4 Wide Receiver Waiver Wire and Free Agent Pickups to Replace Malik Nabers

Losing Malik Nabers is tough for fantasy football players, but these five wide receivers to pick up off waivers can help.

Sep 14, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson (17) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the fourth quarter at AT&T Stadium. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

As we move forward from Week 4 and focus on Week 5, we have to take a look at the waiver wire. This week is a tough one to decide which wide receivers we want to prioritize on the wire. We are going to take a look and figure out who we need to be targeting. These are the top wide receiver waiver wire targets for Week 5. 

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickup Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans

The rookie wide receiver has taken over the WR1 role in Tennessee. Calvin Ridley has been essentially useless for fantasy owners, and Ayomanor continues to lead the way. In Week 4, Ayomanor saw seven targets to Ridley's three, although both only caught two passes, with Ayomanor totaling 44 yards and Ridley 32 yards. On the season, Ayomanor has caught 12 of 25 targets for 151 yards and two touchdowns, while Ridley has caught 10 of 24 targets for 141 yards and no TDs.

The issue has been that the Titans' offense has struggled to get going. If things improve as rookie quarterback Cam Ward continues to develop, Ayomanor could be a valuable asset in the back half of the season as the gap between the rookie and Ridley continues to grow.    

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickup Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers

Coker went down with an injury just prior to the start of the season and landed on injured reserve, causing him to miss the first four weeks of the season. Once he went down, the team brought back Hunter Renfrow, who they had previously cut to get their roster down to 53 players. Those four weeks are now past, and Coker is eligible to return in Week 5. He is expected to be a key piece of the Panthers' passing attack once he is active and joins the team. With Coker out, Renfrow caught 13 of 21 targets for 75 yards and two touchdowns through four weeks. Coker is a much better player and should not only see more targets than that, but also be much more productive with the opportunities he gets.  

Wan'Dale Robinson career game v. Cowboys
8 catches 142 yards 1 TD

-197 yards in 2025, 6th in NFL
-career high in yards
-2nd 100 yard game, 1st since rookie season
-3 deep catches matches career total! pic.twitter.com/SPwzoOwHvx

— Giants Nation Show (@GiantsNationPod) September 15, 2025

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickup Wan'Dale Robinson, New York Giants

With Malik Nabers expected to miss the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL, Robinson is expected to step up as the WR1 for the Giants, at least as far as targets go. There is a lot of fluidity and possibilities now that Jaxson Dart has taken over as the starting quarterback in New York. We really don't know who his guys will be with such a small sample size , considering not only his own performance on the field but also Nabers' absence from the field.   

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickup Darius Slayton, New York Giants

Slayton is another player who will be massively impacted by the loss of Nabers. He is better suited to directly fill Nabers' role, even if we don't expect him to see the same volume or be nearly as productive as Nabers simply because of the talent gap between the two players. In Week 4, Slayton was the team's leading receiver with three receptions for 44 yards. Again, this is a small sample size for both Dart being the QB and Nabers missing some time, but for now, it's all we've got. There is a chance that Slayton steps up and becomes a valuable fantasy asset for the remainder of the season. He's definitely worth a waiver wire pickup, and he's currently owned in almost no leagues.