Who Should I Pickup for Week 5? Fantasy Football waiver wire outlooks for Marquise Brown, Matthew Stafford, Luther Burden III, Michael Carter, Brashard Smith, Isaiah Davis, Josh Downs, Emari Demercado, Zavier Scott, Sam Darnold.
Who Should I Pickup? Who Should I Stream? Some of the most common Week 5 fantasy football waiver wire decisions involve players like Marquise Brown, Matthew Stafford, Luther Burden III, Michael Carter, Brashard Smith, Isaiah Davis, Josh Downs, Emari Demercado, Zavier Scott, Sam Darnold. However, don't worry, we are here to help you make these waiver wire decisions and make winning moves for Week 5. Add your optimal fantasy football pickups for Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season. 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 add... all free! Get your winning waiver wire pickups set.
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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football waiver wire outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider adding off waivers in Week 5:
Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 29 of 41 pass attempts for 375 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions during Sunday's Week 4 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Heading into the Sunday night window with just three games left to be played, he leads all quarterbacks this week in passing yards and fantasy points. The big game was enough to remind fantasy managers that he's a viable option for your starting lineups despite his lack of rushing upside.
He picked apart a Colts defense that had been very good entering Week 4, and he should continue to find success heading into a divisional battle against the San Francisco 49ers, who recently lost Nick Bosa (knee) for the year. Stafford is a fringe top-12 fantasy quarterback going forward.
Luther Burden III, WR, Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III has had limited opportunity so far through four games, but has made the most of them. He's caught seven of eight targets for 99 yards and a touchdown on the year, with most of that coming in Week 3 against Dallas when he caught all three targets for 101 yards and a touchdown.
He strangely has negative receiving yardage in two of the other three games, but has looked explosive in his time on the field. His snap share hasn't risen to a very interesting level quite yet, sitting at 25.2% for the season. His snap share unfortunately didn't tick up in Week 4 after his breakout Week 3 game, but patience is to be encouraged with Burden.
There are still plenty of mouths to feed in Chicago, but Burden is talented enough to emerge as a factor in Ben Johnson's offense. He's a great stash candidate until things change.
Michael Carter, RB, Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals "could turn to (running back) Michael Carter as their lead back" if running back Trey Benson (undisclosed) misses time, according to Theo Mackie of azcentral.com. Benson is currently considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Carter played in his first game of 2025 in Week 4 against the Seattle Seahawks, recording one carry for one yard. Emari Demercado served as the team's RB2 behind Benson against Seattle, but he is considered a passing-downs specialist. Carter played in three games for the Cardinals in 2024, logging 35 carries for 131 yards and a touchdown.
Pending further updates on Benson's status for Week 5, Carter could be a player to add in deeper leagues ahead of Arizona's Week 5 matchup against the Tennessee Titans.
Brashard Smith, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
After seeing the heaviest involvement of his young career, Kansas City Chiefs rookie running back Brashard Smith could be in line for additional touches. A day after Sunday's win over the Ravens, head coach Andy Reid told reporters that offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is trying to increase Smith's reps each week while putting him in a position to succeed.
A converted wide receiver, Smith's ability to make plays in space was on display Sunday, as he averaged 10 yards after the catch on his three receptions. With neither Isiah Pacheco nor Kareem Hunt doing much to capitalize on what has been a near 50/50 split through four weeks, Smith could easily see his snap share increase.
Having seemingly earned his coaches' trust, his big-play ability could make him flex-worthy in a pinch, especially if the staff goes out of its way to design plays for his unique skillset.
Isaiah Davis, RB, New York Jets
New York Jets running back Isaiah Davis drew a slightly larger workload in Monday night's 27-21 loss to the hosting Miami Dolphins after backfield mate Braelon Allen (knee) exited with injury.
Davis wasn't a factor on the ground - churning out just nine yards on his three carries - but he took over Allen's work in the passing game (2/18), and again eclipsed the 100-yard mark as a returner (108). The Jets leaned on teammate Breece Hall for the most part, but if Allen were to miss any extended time, then Davis would take over as the primary handcuff to own.
The South Dakota State alum probably won't garner enough work to be useful for fantasy with Hall in front of him. Still, he's a decent flex play in leagues that award points for return yards, especially against better offenses. Since taking over the duties in Week 2, he's racked up 323 yards on 11 returns.
Who Should I Pickup Tool
Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here.
2025 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Marquise Brown, Matthew Stafford, Luther Burden III, Michael Carter, Brashard Smith, Isaiah Davis, Josh Downs, Emari Demercado, Zavier Scott, Sam Darnold. These are some common searches for 2025 fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
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
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2025 for Marquise Brown, Matthew Stafford, Luther Burden III, Michael Carter, Brashard Smith, Isaiah Davis, Josh Downs, Emari Demercado, Zavier Scott, Sam Darnold:
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