's personal conduct, and his agent said that Hill could be close to negotiating a new NFL contract after recovering from knee surgery that ended his final season with the Miami Dolphins early in 2025.

Reports have suggested that Hill is most likely to rejoin the Kansas City Chiefs, who are on bye in Week 5, after they drafted him in the fifth round in 2016 out of West Alabama. Hill repeatedly denied abusive behavior and claimed most of their disagreements surrounded financial concerns he had with respect to a post-nuptial agreement that he claims she would not sign. It remains to be seen if Hill will face any discipline from the league if he signs with a new team, but for now, with his return to the NFL potentially coming soon, the Cheetah is worth stashing, especially if he rejoins the Chiefs and head coach Andy Reid. The 32-year-old eight-time Pro Bowler has six 1,000-yard seasons, including a league-high 1,799 receiving yards in 2023 with Miami.

Tyler Higbee, TE, Rams

Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee has become a useful waiver option for managers who need help at the position. He caught five of six targets for 67 yards in Sunday's win over Philadelphia, giving him 13 catches for 129 yards and a touchdown on 17 targets over the last two games. Just as importantly, the volume held up with Puka Nacua back in the lineup. Terrance Ferguson is now on injured reserve with a medial ankle sprain, leaving Higbee with a clearer path to targets for at least the next few weeks. RotoBaller has him third among its Week 5 tight end waiver options and recommends adding him in 12-team PPR leagues. Higbee is not a set-and-forget TE1, but six more targets against Buffalo would make him a usable streamer. At a position where reliable volume is hard to find, he is worth a claim for managers who need short-term help

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

Who Should I Pickup Tool

Trying to decide who to pickup 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 Will Shipley, Jordyn Tyson, Damoen Pierce, Dohnte Meyers, Tyler Higbee, Malik Washington, Tre Tucker, Emmett Johnson, Mike Gesicki, Antonio Williams, Brenton Strange, Keaton Mitchell, Tyreek Hill, Austin Ekeler, Adonai Mitchell, Kendre Miller, Ted Hurst, Jacoby Brissett, Kirk Cousins, Jameis Winston, and Michael Penix Jr. 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: Dameon Pierce, Keaton Mitchell, Tyreek Hill, Tyler Higbee, 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. First, enter the player names 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 that 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 2026? 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 :

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