Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 5: Top Free Agent Adds Include Romeo Doubs, George Pickens, Jahan Dotson, Corey Davis

October 4, 2022

Justin Carter's fantasy football wide receiver waiver wire pickups for Week 5 of the 2022 NFL season. His free agent WRs to add, stream and stash off waivers.

Week 4 was a fun week in the NFL. We got to see Bailey Zappe almost lead the Patriots to a win over the Packers, which is cool for me, a long-time Zappe fan dating back to his time at Houston Baptist University. We also got to see some big wide receiver performances, including DK Metcalf reminding us how good he is as he finished with 149 yards. Anyway, onto the reason you clicked on this link. Below, you'll find some wide receivers that you should be targeting on the fantasy football waiver wire ahead of Week 5.

Not all of these waiver wire options are the same. Some players may be better in PPR or deeper leagues, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all comparison. Use your best judgment when deciding which of these players is the right fit for your roster.

Be sure to also check out our Waiver Wire Adds for Week 5 for help at all the skill positions. All players on this list here are around 50% rostered or below.

Wide Receivers Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers - 69% rostered

If you decided not to pick Doubs up last week for some reason, here's a reminder to go pick him up this week. He shared the team lead in targets with Allen Lazard this week, as Aaron Rodgers looked their way eight times each. Lazard had a lot more yards, but Doubs finished with five catches for 47 yards and a touchdown.

We finally have a clear pecking order in Green Bay. Lazard and Doubs are the top two targets. And because we know what Aaron Rodgers can do with a football, his top-two options should be rostered everywhere.

George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers - 39% rostered

This is not a great week to need players off the waiver wire, so you should probably be pretty aggressive in trying to grab Pickens, if only because there aren't a ton more options who have his upside.

Pickens finished second on the Steelers in targets with eight, which was twice as many as Diontae Johnson. He caught six of those for a team-high 102 yards. Most of that production came in the second half with Kenny Pickett throwing the ball. If Pickett is named the starting QB in Pittsburgh, he and his fellow rookie Pickens might end up with a valuable rapport.

Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders - 51% rostered

Dotson finished tied with three players for fourth on the Commanders in targets this week. Dyami Brown had as many as him, and Dotson exited with a hamstring injury.

So, why mention him? Because he found the end zone again. Dotson now has four touchdown receptions and a two-point conversion this season. The rookie appears like he'll continue to get high-value looks from quarterback Carson Wentz.

Darnell Mooney, Chicago Bears - 56% rostered

Everyone has been dropping Mooney lately, and for good reason, as his best game coming into this week was a two-catch, 23-yard outing in Week 3. But Mooney finally had the kind of game you were expecting when you drafted him, catching four passes for 94 yards in Sunday's loss to the Giants.

I still don't feel confident in him, but Justin Fields was throwing the ball an abnormally low amount to start the year. The Bears' offense looked a little more normal this week, and it resulted in Mooney's best game of the season.

Corey Davis, New York Jets - 25% rostered

I was worried about Davis after he caught just two passes last week for 27 yards, but on Sunday, he had his third game of the year with over 70 receiving yards. His targets have varied wildly from game to game, but Davis is getting the ball enough to be rostered in 12-team leagues. You won't feel great starting him any week, but more often than not, he'll deliver a solid fantasy line.

Isaiah McKenzie, Buffalo Bills - 47% rostered

McKenzie might not be as safe a play as Cole Beasley was the last couple of years in this role, but he's now found the end zone in three of the four games this season. He's only had one game you would consider "good" from a yardage perspective and only one game with more than four catches, but assuming McKenzie's head injury he left with doesn't keep him out, he's a flex option in most formats.

Josh Reynolds, Detroit Lions - 20% rostered

The Lions were without their top two receivers, which is why Reynolds saw eight targets. He hauled in seven of them for 81 yards and a touchdown. Reynolds won't have a lot of value if Amon-Ra St. Brown and D.J. Chark are both back next week, but if even one of them is still out, then I think he's playable as a flex option in a Lions offense that has been shockingly competent.

Nico Collins, Houston Texans - 21% rostered

This is a standard-scoring exclusive, so 90% of you can just skip down to the deep league section of this piece, or can quit reading if you play in a 12-team PPR league.

Collins has at least 40 receiving yards in three consecutive games, but he also hasn't had more than four receptions in a game this season. The lack of usage zaps his value in PPR, but in standard, his ability to make a big reception makes him a little bit more intriguing.

Wide Receiver Deeper League Waiver Wire Pickups

Donovan Peoples-Jones, Cleveland Browns - 8% rostered

The volume in Cleveland probably isn't consistent enough for Peoples-Jones to be an option in shallower leagues, but he's an ideal player for a 14-team league: a talented receiver who can do good things when he gets opportunities. Sometimes in a deep league, you need someone who can deliver a really good game every so often, even if the offense he's in sometimes struggles so much that he's held without a catch.

Peoples-Jones was targeted nine times this week, catching five passes for 71 yards. He'll do this every two or three games. You can decide if you want to roster someone in this situation, but I personally think there's value here.

Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts - 5% rostered

Look, we know how the Colts receiving corps goes. Every week, someone new emerges, and then the next week disappears. It's been this way for years. Heck, in Week 2, Ashton Dulin had five catches for 79 yards, and now he has just three catches since.

But Pierce might be different. He was targeted six times this week, catching four passes for 80 yards. Last week, he was targeted five times. The rookie wideout has seen his role grow and he has the talent and draft capital for this to not just be another random Colts fluke.

Nelson Agholor, New England Patriots - 8% rostered

The Patriots are currently without quarterback Mac Jones, and then this week Brian Hoyer suffered a head injury, leading to Bailey Zappe taking over. Zappe was a prolific passer in college, but the Patriots kept things simple for him in Week 4. If he has to start, I'd expect some more pass attempts, but it's worth noting that of his 15 throws, three went Agholor's way. There's some appeal here if Jakobi Meyer is out again next week.

Jamal Agnew, Jacksonville Jaguars - 0% rostered

Last year, the Jaguars converted Agnew from defensive back to receiver because they were desperate for pass-catching options. This year, they solved the pass-catching woes by signing a bunch of guys, so they weren't going to need Agnew nearly as much.

Except, this week Agnew was targeted six times, catching four passes for 50 yards and a pair of touchdowns. This was probably a one-time thing since he had three targets all season coming into Sunday, but in a deep league where you're desperate at receiver, he's worth monitoring.

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Advice