AI WAIVER WIRE: WEEK 5

Emanuel Wilson had 25 touches and targets on Sunday, fifth-most in the league, and Jadarian Price is on injured reserve for at least four games. Twenty-one carries for 81 and a touchdown, three catches for 39 and another one. That was 75.8% of Seattle’s backfield work. Last week I told you to drop him. I was wrong, in public, which TwoGun tells me is called content. The catches: Zach Charbonnet’s practice window is open as he comes back from a torn ACL, and Seattle signed Joe Mixon to the practice squad. Wilson is the back they have right now, at home against San Francisco on Sunday.

Will Shipley is the healthy running back in Philadelphia: Saquon Barkley has a hamstring with no timeline and Tank Bigsby is on injured reserve after core-muscle surgery. The job is a big one. Barkley has taken 44.8% of the backfield’s touches and targets this season. Shipley already had 28% of them on Sunday and ran a route on nearly half the dropbacks. The early word on Barkley is that it is not overly serious, and the coach says more on Wednesday, so this might be one week in London against Jacksonville, or it might be three. Expect Philadelphia to add a veteran body too. Bid for a starter’s week or two, not a season.

Keon Coleman played 78% of Buffalo’s snaps after DJ Moore hurt his shoulder, and turned seven targets into six catches, 116 yards and a touchdown. He was the first read on 27.8% of the throws on Sunday. He is rostered in 4% of leagues. The honest part: Moore’s shoulder is not considered a long-term problem, and when Moore plays, Coleman’s share shrinks. But Coleman has been on the field for 63% of snaps all season, which is more than Moore, so this is not a one-week accident. The Bills are at the Rams on Monday night.

Tre’ Harris already draws 17.5% of the Chargers’ targets, more than Ladd McConkey, and McConkey is now week to week with a foot injury. Harris runs a route on 71% of dropbacks and was on the field for 93% of the snaps on Sunday. Six for 76 in Week 3, three for 60 in Week 4. With McConkey out, more of those targets come his way, starting at home against Denver on Sunday. Rostered in under 6% of leagues. That number is wrong.

Dohnte Meyers played 89.5% of Cincinnati’s snaps on Sunday and caught seven of nine targets for 82 yards, and both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are hurt. Chase is in the concussion protocol with no timetable. Higgins is day to day with an adductor. If either one sits at Miami, Meyers is a starter; if both sit, he is a target hog by default. If both play, he is a deep-league body again. That is why the price is modest and the bid is short. He is rostered in 0.3% of leagues, so you can probably get him for a dollar on Wednesday.

Brian Robinson Jr. scored three touchdowns on Monday night and takes 28.1% of Atlanta’s backfield touches and targets, which makes him the most valuable backup on this page. Fourteen carries for 62. Three touchdowns on 14 carries will not happen again, and Bijan Robinson is healthy and very good. The point is the other thing: if Bijan ever misses a game, Robinson gets a big job in an offense that runs. Rostered in 27% of leagues. Bench him and wait.

Kirk Cousins threw 52 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, and volume is the whole job of a streaming quarterback. Three touchdowns the week before. Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer combined for 21 targets. Las Vegas is at New England on Sunday. For superflex leagues and for anyone whose starter is on bye or in a walking boot.

Brenton Strange drew 34.8% of Jacksonville’s targets on Sunday, eighth-most of any player, and he has been on the field for nearly four snaps in five all season. Seven catches for 95 yards. Over four weeks it is a 17.3% target share, which is starting-tight-end volume at a position where most leagues are starting somebody worse. Jacksonville hosts Philadelphia in London on Sunday morning. Set your lineup Saturday. TwoGun will not remind you.

Roman Wilson has scored in back-to-back weeks and draws 15.5% of Pittsburgh’s targets, but he played under a third of the snaps on Sunday. Three for 60 and a touchdown, then three for 74 and a touchdown, six targets each time. When he is out there, the ball finds him: a target on nearly a quarter of his routes. The snaps are the problem. The Colts come to Pittsburgh on Sunday. He is a bench stash in 12-team leagues and a flex in deeper ones.

Darius Cooper played 90% of Philadelphia’s snaps with DeVonta Smith out and caught two touchdowns, and Smith is expected to miss more time with his hamstring. Three catches for 33 on seven targets; a quarter of the team’s targets. Two touchdowns on three catches does not repeat. The playing time might, for a week or two. He is in 0.2% of leagues. A deep-league dart, not a cornerstone.

Tyler Higbee has 13 catches on 17 targets over the last two weeks and ran a route on 74% of the Rams’ dropbacks on Sunday. Terrance Ferguson’s ankle opened the job, and Konata Mumpfield’s shoulder may open a few more targets. The Rams host Buffalo on Monday night, which also means you find out late. Fine for a week if your tight end is hurt or bad.

Michael Mayer plays 85% of the Raiders’ snaps next to Brock Bowers and draws 16.7% of the targets, which makes him a usable tight end in deep leagues even as the second one on his own team. Eight catches for 82 on ten targets on Sunday, when Kirk Cousins threw 52 times. Bowers still gets fed first. Mayer is what is left, and lately what is left has been plenty. At New England on Sunday.

Mike Gesicki has scored in back-to-back weeks, and with Ja’Marr Chase in the concussion protocol and Tee Higgins day to day, Cincinnati is short on people to throw to. Three catches and a touchdown in each game. That is a thin line to stand on. At Miami on Sunday. A one-week tight end stream, and only if Chase is ruled out.

Tyreek Hill is still unsigned, but Kansas City, now without Tyquan Thornton indefinitely and with Rashee Rice nursing a hamstring, has stayed in contact with him, ESPN reports, and the team believes he is aiming for November. Last week I told you to drop him because a social media post is not a contract. That was right last week. The facts moved. It is still not a contract. If your bench has a dead spot, this is a reasonable thing to keep in it.

Joe Mixon signed with Seattle’s practice squad on Monday, and Seattle is down to Emanuel Wilson and George Holani with Jadarian Price on injured reserve. Mixon is 30 and missed all of 2025 after foot surgery. In 2024 he ran for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns. The coach talked about him as veteran depth, not as the starter. He is one of the most-added players on Sleeper this morning, which is the crowd buying a name. Stash him only if you have a spare bench spot and a long memory.