Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups Highlighted by Woody Marks, Darius Slayton, Elic Ayomanor

If your fantasy football league has been slow to hit the waiver wire, expect that to change real soon.

Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season is the first to feature byes, as the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers all have the week off. Combine that with the seemingly perpetually growing injury list, and we're left with a great possibility that your roster has at least one open spot in need of covering.

If you're in need of that relief, the waiver wire might have exactly what you need. The following three players (all rostered in fewer than 70 percent of Yahoo leagues, per FantasyPros) all offer plug-and-play potential now and the chance to keep producing moving forward.

Elic Ayomanor, WR, Tennessee Titans (31% Rostered)

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Tennessee's offense laid a goose egg in Week 4, which underscores the risks of trusting a pass-catcher in a struggling offense led by a rookie quarterback. And yet, there are reasons to believe Ayomanor's upside makes him worth the risk.

Namely, he's the most involved playmaker in this passing attack.

The seven passes sent his way Sunday pushed his target total to a team-best 25. That's a top-40 mark in the entire league (tied for 37th), and the volume alone could steer him toward at least fantasy-streamer relevance. And should his connection with Cam Ward sharpen—in Weeks 2 and 3, Ayomanor converted his 11 targets into eight receptions for 94 yards and two scores—then the rookie fourth-rounder could enter the fringe-starter conversation.

Ayomanor might be a little ways away from delivering consistent production, but this could be a good week to deploy him. The Titans are set to lock horns with an Arizona Cardinals defense allowing the seventh-most receiving yards to the position, per NFL.com.

Woody Marks, RB, Houston Texans (31% Rostered)

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With Joe Mixon still stuck on the sideline, opportunity has been knocking for the Texans other running backs for a while. Marks just answered it in the most convincing fashion to date.

The rookie fourth-rounder, who had been deployed sparingly over the first three weeks, suddenly handled featured duties on Sunday. And based on the way he performed, he won't be giving them back any time soon.

Marks gouged the Titans for 69 yards and a score on 17 carries, plus he added another 50 yards and a touchdown through the air. Entering Monday night, he's the fifth-highest fantasy scorer among running backs this week.

If Houston entrusts him with a similar workload in Week 5, he could be even more productive. He's set to tussle with a Baltimore Ravens defense allowing the most fantasy points to running backs—by a not insignificant margin.

Darius Slayton, WR, New York Giants (2% Rostered)

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It is, unfortunately, next-man-up time in New York. With Giants star receiver Malik Nabers potentially lost for the season, it'll be a quick scramble to identify a new go-to target for rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.

Slayton seems as logical of a candidate as anyone.

The seventh-year veteran paced the team in receiving yards Sunday (44) while grabbing three of the four passes sent his way. Reliability could be what gives Slayton the edge over Wan'Dale Robinson. While Robinson has managed to snag two-thirds of his targets (18-of-27), Slayton has hauled in three-fourths of his (9-of-12).

Slayton also has a proven track record of stepping up in this same scenario. He appeared in two games that Nabers missed last season and finished those contests with a combined 14 receptions on 22 targets for 179 yards and a score.