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Week 5 waiver wire: players whose role grew in Week 4
AI-assisted. Written automatically from our model's own numbers with fixed templates; nothing is invented, and no language model adds facts. How this works.
These are the Week 5 waiver targets our data supports: players whose role grew in Week 4, ranked by position. Every line comes from usage we can count (targets, carries and pass attempts as a share of the team's total) and from our own model's projections; we have no roster-percentage source, so this is a list of risers, not an ownership screen. Players already projected as weekly starters in our Week 4 ranks are left out because they are unlikely to be on waivers.
Early edition. 14 of 16 Week 4 games are final; still to come: ATL at NO, DET at CAR. This page is rebuilt automatically after Monday night's game.
QB pickups
- Jalon Daniels (TB): threw 27 of 27 TB passes in Week 4 (100%) after 3% over Weeks 1-3; 148 yds, 1 TD.
- Tyson Bagent (CHI): threw 34 of 34 CHI passes in Week 4 (100%) after 9% over Weeks 1-3; 268 yds, 0 TD.
- Sam Darnold (SEA): threw 22 of 22 SEA passes in Week 4 (100%) after 35% over Weeks 1-3; 168 yds, 2 TD.
| Player | Usage share (latest week) | Usage share (prior weeks) | Projection (week played) | Our rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jalon Daniels TB | 100% of pass att | 3% | 11.8 | QB32 |
| Tyson Bagent CHI | 100% of pass att | 9% | 14.1 | QB26 |
| Sam Darnold SEA | 100% of pass att | 35% | 15.1 | QB23 |
Usage share: the player's share of his team's pass attempts in Week 4 vs. his Weeks 1-3 average. Projection and rank: our pre-game Week 4 half-PPR mean and positional rank.
RB pickups
- Braelon Allen (NYJ): carry share 22% (Weeks 1-3) to 100% in Week 4 (14 carries, 2 targets).
- Tank Bigsby (PHI): carry share 15% (Weeks 1-3) to 52% in Week 4 (14 carries, 1 target).
- Ollie Gordon II (MIA): carry share 22% (Weeks 1-3) to 50% in Week 4 (9 carries, 2 targets).
- RJ Harvey (DEN): carry share 9% (Weeks 1-3) to 32% in Week 4 (7 carries, 10 targets).
- Kyle Monangai (CHI): carry share 29% (Weeks 1-3) to 56% in Week 4 (30 carries, 1 target).
- Mike Washington Jr. (LV): carry share 16% (Weeks 1-3) to 35% in Week 4 (9 carries, 2 targets).
| Player | Usage share (latest week) | Usage share (prior weeks) | Projection (week played) | Our rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braelon Allen NYJ | 100% of carries | 22% | 9.0 | RB27 |
| Tank Bigsby PHI | 52% of carries | 15% | 2.3 | RB64 |
| Ollie Gordon II MIA | 50% of carries | 22% | 6.4 | RB36 |
| RJ Harvey DEN | 32% of carries | 9% | 7.1 | RB32 |
| Kyle Monangai CHI | 56% of carries | 29% | 7.3 | RB34 |
| Mike Washington Jr. LV | 35% of carries | 16% | 2.4 | RB63 |
Usage share: the player's share of his team's carries in Week 4 vs. his Weeks 1-3 average. Projection and rank: our pre-game Week 4 half-PPR mean and positional rank.
WR pickups
- Darius Cooper (PHI): target share 3% (Weeks 1-3) to 28% in Week 4 (7 of 25 targets, 3-33).
- Tyquan Thornton (KC): target share 7% (Weeks 1-3) to 30% in Week 4 (8 of 27 targets, 5-111).
- Ashton Dulin (IND): target share 1% (Weeks 1-3) to 21% in Week 4 (6 of 29 targets, 3-29); gained +0.7 half-PPR in our re-sim after Darius Slayton was ruled out.
- Carnell Tate (TEN): target share 26% (Weeks 1-3) to 43% in Week 4 (12 of 28 targets, 9-145).
- Laquon Treadwell (IND): target share 5% (Weeks 1-3) to 21% in Week 4 (6 of 29 targets, 5-42); gained +0.6 half-PPR in our re-sim after Darius Slayton was ruled out.
- Chris Godwin Jr. (TB): target share 12% (Weeks 1-3) to 27% in Week 4 (7 of 26 targets, 6-31).
| Player | Usage share (latest week) | Usage share (prior weeks) | Projection (week played) | Our rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darius Cooper PHI | 28% of targets | 3% | 1.8 | WR103 |
| Tyquan Thornton KC | 30% of targets | 7% | 3.8 | WR75 |
| Ashton Dulin IND | 21% of targets | 1% | 1.5 | WR111 |
| Carnell Tate TEN | 43% of targets | 26% | 6.7 | WR43 |
| Laquon Treadwell IND | 21% of targets | 5% | 5.1 | WR62 |
| Chris Godwin Jr. TB | 27% of targets | 12% | 3.9 | WR72 |
Usage share: the player's share of his team's targets in Week 4 vs. his Weeks 1-3 average. Projection and rank: our pre-game Week 4 half-PPR mean and positional rank.
TE pickups
- Brenton Strange (JAC): target share 13% (Weeks 1-3) to 35% in Week 4 (8 of 23 targets, 7-95).
- Colston Loveland (CHI): target share 10% (Weeks 1-3) to 29% in Week 4 (9 of 31 targets, 6-57).
- Oronde Gadsden II (LAC): target share 8% (Weeks 1-3) to 26% in Week 4 (8 of 31 targets, 5-36).
- Isaiah Likely (NYG): target share 28% (Weeks 1-3) to 41% in Week 4 (12 of 29 targets, 7-66).
| Player | Usage share (latest week) | Usage share (prior weeks) | Projection (week played) | Our rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brenton Strange JAC | 35% of targets | 13% | 6.5 | TE17 |
| Colston Loveland CHI | 29% of targets | 10% | 5.4 | TE23 |
| Oronde Gadsden II LAC | 26% of targets | 8% | 5.6 | TE22 |
| Isaiah Likely NYG | 41% of targets | 28% | 4.9 | TE24 |
Usage share: the player's share of his team's targets in Week 4 vs. his Weeks 1-3 average. Projection and rank: our pre-game Week 4 half-PPR mean and positional rank.
How this list is built
Usage shares are each player's targets, carries or pass attempts divided by his team's total in that game. Week 4 usage comes from: ESPN final box score, nflverse; Weeks 1-3 from nflverse player stats. A player makes the list when his Week 4 share rose clearly over his Weeks 1-3 average (receivers: +8 points of target share and at least 15% for WR, 12% for TE; backs: +12 points of carry share to 30%+, or +8 points of target share; quarterbacks: a new starter with 60%+ of the team's attempts) or when our re-simulation moved a ruled-out teammate's work to him. Projections are our pre-game Week 4 half-PPR means and ranks; Week 5 projections appear here once that model run is published. Rest-of-season projections are not shown: our model simulates one week at a time. One game is a small sample; treat a single-week jump as a lead to check, not a fact.
See the rankings and the start/sit tool for every player, and the news feed for injury-driven changes.
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