With week 5 of the NFL season in full swing, we have our first bye weeks of the season and a Kyle Pitts sighting on Thursday night football. With the number of injuries and bye weeks this week, fantasy managers might be tasked with digging deep to find the right starters for this week in fantasy football. Last week the start/sit list hit on 64.7% of players and mentioned the Carolina Panthers offense explosion in week 3 was not a fluke. Below are my favorite start/sits for week 5.
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Quarterbacks to Start
Justin Fields PIT
Field exploded in week 4 with his 30+ point performance against the Colts. Once again in week 5 he has a good matchup against the Cowboys. The Cowboys are allowing the 10th most points to opposing quarterbacks and have multiple key injuries including Micah Parsons this week. With Fields rushing upside, he is a no-brainer QB1 this week.
Jordan Love GB
The Rams defense has struggled this season, allowing the 6th most fantasy points to opposing QBs. Love shook off some rust last week as he bounced back from his early turnovers and threw 4 touchdown passes. Despite the injuries to Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs expect the Packers to have a good day on offense with Love being the biggest beneficiary.
Geno Smith SEA
After five weeks this season, Smith ranks 1st in the league in passing yards and was a popular waiver wire pickup this week after his 433 total yards on Monday night. His performance through 4 weeks has led him to being the QB8 in fantasy football. Smith has a surplus of weapons with DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith Njiba, Tyler Lockett, Kenneth Walker, and Zach Charbonnet that make his week-to-week upside very high.
Quarterbacks to Sit
Patrick Mahomes KC
I mentioned Mahomes in this weeks version of the panic meter with all of the injuries on the Chiefs offense. He is the QB17 on the season while the Saints are the 4th toughest matchup for QB’s in fantasy this season. Despite how good Mahomes is as a player it is a good week to sit him in fantasy football
Sam Darnold MIN
Darnold has been great this season as he is currently the QB5 in fantasy football. This week will be his toughest matchup of the season in London against the New York Jets. The Jets on the season are only allowing 8.9 points per game to opposing quarterbacks. Darnold will be in for a down week in fantasy terms in week 5.
Derek Carr NO
Carr has come back to reality the last two weeks after his hot start to 2024. He has 1 touchdown pass and under 400 yards passing the last two weeks. The Saints are now down their top 2 offensive lineman in Eric McCoy and Ryan Ramcyzk. Against Kansas City on Monday night Carr is a safe guy to bench.
Running backs to Start
Najee Harris PIT
Harris has been uninspiring this season with 68 carries for 228 yards with 0 touchdowns. His lack of efficiency with his volume has been frustrating for fantasy managers all season. This is the week though that Najee has a big week. The Cowboys allow the 3rd most points to opposing running backs in fantasy before their injuries this week. With Cordarrelle Patterson and Jaylen Warren out, Harris will be in line for all of the volume in Pittsburgh.
Chuba Hubbard CAR
Chuba Hubbard needs to be in your lineups weekly now! Despite the tough matchup with the Bears, Hubbard is the true bell cow back in Carolina. The last two weeks in PPR leagues he has combined for 56 PPR points with 48 touches. Hubbard is a high end RB2 with RB1 upside this week with his volume.
Javonte Williams DEN
The Raiders are allowing 26 points per game to RBs this season making Williams an enticing play this week. Last week against the Jets he had 18 touches for 80 yards in the win. In a close low-scoring game expect him to get a similar amount of touches this week. Although he has burned us in the past in fantasy football, he is a good start this week.
Running backs to Sit
Rico Dowdle DAL
Dowdle has led the Cowboys running backs in snaps the last two weeks as he starts to work his way into fantasy lineups. Pittsburgh this season is allowing the 2nd fewest points to opposing running backs this season. Dowdle also has not established himself on 3rd down yet as Hunter Luepke played a majority of 3rd down snaps last week. Dowdle has bust written all over him in week 5.
Zack Moss CIN
The Bengals backfield had a big week last week against the Panthers as both Zach Moss and Chase Brown scored touchdowns. On the season Baltimore is allowing the 3rd fewest points to opposing running backs providing a tough matchup. Something to watch will be if Chase Brown plays more snaps this week for the Bengals as he is averaging over 6 yards per carry on the season.
Zamir White LV
White has been bad to start the season only averaging 3.1 yards per attempt through 4 weeks. Backup Alexander Mattison is in line for more touches this week as he has been averaging over 5 yards per carry and has been the 3rd down back. White shouldn’t be in your lineup and is droppable in most leagues.
