With week 5 wrapping up tonight with the New Orleans Saints taking on the Kansas City Chiefs let’s take a look at some of the biggest winners and losers in Fantasy Football.
Jump to a Player
Winners
Brian Thomas Jr. WR (JAX)
Brian Thomas Jr. was tagged as one of the players that you needed to start in fantasy football this week. Thomas Jr. went for 5 catches for 122 yards and 1 touchdown in the Jags first win of the season in week 5. More notably he hasn’t received less than 8 targets per game the last 3 weeks and is starting to establish his role in the Jags offense as their WR1.
Garrett Wilson WR (NYJ)
Wilson has been frustrating this season and finally produced a big week in fantasy football. He finished with 13 catches for 101 yards and a touchdown with 22 targets. 22 targets are absurdly high for any wide receiver and goes to show you the lack of chemistry between him and Rodgers still. Despite him and Aaron Rodgers not being on the same page, he is locked in as a high end WR2 in PPR formats.
Tank Bigsby RB (JAX)
Tank had a big day on the ground for the Jaguars finishing with 101 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. He also finished with more touches than Travis Etienne this week. Head coach Doug Pederson suggests they are just riding the hot hand in Bigsby and that Etienne is still their RB1. Despite this, his rushing ability has carved him an early down role in this offense going forward.
Ja’Marr Chase WR (CIN)
Chase had another one of his monster weeks that he is good for a few times a season. Once again he shredded the Ravens catching 10 passes for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns in the loss. Despite his slow start to the season Chase is averaging just under 100 yards per game and has an argument for the best receiver in fantasy football.
DJ Moore WR (CHI)
It was good to see DJ Moore and Caleb Williams on the same page in week 5. Moore finished with 105 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns finally getting more looks as a deep threat. The Bears offense has been trending in the right direction the last few weeks and you still might be able to buy low on DJ Moore before he becomes more consistent down the stretch this season
Chase Brown RB (CIN)
Brown had a nice day against the Ravens finishing with 54 total yards and a receiving touchdown. He also earned more touches than Zach Moss for the first time this season. Brown continues to impress this season and if he continues to play well, he will be a league winner when his snaps go up.
Drake London WR (ATL)
Ladies and gentlemen Drake London has arrived. The Falcons offense was on full display on Thursday as they finished with 36 points and Kirk Cousins had over 500 passing yards. London in the win had 12 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown. The chemistry between him and Cousins is growing
Brandon Aiyuk WR (SF)
Aiyuk was due for a big week, and it happened to be in week 5. He finished with 8 catches for 147 yards on 12 targets dominating all 49ers pass catchers in the loss. Kyle Shannahan made it a clear emphasis with the gamelan to get Aiyuk going which resulted in multiple wide open looks early on. With Aiyuk hopefully it is a sign of more consistency going forward.
Tucker Kraft TE (GB)
Kraft was a popular streamer in fantasy football the last two weeks and produced like a top TE during that stretch. Kraft had 4 catches for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns in a win against the Rams showcasing his YAC abilities. The injuries to Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Luke Musgrave have opened up opportunities for the young TE. Kraft is a guy that we need to be starting weekly going forward
Fantasy QB’s
We saw numerous quarterbacks have big weeks in fantasy football, here are a few guys that might have won you your week
Kirk Cousins: 509 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, 1 INT
Joe Burrow: 392 passing yards, 5 touchdowns, 1 INT
Lamar Jackson: 403 total yards, 4 touchdowns, 0 INT
Joe Flacco: 359 passing yards 3 touchdowns 0 INT
Losers
Marvin Harrison Jr. (ARI)
Marvin Harrison Jr. had a disappointing week in fantasy football finishing with 2 catches for 36 yards. The inconsistency of Harrison’s performances has been noteworthy this season. Kyler Murray is only averaging 181 yards per game on the season which has caused Harrison to be inconsistent this year.
Breece Hall RB (NYJ)
Two straight weeks of Breece Hall duds in fantasy football. Hall finished with 12 total touches for 37 yards in week 5. The concerns about Braelon Allen potentially taking more touches were an overreaction but the offensive line’s poor run blocking limiting his upside is a true statement. The Jets run block win rate is under 65% and ranks among the worst in the NFL this season.
Deebo Samuel (SF)
Deebo suffered from being the odd man out this week in San Francisco’s game plan. He finished with a season low 3 targets for 1 catch and 11 yards. Being a Deebo Samuel owner means living with the duds for the future big week he has in store. Expect him to bounce back next week or the following week.
Dalton Kincaid TE (BUF)
Despite leading the team in targets, Dalton Kincaid put up a dud this week in fantasy. He finished with 2 catches for 34 yards in the Bills loss. I’m not convinced that a breakout is coming for Kincaid and he might be stuck as a low end TE1
Diontae Johnson WR (CAR)
After two weeks of torching opposing defenses, Diontae Johnson was quiet in week 5. He finished with 3 catches for 23 yards on 6 targets against a good Bears defense. No need to panic after this bad game, he still ranks 8th in target share among all receivers and this week is a good buy low opportunity.
DK Metcalf WR (SEA)
DK Metcalf and the Seahawks offense couldn’t get anything going this week due to having 15 less minutes of possession time compared to the Giants. Metcalf finished with 4 catches for 55 yards and a fumble in the loss. This was a bump in the road for him and the Seahawks as they hope to continue their strong start to the season on offense.
Dontayvion Wicks WR (GB)
Many analysts had Wicks as a breakout candidate with the injuries in the Packers WR room. Instead he finished with a pedestrian 2 catches for 20 yards on 7 targets. Wicks is also starting to struggle with drops as he now is 2nd in the league in drops this season despite having under 30 targets. His 20% target share and 33.3 air yards per reception are still promising do not drop Wicks yet
De’Von Achane RB (MIA)
Achane left this game early with a concussion and had 18 rushing yards before his exit. Hopefully, Achane can return to full health soon for the Dolphins after their bye, but the backfield is becoming crowded in Miami. After a rough few weeks, the Dolphins running game got going without him as they finished with 193 rushing yards in the win against the Patriots. Jaylen Wright has earned some work and Raheem Mostert still looks effective. When Achane gets healthy this backfield, his volume could take a slight dip.