The 2024 fantasy football season has been one like no other. With so many players injured, the waiver wire is more important than ever. Here are the top 10 players to add off the Week 5 waiver wire. All roster percentages are taken from Yahoo.
Who Are The Top Waiver Wire Options for Fantasy Managers to Target?
As a caveat to this list, please understand that I am aware I cannot possibly account for the individual team needs of everyone reading this. If you have five viable wide receivers, but only one startable running back, you should probably prioritize the running back.
Consider this the order in which fantasy managers should add these players assuming their roster is full of holes and needs the best players available, regardless of position.
1) Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Green Bay Packers (13%)
Perhaps you are like me. You drafted Dontayvion Wicks in many leagues but dropped him after he had zero catches in two of his first three games. You’re certainly kicking yourself now. I know I am.
Wicks is this week’s top waiver wire add because of his upside. Most waiver adds are fill-in running backs or floor-based wide receivers. Not Wicks.
With Christian Watson out, Wicks operated as a staple in three-receiver sets. He commanded 13 targets, catching five for 78 yards and two touchdowns. He ran a route on 80% of Jordan Love’s dropbacks.
We know the talent is there. He just needs the opportunity, which now might be there as well. There’s a chance when Watson returns and Wicks goes back to being an unstartable rotational piece. But fantasy managers don’t have the luxury of waiting. Grab Wicks now and bet on the talent.
2) Xavier Legette, WR, Carolina Panthers (14%)
I will be the first to admit I wasn’t super high on Xavier Legette as a prospect. A five-year college player who didn’t break out until his super senior year? That’s gonna be a no from me, dawg.
While I will fade those types of players almost every time, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t change our opinion based on new evidence. Legette played 87% of the offensive snaps in his first game following Adam Thielen’s hamstring strain. He ran a route on 88% of Andy Dalton’s dropbacks and caught six passes for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Xavier Legette's FIRST career TD!
📺: #CINvsCAR on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/x8NFnvD1fY— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2024
I have no idea if he’s the real deal. But he’s a rookie without a proven, capped ceiling. What if he’s an outlier? That’s a gamble worth taking.
3) Kareem Hunt, RB, Kansas City Chiefs (35%)
NFL teams often go with what they know. It’s why old veterans will often play ahead of young, unproven rookies. The Kansas City Chiefs did not roster Kareem Hunt when the season started because they trusted Isiah Pacheco. But with Pacheco out, the same trust just isn’t there in Carson Steele.
It took Hunt all of one game to wrest the lead-back role away from the rookie fullback. Hunt carried the ball 14 times for 69 yards while also adding two receptions for 16 yards through the air. He led the backfield in snaps in his first game active.
Do not delude yourself into thinking 2017 Hunt is ever coming back. But if he’s getting 15 opportunities a game, he’s going to be startable.
4) Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, New York Giants (26%)
Here is your classic safe, floor play waiver pickup. I don’t mean that to diminish Wan’Dale Robinson’s value. I have plenty of teams (read: all of them) that could use Robinson’s production every week, especially with bye weeks coming up.
The reason Robinson isn’t higher is because of the lack of upside. But the floor has been really nice and really useful.
Robinson has now scored 9.8 fantasy points in every game this season. On Thursday night against the Dallas Cowboys, he caught 11 passes for 71 yards. Inefficient? Yes. Useful? Also, yes.
Robinson is the clear WR2 for the New York Giants and needs to be rostered in far more leagues.
5) Justin Fields, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers (31%)
Most weekly quarterback waiver wire recommendations are glorified streamers. Justin Fields is more than that. He’s been a QB1 in the past and is trending that way once again this season.
You won’t see many high-scoring Pittsburgh Steelers games. When we do, though, Fields will deliver. Against the Indianapolis Colts, he threw for 312 yards, ran for 55, and accounted for three total touchdowns (two on the ground).
