Who Should I Drop for Week 5? Fantasy Football outlooks for Kyler Murray, Braelon Allen, Evan Engram, DeAndre Hopkins, Jerry Jeudy, Michael Penix Jr., Bryce Young, Tee Higgins, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Rashod Bateman.
Who Should I Drop? Who Should I Keep? Some of the most common Week 5 fantasy football cut candidates involve players like Kyler Murray, Braelon Allen, Evan Engram, DeAndre Hopkins, Jerry Jeudy, Michael Penix Jr., Bryce Young, Tee Higgins, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Rashod Bateman. 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 2025 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!
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to pickup...

Fantasy Football Drop Candidates
Read about fantasy football players to consider dropping for Week 5:
Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray completed 27 of his 41 pass attempts for 200 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions during Thursday's Week 4 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He also took two sacks and rushed for 41 yards.
While Murray impressed on the ground, leading Arizona in rushing yards, and did throw for two fourth-quarter touchdowns, his turnovers and sacks proved too costly as the Cardinals couldn't finish off their comeback effort Thursday night.
Murray has been one of the most consistent fantasy quarterbacks this season, albeit somewhat unimpressive. He continues to rank as a mid-to-high QB2 ahead of next week's game against the Tennessee Titans.
Braelon Allen, RB, New York Jets
New York Jets second-year running back Braelon Allen (knee) left Monday night's game against the Dolphins and has since been diagnosed with an MCL sprain that will likely land him on IR. Allen is expected to receive additional opinions, but if he is placed on IR, he'll miss at least four games.
Despite a fumble near the goal line, Allen had been running hard in the game, turning four carries into 26 yards. If Allen is indeed sidelined, the Jets will look to consolidate carries between Breece Hall and Isaiah Davis, making Hall a must-start for the foreseeable future and Davis an attractive option on waiver wires. In his limited action last season, Davis was the most efficient Jets running back, averaging nearly six yards per carry.
He has seen only 10 opportunities this year, through the air and on the ground, but he's turned that into over 50 yards, and at 220 pounds, he should not look out of place handling Allen's duties in short-yardage situations.
Michael Penix Jr., QB, Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. got back on track in Sunday's 34-27 win over the Commanders, completing 20 of his 26 passes for 313 yards and two scores. He did throw one interception as well and was sacked once.
The former first-rounder's 90.5 QBR for the game was a solid increase from the 71.3 rating he had going into the contest, and there was a marked improvement in the second-year quarterback's average yards per pass attempt, going from 6.1 in Weeks 1-3 to 12.0 in Week 4 (the highest of any QB).
While it was a great bounce-back performance after two down weeks, the 25-year-old draws Buffalo in Week 5 after the team comes out of their bye, and the Bills have limited opposing passers to 125.8 yards per game thus far, which is the fewest yards passing per game in the entire NFL, so fantasy managers may want to look elsewhere for streaming options the next time Penix takes the field.
Bryce Young, QB, Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young and the Panthers' offense were stifled in Sunday's 42-13 loss against the New England Patriots. Young was limited to just 150 yards on 18-of-30 passes and one touchdown while rushing for three yards on one attempt in Sunday's blowout loss.
After opening the game with a methodical 76-yard touchdown drive capped by a score to Tommy Tremble, the Panthers were unable to sustain drives, leading directly to 42 unanswered points by New England. The return of All-Pro cornerback Christian Gonzalez proved pivotal for a Patriots unit that had been vulnerable against the pass through the first three weeks. The former No. 1 overall pick was eventually benched late in favor of veteran QB Andy Dalton.
Young and the Panthers will now look for a desperately needed turnaround next week against a struggling Miami Dolphins defense, which currently ranks 27th in the league in total yards allowed.
Tee Higgins, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Rashod Bateman
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 Kyler Murray, Braelon Allen, Evan Engram, DeAndre Hopkins, Jerry Jeudy, Michael Penix Jr., Bryce Young, Tee Higgins, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Rashod Bateman.
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 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
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 Kyler Murray, Braelon Allen, Evan Engram, DeAndre Hopkins, Jerry Jeudy, Michael Penix Jr., Bryce Young, Tee Higgins, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Rashod Bateman:
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