10 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets Heading Into Week 5

Which waiver-wire additions should you make ahead of Week 5?

Here are some of the best pickups you can make for your squads this week. (I'll stick to players rostered on no more than 60% of Yahoo teams and also list some other viable pickups who may be available in shallower leagues or relevant only in deeper leagues).

Quarterbacks
Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers

Roster Percentage: 28%

Week 5 isn't a great week for streaming quarterbacks. If Jameis Winston is healthy enough to play in a home matchup with the Seattle Seahawks, he's the top choice. But if Winston can't go, Jimmy Garoppolo is a fine fall-back option in a date with the Carolina Panthers.

Jimmy G's fantasy goodness is typically capped by a run-heavy San Francisco 49ers offense, but the Niners might have to lean on the pass a little more than usual versus Carolina. The Panthers have been stingy against the run, ranking seventh-best by our schedule-adjusted numbers, and have profiled as a pass-funnel D early in the season.

Depending on your league rules, you might be able to scoop up Garoppolo now prior to the Niners' Monday night game. If you have to wait until waivers run Tuesday night, check on the early-week news for Winston and go from there.

Others to Consider:
Jameis Winston (36%; vs. Seahawks), Ryan Tannehill (17%; at Commanders), Zach Wilson (10%; vs. Dolphins), Teddy Bridgewater (2%; at Jets)

Running Backs
Raheem Mostert, Dolphins

Roster Percentage: 50%

Raheem Mostert has become the main man in the Miami backfield.

He played 73% of the snaps in Week 4 and has now out-snapped Chase Edmonds in three consecutive games. Mostert amassed 15 carries last week, which he turned into 69 yards, and added 2 grabs for 12 yards. Edmonds, meanwhile, got just seven total touches.

Mostert's season-long fantasy output would look a lot better if he had gotten into the end zone this season. He got stuffed on two goal-line carries in Week 4, but the touchdowns will come if this kind of usage sticks.

Playing at the Jets in Week 5, Mostert has RB2 appeal and needs to be rostered everywhere.

Tyler Allgeier, Falcons

Roster Percentage: 16%

News broke Monday afternoon that Cordarrelle Patterson was headed to IR, and that makes Tyler Allgeier one of the week's top adds.

With Patterson's work scaled back in Week 4, Allgeier played 44% of the snaps while Caleb Huntley was in on 22% of the plays. Allgeier saw 10 rushing attempts and gained 84 yards, tacking on 1 catch for 20 yards. Huntley finished with 10 carries for 56 yards and a score.

Both backs need to be picked up this week. Allgeier is my preference between the two.

Mike Boone, Broncos

Roster Percentage: 1%

Javonte Williams exited early on Sunday, and the fears are that he suffered a serious knee injury, per early reports. That should push Melvin Gordon into the lead role, and it will also create an opportunity for Mike Boone.

Boone got decent run once Williams departed, playing 33% of the snaps, and he racked up 3 carries and 3 targets. Gordon was in on only 19% of plays and spent some time in the medical tent.

Time will tell how the usage shakes out between Boone and Gordon. It's possible Gordon -- if healthy -- serves as a workhorse back. But it's also possible Boone carves out a meaningful role.

Boone is worth adding ahead of Week 5.

Rachaad White, Buccaneers

Roster Percentage: 27%

Leonard Fournette has been a little off this season, and we're starting to see more and more of Rachaad White.

White played 39% of the snaps in Week 4, setting a new season-high clip. He totaled 3 carries and 5 targets, recording 50 yards as a receiver and punching in a short rushing touchdown. He played two full drives in each half.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in a negative game script pretty much all night, so White's receiving volume might be a little bloated. But the whole offense looked much better with Tom Brady's best weapons back out there.

Fournette is still the lead guy and probably will be for the foreseeable future, but White is a high-upside bench stash whose arrow is pointing up with Fournette struggling.

