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Who Should I Drop for Week 5? Fantasy Football outlooks for Josh Jacobs, Michael Pittman Jr., Chris Godwin Jr., Marshawn Lloyd, Kenyon Sadiq, Jadarian Price, Jordyn Tyson, Justin Herbert, Brian Thomas Jr.
Who Should I Drop? Who Should I Keep? Some of the most common Week 5 fantasy football cut candidates include players like Josh Jacobs, Michael Pittman Jr., Chris Godwin Jr., MarShawn Lloyd, Kenyon Sadiq, Jadarian Price, Jordyn Tyson, Justin Herbert, and Brian Thomas Jr. However, don't worry, we are here to help you make the right waiver wire decisions and winning moves for Week 5. Once you decide who to drop, find your optimal fantasy football pickups for Week 5 of the 2026 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Pickup? tool helps make your fantasy football waiver wire decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to add... all free!
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Fantasy Football Drop Candidates
Read about fantasy football players to consider dropping for Week 5:
Jadarian Price, Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks rookie running back Jadarian Price (chest) missed his first of at least four games after being placed on injured reserve with a chest injury, and in his absence, veteran Emanuel Wilson racked up 120 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Chargers.
While still not expected to play in Week 5, Zach Charbonnet (knee) has had his practice window opened after beginning the year on the physically unable to perform list, and the Seahawks were briefly tied to two-time Pro Bowler Joe Mixon before the results of his physical caused them to alter course.
All told, Seattle's backfield has the potential to become a mess for fantasy purposes, and with Price unable to take hold of the primary role in his three games of action, he becomes all the more difficult to trust upon his eventual return. For now, he is only worth stashing in deeper 12-team leagues with IR spots.
Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. was a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and racked up 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie, but he has fallen into a smaller role in coach Liam Coen's offense for the last two seasons and has become a drop candidate in standard-sized fantasy leagues.
Thomas has only totaled nine catches for 105 yards and a touchdown through the first four games of the season, playing well behind WRs Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers and ranking fourth on the team in targets behind TE Brenton Strange as well. Thomas only had three targets in the last two weeks combined, and his reduced role makes him hard to trust unless there is an injury or he is traded to a new team with more targets available.
He still has the skills to give him upside and is on the field, but he's not getting enough targets right now to be an option you have to hold on to in standard-sized leagues.
Jordyn Tyson, New Orleans Saints
The eighth overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Jordyn Tyson (hamstring) has yet to make his professional debut as he recovers from a hamstring injury. While the 22-year-old is technically eligible to return from Injured Reserve in Week 5, Tyson is reportedly still multiple weeks away from being healthy enough to play.
Still, recent reports indicate that Tyson is making good progress and should be back on the field at some point in the middle of the season. Tyson was a highly productive pass-catcher in his final two collegiate seasons at Arizona St., recording over 1,800 receiving yards and 19 total touchdowns.
In deeper leagues or league formats with IR spots, fantasy managers may want to consider stashing Tyson now and holding him until his eventual return.
Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs remains on the commissioner's exempt list after pleading no contest to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property in a case stemming from a May domestic-violence incident, and although his time on the exempt list could equal time served in any potential suspension from the NFL, the 28-year-old's stash value in fantasy football leagues continues to fall with each passing day he is not with the team.
Green Bay's running game has struggled mightily in Jacobs' absence through the first four weeks of the 2026 season, as they rank dead last in the NFL with just 58.0 rushing yards per game.
They have gone with a committee approach involving MarShawn Lloyd, Kaleb Johnson, and Chris Brooks (ankle), but nobody has really stood out so far. Jacobs, who has four 1,000-yard rushing seasons in his seven years in the league, cannot be outright dropped in most fantasy leagues, but managers are surely losing patience as he wastes a bench spot.
Right now, he is rostered in 74% of Yahoo leagues, and he is fully expected to return to lead-back duties in Green Bay whenever he is allowed to rejoin the team.
MarShawn Lloyd, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd got off to a relatively slow start this season, but he seems to have turned the corner after the first four weeks. Lloyd is coming off his highest-volume game this year, as he played 55% of the snaps and logged 12 touches (including five catches) in Week 4 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His rushing numbers were quite poor, averaging just 1.9 yards per carry.
However, he was much more valuable as a receiver, turning his five targets into five receptions for 36 receiving yards. The Packers have been looking for someone to separate themselves from the rest of the backfield ever since Josh Jacobs was placed on the commissioner's exempt list, and it seems like they have finally found their new lead running back, even if he looked better as a receiver than a ball-carrier.
Lloyd is still a very solid waiver wire target, especially since he has RB3/flex appeal from now until Jacobs' return. He has managed to rank as the overall RB36 in PPR scoring this fall and can be a low-end fantasy starter for Week 5 against Chicago. Those in shallower formats can cut ties with Lloyd in favor of higher short-term options.
Who Should I Pickup Tool
Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire instead? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here.
Week 5 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on finding replacements for specific players like Will Shipley, Ollie Gordon II, T.J. Hockenson, Emanuel Wilson.
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's name. In the second box, search for the second player's 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.
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 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 Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
Once you decide who to drop, find your optimal fantasy football waiver wire replacements. Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for Week 5 for Will Shipley, Ollie Gordon II, T.J. Hockenson, Emanuel Wilson:
More Waiver Wire Analysis
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