With QB scoring down across the board, Fields doesn’t need to do much to be a QB1. He’s scored 19.4 and 31.9 fantasy points in his past two games. You won’t find many quarterbacks with that sort of upside on the waiver wire.
A big-time throw from Justin Fields to George Pickens.
I could watch this over and over. pic.twitter.com/mxlYAb0YAP
— Daniel Valente (@StatsGuyDaniel) September 30, 2024
6) Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts (20%)
It feels like the quality of Josh Downs’ rookie year kind of got lost in the shuffle. That was only compounded when he opened the season inactive due to a sprained ankle.
Downs was a good prospect. He was good in college. He was good as a rookie. And through two games this season, he’s been good again.
It's just two games,,, but ooooh boy that Josh Downs per-route data is lookin prettyyyy prettyyyy prettyyyyy pretty good! pic.twitter.com/SIPww8imRS
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) September 30, 2024
It certainly helped that Joe Flacco took over for Anthony Richardson, but Downs’ usage was really encouraging. He caught eight of nine targets for 82 yards and a touchdown. Perhaps Adonai Mitchell had a chance to claim the WR2 role while Downs was out. But that clearly did not happen.
Things may not be quite as good if Richardson can return quickly. Regardless, Downs’ role and talent profile commands the attention of fantasy managers.
7) Tank Bigsby, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars (11%)
There has been a whole lot of weirdness surrounding Travis Etienne Jr. since the start of the season. The snap share has been there each of the first three weeks, but the carries have not. Etienne has carried the ball 11-13 times in every game. By contrast, he had 12 games of 14+ carries in 2023.
Tank Bigsby certainly benefits from being the other guy in this backfield. However, his performance cannot be ignored. He’s averaging 8.2 yards per carry and looks like a completely different player than the disaster we saw last season. Dare I say he looks better than Etienne?
Last week, Etienne missed a chunk of the first quarter with a shoulder injury. While he ultimately returned, it’s a reminder of how close Bigsby is to being the Jacksonville Jaguars’ lead back. He may not have any stand-alone value, but Bigsby is one of the top handcuffs in the league.
8) Romeo Doubs, WR, Green Bay Packers (40%)
If you need a weekly plug-and-play option, Romeo Doubs probably belongs higher on this list. I am ranking him down here because I don’t see much in the way of upside.
Doubs is who he is. There will be games where he catches seven passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. But most games will be what he’s done this season, scoring single-digit fantasy points each week.
Nevertheless, the Green Bay Packers’ four-man rotation is now down to three. Doubs played 86% of the snaps last week and led the team in routes run. He certainly deserves a spot on fantasy rosters.
9) Tucker Kraft, TE, Green Bay Packers (4%)
I really didn’t know where to slot in the top tight end pickup. Fantasy managers are starved for productive tight ends. Through four weeks, there quite literally is not a single one that has been productive every week.
Point-chasing is generally a bad idea. Yet, it’s the go-to strategy at tight end. Tucker Kraft caught six of nine targets for 53 yards and a touchdown, adding a two-point conversion for the always popular “octopus.”
Kraft played 65 snaps to Luke Musgrave’s 25. There is no TE battle. There is no rotation. It’s Kraft’s job. With Jordan Love back, Kraft has TE1 upside for needy fantasy managers.
10) Jordan Whittington, WR, Los Angeles Rams (3%)
I really like Jordan Whittington. He’s only this low because his value has an expiration date. Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua are going to return, but Whittington should have at least two more games without either of them in the lineup.
The Los Angeles Rams have reached the inexorable conclusion that Tyler Johnson shouldn’t be on the field. They are now running a three-receiver set of Demarcus Robinson, Tutu Atwell, and Whittington, with the rookie playing the Nacua role.
Whittington saw eight targets, catching six for 62 yards in a tough matchup against the Chicago Bears. He played 97% of the snaps.
We don’t know what Whittingon’s ceiling is, but it’s that uncertainty that makes him appealing. Fantasy managers in need of short-term production to cover injuries and bye weeks should consider adding Whittington.