Week 5 Waiver Wire: Who to Claim, What to Bid, and Who They Replace

Twelve players worth claiming this week, in the order we would claim them. Every name is rostered in under 30 percent of ESPN leagues, so you can actually get them, and every one is healthy as of this morning.

FAAB percentages assume a 100 dollar season budget.

The top three claims

1. Malik Washington, WR, Miami. 28 percent rostered. Bid 15 to 20 percent.

He is commanding 27.4 percent of Miami's targets, the largest share of any player available on any waiver wire. His target counts read 5, 5, 8, 7, and De'Von Achane is on injured reserve, which means Miami has lost its most efficient way to move the ball and has to throw.

This is the single best combination of role and availability in the league right now. Bid like you want him.

2. Chris Rodriguez Jr., RB, Jacksonville. 17 percent rostered. Bid 12 to 18 percent.

He has taken a red zone touch in every week of the season, which nobody else on the available board has managed, and his workload has grown from 4 to 5 to 7 to 6 touches. He also has two goal line carries.

Nothing about him is loud, which is why he is still there. Backs who touch the ball inside the twenty every single week score touchdowns eventually.

3. Tyler Allgeier, RB, Arizona. 28 percent rostered. Bid 12 to 18 percent.

Forty combined touches, red zone work in three of four weeks, and his first goal line carry last Sunday. The most total volume of any back you can still add.

Running back

Keaton Mitchell, Los Angeles Chargers. 18 percent. Bid 8 to 12 percent. Touches climbing every week: 4, 6, 11, 12. The honest note is that his red zone work went the other way in Week 4, so this is a growing role rather than a scoring one. Those usually converge.

Najee Harris, New York Giants. 8 percent. Bid 6 to 10 percent. He did not touch the ball in Week 1 and has gone 4, 9, 8 touches since, with three red zone touches last week. The trend and the field position are both pointing up.

Kaleb Johnson, Green Bay. 6 percent. Bid 3 to 5 percent. Steady 7, 6, 6 touches and a goal line carry in Week 4.

Chris Brooks, Green Bay. 8 percent. Red zone touches in three of four weeks. He and Johnson are in the same backfield, so claim one, not both.

Wide receiver

Tre' Harris, Los Angeles Chargers. 6 percent. Bid 6 to 10 percent. A 19.3 percent target share, second highest among available receivers, on a team that throws. Cheap for the role he has.

Keon Coleman, Buffalo. 4 percent. Bid 5 to 8 percent. 16.1 percent target share and a goal line target in Week 4. Buffalo's offense scores enough to make a secondary receiver useful.

Roman Wilson, Pittsburgh. 4 percent. Bid 3 to 5 percent. 17.4 percent target share, and two red zone targets last week. Aaron Rodgers threw 40 times in Week 4.

Tight end, where almost nothing costs anything

Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams. 2 percent. Bid 3 to 5 percent. A starting NFL tight end with 15 targets, available in 98 percent of leagues because he missed Week 2 and nobody checked again. If you are streaming the position, stop and claim him.

Michael Mayer, Las Vegas. 12 percent. Bid 5 to 8 percent. A 17.9 percent target share and eight targets in Week 4, which is a real number at a position where most starters see four.

Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh. 20 percent. Bid 5 to 8 percent. Goal line target in Week 4 and a 13.8 percent share.

Deep leagues and streamers

Foster Moreau, TE, Houston. 0 percent rostered. Four targets and a goal line look in Week 3. Free, and the position is thin enough that free matters.

Jacoby Brissett, QB, Arizona. 10 percent. Took two goal line carries himself in Week 3. Rushing quarterbacks have a scoring floor that pocket passers do not.

Laquon Treadwell, WR, Indianapolis. Under 1 percent. Six touches and two red zone targets in Week 4 after barely playing. Worth a look only in very deep formats.

How these were picked

We read the play by play rather than the box scores, which lets us see where on the field each carry and target happened. Touchdowns come from inside the twenty, that work is most of what separates a useful fantasy player from a replaceable one, and it does not appear in a standard stat line.

Everything above was then filtered three ways: the player has to be under 30 percent rostered so you can get him, healthy as of this morning, and his field position work has to be recent rather than banked in September.

Rostership from ESPN leagues, usage from the Week 1 through Week 4 play by play at ESPN. The full available player board is on our waiver wire page, and the goal line research behind these picks is in this week's deep dive.