2025 IDP Waiver Wire for Week 5
Welcome to the IDP Waiver Wire For Week 5!
As if IDP managers didn’t already have enough problems.
There were already injuries to deal with. In Sunday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith left with a hamstring injury. Jacksonville Jaguars edge-rusher Travon Walker injured his wrist against the San Francisco 49ers. Tampa Bay Buccaneers edge-rusher Haason Reddick suffered a shoulder injury against the Philadelphia Eagles.
There are also disappointing players. A month into the season, Minnesota Vikings edge-rusher Jonathan Greenard is DL56 in The Godfather’s Default IDP Scoring. Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin is LB54. Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker is DB53.
That ain’t great, folks.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, now the bye weeks are here—the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, and Pittsburgh Steelers are all off in Week 5. That means no T.J. Watt. No Edgerrin Cooper. No Jessie Bates.
Add all that crap together, and there is no shortage of IDP teams looking to add players this week.
So, let’s get to work.
IDP Waiver Wire for Week 5: Pickup of the Week
LB Akeem Davis-Gaither, Arizona
After five years in Cincinnati spent mainly as a special-teams ace, Davis-Gaither joined the Cardinals in free agency, and the 28-year-old has worked his way into the starting lineup. While speaking to the media, Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said he has been impressed by Davis-Gaither’s knowledge of the scheme and level of play.
“He’s a pro and he’s a natural linebacker,” Rallis said. “It’s his first year in the defense, but it doesn’t feel like it, and he picks it up right away, like right away, like one install and he’s got it. He’s got a feel to stack behind those tackles and find the football. He’s been doing a really good job.”
Davis-Gaither played 52 snaps (79 percent) last week against the Seattle Seahawks, logging 10 total tackles and a tackle for loss. It marked the second consecutive week that Davis-Gaither played a three-down role and had at least eight total stops ahead of next week’s home date with the Tennessee Titans.
WEEK 5 IDP WAIVER WIRE TARGETS
Defensive Linemen
EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux, New York Giants
When the Giants spent the third overall pick on Abdul Carter back in April’s draft, the writing appeared to be on the wall where Thibodeaux’s future in New York is concerned. However, the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft told reporters that he wasn’t about to let Carter’s arrival alter his goals for 2025.
“I would say just being great,” Thibodeaux said. “It’s easy to excel in one part of your game. But for me, I just want to kind of put my whole game on display and be a positive impact for my team. (I want) every accolade you can. You want to be the greatest. I want to break the sack record.”
Breaking the single-season sack record isn’t likely. But Thibodeaux has been solid over the season’s first month—his sack of Justin Herbert of the Chargers Sunday gave Thibodeaux at least half a sack in three of four games. With the woeful New Orleans Saints next up on the schedule, Thibodeaux is absolutely worth a look in IDP leagues where he’s available.
EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu, Los Angeles Chargers
Tuipulotu led the Chargers with 8.5 sacks last year, and with Joey Bosa chasing quarterbacks in Buffalo now and Khalil Mack on injured reserve, the third-year pro has been tasked with carrying the Chargers’ pass rush, and despite a huge game last week against the New York Giants, Tuipulotu bemoaned the plays he didn’t make while speaking to reporters.
“I was trying to do my best. I missed a couple. I’m disappointed in the ones I missed because they could have helped the team out a little bit more,” Tuipulotu said. “I could’ve got the ball out more as well. Got to go learn from it.”
There’s not really much else Tuipulotu could have done Sunday—the 23-year-old had a whopping 10 total tackles, five tackles for loss, and four sacks to finish as the highest-scoring defensive lineman of Week 4 by a sizable margin. That’s the kind of stat line that rather says, “Pick this guy up.”
Linebackers
LB Teddye Buchanan, Baltimore
A fourth-round rookie out of Cal, Buchanan steadily impressed over the summer, and while he didn’t open the season as the starter opposite Roquan Smith, it didn’t take long for the rookie to assume that role. While talking to reporters, Buchanan said he realizes that being a starter at linebacker for the Ravens means being held to a high standard.
“Before every game, I just take a moment to appreciate it, take it all in,” Buchanan said. “Now that I’m here, it’s all about performing and helping the team win. It’s a blessing, for sure, just to have that responsibility. It means a lot to me, and I take that very seriously. I know the type of pedigree that the Ravens defense – especially Ravens linebackers – have. For me, that’s easy motivation to just do my best on the field.”
Buchanan has played at least 75 percent of the Ravens’ defensive snaps in each of the last three games, averaging seven stops a contest. It’s unlikely that Buchanan will assume “green dot” duties with Smith expected to miss multiple weeks, but the youngster should be locked into a three-down role for the foreseeable future.
LB Troy Dye, Los Angeles Chargers
After four years with the Minnesota Vikings and one year with the Los Angeles Chargers, Dye hit free agency last spring. There was reportedly interest from multiple teams, but Dye returned to Los Angeles on a two-year, $5.5 million contract. The 29-year-old told reporters that staying put was an easy decision.
“Being back in a place where you’re wanted and appreciated is an amazing thing for me,” Dye said. “That was a big reason why I came back, plus a great locker room, great staff, great guys. It was just the right fit.”
With oft-injured linebacker Denzel Perryman on the shelf with a high-ankle sprain, Dye has been starting opposite Daiyan Henley for the Chargers. That hadn’t meant much before last week’s loss to the New York Giants, but against Big Blue, Henley played a season-high 86 percent of the snaps and amassed 13 total tackles.
Defensive Backs
S Quentin Lake, Los Angeles Rams
Lake had a coming-out party last season with the Rams, logging a career-high 111 total tackles and finishing 14th in fantasy points among safeties. While addressing the media. Lake said he has sights set on bigger and better things after the best kind of offseason—a quiet one.
“Didn’t have too many coaching changes this year. People don’t understand, when you don’t have any coaching changes, that is huge in the NFL,” Lake said. “Not having to deal with a new system, knowing familiar faces, knowing the coaches know how you play and the communication that goes on, too.”
Lake started the 2025 season slowly statistically, but he didn’t exactly draw a string of favorable matchups to open the season, either. Last week against the Indianapolis Colts, Lake had his best game of the season, tallying nine stops in a Rams win. With a big NFC West tilt with the San Francisco 49ers on tap in Week 5, Lake has a solid shot at backing up his Week 4 numbers.
S Marques Sigle, San Francisco
With Talanoa Hufanga getting a bag of cash from the Denver Broncos in the offseason, the 49ers had a hole at the safety position. The team filled that hole with Sigle, a Day 3 rookie out of Kansas State. While talking to reporters, San Francisco general manager John Lynch said that he’s been impressed with how quickly Sigle flies to the ball.
“He’s had a fantastic offseason,” Lynch said. “We have a metric that we call SWARM. Which is basically when the ball is thrown, how fast can you get to the ball-carrier? Last year, during the draft, our analytics department nicknamed Malik Mustapha ‘The Sultan of Swarm’. Nobody in college football got to the ball faster than Malik—this year. The Sultan of Swarm was Sigle. I think those translate really well in our defense. When you run a 4.3 and striking people like Sigle, it’s a good combination.”
Sigle had his best statistical effort to date in last week’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, tallying eight total tackles and a pass defensed. Thursday’s matchup with the Rams is a big one for both teams, and Matthew Stafford just lit up the Indianapolis Colts. Sigle should be busy in Week 5.
