Another week of fantasy football chaos is now in the books, turning the focus now onto Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season. With a full month of data at hand, fantasy football managers can now feel comfortable narrowing down a list of drop candidates.
Whether due to injuries, frustrating performances or a slow start to the year, Week 5 is typically when fantasy football managers begin hitting the open market the most. Expect nothing less in 2025, particularly given the hectic start to the year.
The Week 5 waiver wire figures to be the most chaotic of the year to date. All players who began the season on injured reserve are now eligible to return, with several suspensions also set to end. A handful of players have already returned and will be atop the priority list once waivers clear.
This drop list will not include obvious drop candidates who will miss the rest of the season due to injury. It will also not include short-term injury replacements, including Marcus Mariota or Jake Browning.
Before most leagues clear waivers on Wednesday, consider cutting the following players if making roster changes.
WR Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns
Cedric Tillman was somewhat of a revelation in 2024, and he got off to a strong start to the 2025 NFL season. However, with Tillman landing on IR with a hamstring injury, it is time for fantasy football managers to cut ties.
The Browns have not provided an exact return timeline for Tillman, and hamstring injuries are notoriously difficult to predict. Regardless, he has not done enough to warrant holding onto, even in leagues that permit an IR spot.
Since posting five catches for 52 receiving yards and a touchdown in Week 1, Tillman has been virtually invisible. He has garnered just 12 catches in the last three weeks to tally a mere six catches, 54 receiving yards and one touchdown since Week 2.
At best, Tillman is the second or third option in a dismal passing offense. Even if the Browns make the switch to Dillon Gabriel, there is not a lot to look forward to when he returns.
RB Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots
Rhamondre Stevenson has felt like he has been operating on borrowed time from the start. He has managed to hold onto the Patriots' RB1 role through four weeks, but his window seems to be quickly shutting.
After a two-fumble disaster in Week 3, Stevenson appeared destined for a demotion. However, head coach Mike Vrabel denied that notion, and Stevenson remained in the Week 4 starting lineup. He still struggled with efficiency and was out-gained in total yards by rookie TreVeyon Henderson.
One month into the year, Stevenson is averaging just 4.0 yards per carry and has been an effective pass-catcher in just one of the Patriots' four games. He can only hold off Henderson for so long, and these performances are not going to cut it long-term.
The Patriots demolished the Carolina Panthers in Week 4, but Stevenson barely topped 40 yards against a subpar run defense. His ceiling is essentially 10 touches per game as the head of a three-man backfield, and even that seems like a stretch.
New England has given him as much time as it could, but this will be Henderson's backfield sooner or later. Stevenson is not as worthy of a roster spot as Bhayshul Tuten, Woody Marks, Ollie Gordon II or Chris Rodriguez Jr. are.
WR Tyquan Thornton, Kansas City Chiefs
It has been an incredible ride, but the Tyquan Thornton redemption arc appears to be over. He certainly delivered for fantasy football managers who invested in him early, but the train has clearly reached its stop.
After three consecutive weeks as the Chiefs' de facto WR1, Thornton fell back to Earth in Week 4. With Xavier Worthy active for essentially his first game of the year, Thornton received just two targets, catching one of them for 11 yards. His lone catch was a touchdown, salvaging some value, but the writing is clearly on the wall.
With Worthy back in the lineup, Thornton's usage plummeted. He went from playing over 70 percent of the offensive snaps in each of the previous three games to just 34.2 percent in Week 4.
Kansas City also changed Thornton's position to compensate for Worthy. In Week 4, Thornton took 29 snaps at wideout and just three in the slot. But in Week 5, he took just three snaps on the outside, as opposed to 14 in the slot, according to Pro Football Focus.
Worthy's return has clearly diminished Thornton's role, but it is about to get even smaller. Rashee Rice's suspension will be lifted in Week 7, giving Thornton just two more games before he gets pushed further down the depth chart.
WR Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints
Nothing is aligning for Rashid Shaheed in 2025. Despite being one of the most electric downfield threats in the league, the Saints are struggling to get him the ball in space, where he is most effective.
Shaheed immediately seemed like the player who would be hurt most by Derek Carr's retirement, and that has proven true on the field. Carr is a risk-taker, but without him, the Saints lack the ability to get him the ball downfield. Spencer Rattler is not willing to sit in the pocket long enough, nor does he have the accuracy to consistently make those plays.
Shaheed can still get loose on any given play, but his fantasy football value is extremely dependent on those unreliable moments. With Rattler under center, he is diminished to a frustratingly volatile boom-or-bust option, and it has been nearly all busts through four games.
Unless your waiver wire is completely barren of receivers, there are better options out there. Elic Ayomanor, Troy Franklin and Malik Washington have much more sustainable season-long outlooks.
RB Nick Chubb, Houston Texans
Outside of leagues that count nostalgia as fantasy football points, Nick Chubb is no longer an asset in 2025. His comeback story has been inspiring, but this is not the situation for him to thrive in.
Chubb has not been the same player since he suffered a gruesome knee injury in 2023, but it does not matter. Behind arguably the worst offensive line in the NFL, even Barry Sanders would have a difficult time producing.
If Chubb was going to have a vintage moment, it would have been Week 4. Everything aligned for him to produce, as the Texans dominated a hopeless Titans team to collect their first win of the year.
Yet, despite the positive game script and the favorable matchup, Chubb could only churn out 47 rushing yards on 13 carries. The dismal numbers drop him to 4.0 yards per carry on the year.
Touchdowns are coming at a premium in this offense, and Chubb is virtually non-existent in the passing game. There is nothing to like about this situation, especially with rookie Woody Marks slowly cutting into his workload.
Even with Joe Mixon's mystery injury keeping him on the mend, Chubb is not worth a roster spot.
Other drop candidates
RB Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs
RB Rico Dowdle, Carolina Panthers
WR Calvin Ridley, Tennessee Titans
WR Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings
WR Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders
WR Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts
WR Darnell Mooney, Atlanta Falcons
TE Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens
TE Jonnu Smith, Pittsburgh Steelers
TE Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
