2026 season

Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

Wilson has the job, and a clock. Claim him Wednesday.

By the WaiverWire crew. Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Week 4 put three backfields in play: Seattle, Philadelphia and Chicago. Seattle and Philadelphia come with a clock. Chicago comes with a mystery.

Points are half-PPR. Share prices are Tuesday's board. Claims run Wednesday morning. If a name went in the first eight or nine rounds, assume he's rostered.

The 20-second version

Emanuel Wilson, RB, SEA. FAAB $12. Exchange $6.08. Lead back, one clock.
Kyle Monangai, RB, CHI. FAAB $9. Exchange $9.48. 30 carries, 146 yards.
Will Shipley, RB, PHI. FAAB $8. Exchange $2.45. Cut to $3 if Barkley practices in full Wednesday.
Keon Coleman, WR, BUF. FAAB $6. Exchange $6.63. Lower because we won't know Moore's status until Thursday.
T.J. Hockenson, TE, MIN. FAAB $4. Exchange $6.24. 13 targets.

The reasons are below.

Last week's book

Ranked five: 1 hit, 2 pushes, 2 misses. Both misses are on us. How we count: a hit is when the points arrived (roughly 12 or more in half-PPR), a push is when the role held but the points didn't, and a miss is neither.

Off the ranked list, where we were wrong:

Drake Maye. We said drop him. He scored 27.2.
MarShawn Lloyd. We called him a shallow-league fade. He played 55% of the snaps (up from 23%) for 7.4.
Isaac TeSlaa. We said wait for the snaps. They came: 82%, 8 targets, 11.5 points. The rule worked, but waiting cost us a week. He's on this week's list at $3.

Where we were right: Omarion Hampton, the hold (12.3 points), and Quentin Johnston, the sell (4.5 points).

The ranked five, misses first:

Miss: Kenyon Sadiq, our number one. Played through a back injury, 0 for 4 on targets.
Miss: Keenan Allen. Ruled out Saturday with a groin injury, before the London kickoff.
Push: Braelon Allen. 94% of the snaps, 14 carries, 59 yards, 7.7 points. The Jets ran just 32 plays.
Push: Keaton Mitchell. 37% of the snaps, 10 carries, 8.8 points.
Hit: Ollie Gordon. 56% of the snaps, 100 yards, a touchdown, 17.0 points.

The secondary three went 0 hits, 1 push, 2 misses. All eight names: 1 hit, 3 pushes, 4 misses.

Buy: ranked claims ($100 FAAB)

1. Emanuel Wilson, RB, SEA. FAAB $12. Exchange $6.08.
The usage: 60% of the snaps, 21 carries for 81 yards, 3 catches for 39 more, two touchdowns, 25.5 points.
The clock: Jadarian Price is on IR for at least three more games. Zach Charbonnet's practice window opened last Thursday, but Seattle says he won't be activated this week. George Holani took 37% of the snaps, so this is a lead role, not a monopoly.
If you saw that Seattle signed Joe Mixon, that was Monday night, before his physical. Seattle decided not to sign him afterward and added Robert Henry Jr., an undrafted rookie with no NFL games. Wilson has one clock, not two.
Pick 168 on our board, so check your league. San Francisco at Seattle, Sunday 4:25pm ET.

2. Kyle Monangai, RB, CHI. FAAB $9. Exchange $9.48.
The usage: 54% of the snaps, 30 carries, 146 yards, two touchdowns, 27.5 points.
The mystery: he took nearly every carry after D'Andre Swift fumbled, and Chicago says Swift wasn't benched. We don't know why Swift disappeared, and that's the risk. His thumb is day-to-day.
Pick 134 on our board, so check your league. Bears at Green Bay, Sunday 1pm ET.

3. Will Shipley, RB, PHI. FAAB $8. Exchange $2.45.
The usage: 47% of the snaps, 6 carries, 23 yards, 2.3 points, splitting the work with Tank Bigsby after Barkley left.
The opening: Bigsby is headed to IR and Barkley's hamstring is week-to-week, so he's unlikely Sunday. Shipley is the only healthy back on the 53, but three practice-squad backs could be elevated.
The bid: $8 now. If Barkley practices in full Wednesday and your claim hasn't run, cut it to $3. The share prices him like a handcuff, and Jacksonville is 3-1, so claim for the opening, not the box score.
Pick 170 on our board. Eagles at Jacksonville, Sunday 9:30am ET in London, so set him early.

4. Keon Coleman, WR, BUF. FAAB $6. Exchange $6.63.
The usage: 78% of the snaps, 7 targets, 6 catches for 116 yards, a touchdown, 20.6 points after D.J. Moore left in the second quarter.
The bid: Moore has now gone down with this shoulder twice and Coleman produced both times, so the role isn't the question. His availability is, and Buffalo plays Monday night, so we won't know until Thursday. You're bidding Wednesday without the answer, and that's why he's $6 and not more.
Pick 168 on our board, so check your league.