Others to Consider:
Nyheim Hines (62%), Brian Robinson (54%), Kenneth Walker III (47%), D'Onta Foreman (11%), Eno Benjamin (10%), Latavius Murray (1%), Caleb Huntley (0%)

Wide Receivers
Jahan Dotson, Commanders

Roster Percentage: 51%

Editor's note: After this article was published, reports broke that Dotson is likely to miss a couple of weeks due to injury.

Jahan Dotson just keeps making plays, and he has an appealing role in the Commanders' offense.

He leads Washington's skill guys in snap rate for the season (91%). In the first three quarters in Week 4, Dotson ran a route on every Washington pass play. I specified the first three quarters because Dotson left the field in the fourth with a hamstring injury, but it doesn't sound too serious.

Dotson has scored a tuddie in three of four games this year, which is obviously an unsustainable pace, but he is playing a ton in an offense that figures to be in plenty of negative game scripts.

George Pickens, Steelers

Roster Percentage: 39%

George Pickens, another rookie receiver, has played at least 70% of the snaps each week. That makes him worthy of a bench spot.

For Pickens to become WR3 material, either the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense needs to improve and/or one of Diontae Johnson or Chase Claypool needs to miss time. The Steelers' offense might be turning to Kenny Pickett for the rest of the campaign, so there's a chance Pittsburgh's attack gets a shot in the arm.

With Pickett coming off the bench in Week 4, Pickens had his best game of the year, going off for 6 catches and 102 yards on 8 targets. There's a lot of upside here if things break a certain way for Pickens, and he's just the kind of player I want to have on my rosters.

Kadarius Toney, Giants

Roster Percentage: 27%

Kadarius Toney has missed the last two games due to injury, and that's led to him being dropped in a lot of leagues. He is going to have a chance to be the New York Giants' number-one receiver when he gets back to full health.

Richie James faceplanted in the number-one receiver role on Sunday, making one reception for nine yards.

We know Toney is talented. He ranked 11th in yards per route run (2.14) last season among all wideouts, per PFF. He has the upside to be a true fantasy difference-maker, and he should get steady volume once he's back.

Others to Consider:
Romeo Doubs (67%), Isaiah McKenzie (47%), Jakobi Meyers (43%), Michael Gallup (41%), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (31%), Jameson Williams (28%), Rondale Moore (19%)

Tight Ends
Hayden Hurst, Bengals

Roster Percentage: 21%

A consistent name on the injury report early in the year, Hayden Hurst's role has been a little all over the place through four games. Here are his snap rates by week: 73%, 81%, 40%, and 56%.

It's hard telling how much of his volatile role is due to him not being 100% or whether it's more game script-related. Hurst has played 76% of the snaps in losses and 40% in wins so far this season. Whatever the case, Week 5 sets up well for him.

After playing on Thursday last week, Hurst has an extra-long break to get healed up ahead of a showdown with the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are 3.0-point favorites in a game with a 47.5-point total, so the game could play out perfectly for Hurst to be on the field a hefty amount.

He makes a lot of sense as a tight-end streamer this week.

Others to Consider:
David Njoku (73%), Tyler Conklin (42%), Robert Tonyan (32%)

Defenses
New England Patriots D/ST

Roster Percentage: 39%

There are several waiver-wire D/STs you can make a case for this week. I think a handful of them are about equal, so I wouldn't drop much FAAB on one.

The New England D/ST gets a home date with the Detroit Lions. Yes, the Lions' offense has been really good so far in 2022. But in my eyes, this is Jared Goff against Bill Belichick. I want to be on the Belichick side.

We just saw Belichick's defense give Aaron Rodgers fits for large parts of the game in Week 4. This defense should be able to make some noise against Goff and company, especially if D'Andre Swift and Amon-Ra St. Brown are missing once more.

Others to Consider:
Denver D/ST (70%; vs. Colts), New Orleans D/ST (54%; vs. Seahawks), Minnesota D/ST (41%; vs. Bears), Jacksonville D/ST (12%; vs. Texans)