5. T.J. Hockenson, TE, MIN. FAAB $4. Exchange $6.24.
The usage: 13 catches on 13 targets, 119 yards, 18.4 points, 83% of the snaps, with Justin Jefferson out.
The caution: a week earlier he had 4 targets and 2.1 points, and Jefferson may be back Sunday. Claim him for the targets, not the touchdown.
Pick 162 on our board, so check your league. Vikings at New Orleans, Sunday 1pm ET.

If those five are gone

In this order. All are Wednesday-morning claims.

RJ Harvey, RB, DEN. FAAB $3. Exchange $9.62. 45% of the snaps, 10 catches on 10 targets, 14.3 points. Pick 141. Broncos at Chargers, Sunday 4:05pm ET.
Dohnte Meyers, WR, CIN. FAAB $3. Exchange $4.77. 90% of the snaps, 9 targets, 11.7 points. His role shrinks if Chase or Higgins plays. Bengals at Miami, Sunday 1pm ET.
Michael Mayer, TE, LV. FAAB $3. Exchange $8.64. 88% of the snaps, 10 targets, 12.2 points. The alternate if Hockenson is gone. Raiders at New England, Sunday 1pm ET.
Isaac TeSlaa, WR, DET. FAAB $3. Exchange $8.11. 82% of the snaps, 8 targets, 11.5 points. Lions at Arizona, Sunday 4:25pm ET.
Darius Cooper, WR, PHI. FAAB $2. Exchange $6.10. 90% of the snaps and 7 targets, but the 16.8 points came from two touchdowns on three catches, so they overstate the role. Same London kickoff as Shipley.
Antonio Williams, WR, WAS. FAAB $1. Exchange $5.13. A watch, not a play. 69% of the snaps (up from 41%), 8 targets, 3.6 points, and a long touchdown wiped out by a penalty. A third-string rookie quarterback threw most of the game. Pick 170. Giants at Washington, Sunday 1pm ET.

Also on the board

Still on the wire: Braelon Allen. FAAB $8. Exchange $6.23. 94% of the snaps with Breece Hall week-to-week. Hold him if you have him.
Injury dart: Tre' Harris, WR, LAC. FAAB $2. Exchange $7.74. 93% of the snaps, 5 targets, 7.5 points. Ladd McConkey is likely out Sunday.
Kicker: Dominic Zvada, K, NYG. FAAB $1. Exchange $8.91. 9 for 9 on field goals, 14.0, 12.0 and 8.0 in his last three. Giants at Washington, Sunday 1pm ET.
Not chasing: Tyreek Hill. A free agent coming off a knee injury with a November target. No team has signed him, and Kansas City is on bye.
Not chasing: Keaton Mitchell. The lists have him near the top, but he, Omarion Hampton and Kimani Vidal each played 35% to 37% of the snaps, so nobody owns the job.

Trade for / buy the dip

Trey McBride, TE, ARI. Exchange $13.08, down from $15.37. 97% of the snaps and 12 targets, but only 31 yards and 6.6 points. Updated projection 13.5 a game. Cardinals host Detroit Sunday at 4:25pm ET, so the window closes at kickoff.
Garrett Wilson, WR, NYJ. Exchange $11.79, down from $14.61. 100% of the snaps, 4 targets, 4.2 points, after 13 targets and 21.7 points the week before. Updated projection 10.8 a game. Jets host Cleveland Sunday at 1pm ET.
Ja'Marr Chase, WR, CIN. Exchange $10.33, down from $13.85. Concussion, day-to-day, re-check Wednesday, Week 6 bye. Updated projection 14.8 a game. We don't have a clearance, so this is a window for managers who can wait.

Sell / Drop

Tank Bigsby, RB, PHI. IR, out four to six weeks. Use an IR spot if you have one. If not, cut him.
Tyquan Thornton, WR, KC. Dislocated ankle, out 12 to 16 weeks. If you added him after his 25.6-point game, move on.
Kenyon Sadiq, TE, NYJ. Hold him only if you have no better tight end. Hockenson and Mayer both had more targets, and his back is still an issue.

On the Exchange

Shipley at $2.45 is the share to look at if you're trading rather than claiming. The risk is Barkley coming back sooner than reports say. Wilson moved from $4.60 to $6.08 after his 25.5-point week, and Charbonnet's return is what would take it back.

See the board

For the group chat

Emanuel Wilson. $6.08. Charbonnet isn't back this week. Claim him Wednesday.

Earnings Season: Week 5

Ten questions went up at noon. Estimates lock Sunday at 1pm ET. Thursday and the 9:30am London game aren't on the slate.

Make your estimates

Open Field

Challenge a friend head-to-head for Week 5. Every player locks at his own kickoff, so you can keep swapping the rest of your roster until the last game you care about starts.

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