Wide Receivers to Start
DJ Moore CHI
Moore has had a disappointing start to the season but has yet to go under 10 PPR points per game so far. The lack of chemistry between him and Caleb Williams is notable while Shane Waldron is not utilizing him the right way. Against his former team, Moore has a great matchup to get on track and post his first 20-point game of the season.
Brian Thomas Jr. JAX
Thomas has been overshadowed by Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers to start the season, but he is quickly turning into the WR1 in Jacksonville. In the last two weeks he has 11 catches for 134 yards and a touchdown on 18 targets. The Colts on the season are allowing the 10th most fantasy points to opposing receivers on the season. Thomas should be in for a big week and needs to be started in all leagues going forward.
Amari Cooper CLE
The Browns offense has been off to a rough start to the 2024 season. In week 5 they have one of the best matchups of the week against the Commanders. The Commanders are allowing the 2nd most fantasy points to opposing receivers this season providing a good matchup for Amari Cooper. Cooper has been inconsistent this season, but this should be a good week for him and the Browns offense.
Wide Receivers to Sit
Jordan Addison MIN
In his return, he scored 2 touchdowns with 79 total yards scoring 22.9 PPR points last week. This week against the Jets he is in for a down week. The Jets are allowing the 7th fewest points to opposing wide receivers in fantasy football. We expect Justin Jefferson to produce this week, don’t expect the same for Addison in a tough matchup.
Jaylen Waddle MIA
It’s hard to trust anyone in fantasy football right now on the Miami Dolphins. Despite their good matchup against the Patriots, it feels like we are bound to have another week under 10 PPR points for Waddle. Options like Dontayvion Wicks, Josh Downs, Wan’Dale Robinson were all waiver wire pickups that you should be starting over Waddle this week.
Keenan Allen CHI
As I mentioned before, Shane Waldron makes it very difficult for these wide receivers to be consistent in fantasy. Allen had 3 catches for 19 yards against the Rams last week as he has taken a back seat to rookie Rome Odunze in the offense. Allen is now the WR3 in a struggling offense, play him at your own risk.
Tight Ends to Start
Tucker Kraft GB
With Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs out this week, there are vacated targets to go around in Green Bay. Kraft is coming off of a 6-catch game for 53 yards and 1 touchdown on 9 targets. With the TE position being inconsistent this season Kraft is a must-start as the Rams are giving up 10.5 PPR points per game this season to TEs.
Jake Ferguson DAL
Ferguson has established himself as the 2nd option in Dallas behind CeeDee Lamb. The last two weeks he has logged 13 catches on 18 targets making him have one of the higher floors at TE in PPR formats. Despite a tough matchup for the Cowboys offense expect Ferguson to have a good game this week.
Dalton Kincaid BUF
Kincaid’s weekly output keeps on increasing every week. Last week he had a season high 5 catches for 47 yards on 9 targets against the Ravens. With Khalil Shakir out, there are more targets to go around in the Buffalo passing game. This week is the Dalton Kincaid breakout week.
Tight Ends to Sit
Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely BAL
It’s time to bench both Andrews and Likely in fantasy football. Once again, the Ravens running game has a favorable matchup against a weak Bengals front seven. On top of this, the Bengals are only allowing 6.2 points to tight end per game on the season. With a positive game script and a tough matchup, both of these guys need to be avoided in fantasy lineups
Zach Ertz WAS
Cleveland has been stingy against opposing tight ends this season allowing an average of 7.9 points in PPR leagues. Ertz has a solid floor averaging right under 4 catches a game but lacks the upside of a big week. In a tough matchup avoid starting Ertz this week.
Kickers to Start
Cairo Santos CHI
The Bears offense showed signs of life in week 4 with their win over the Rams. In week 5 they have another favorable matchup against the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers currently allow the 4th most fantasy points to kickers on the season making Santos a good streamer at kicker this week.
Evan McPherson CIN
The Bengals offense has not been the main culprit of their 1-3 start. This week against the Ravens they should move the ball well. On the season the Ravens are allowing 11 points a game to opposing kickers providing a good matchup for McPherson.
Austin Seibert WAS
The Commanders are one of the hottest offenses in football heading into week 5 but face a tough Browns defense. We saw against the Giants in week 2 that they settled for field goals against an average defense. This might be the case against the toughest defense they have seen this year.
Kickers to Sit
Greg Zuerlein NYJ
The Jets offense has not put it together yet this season and now faces one of the best defenses in the NFL. The Vikings on the season are only allowing 4.3 fantasy points to kickers this season. Don’t start Zuerlein
Joshua Karty LAR
Just like Zuerlein the Packers defense has been great against kickers in fantasy football. Their defense has only allowed 5.80 points to kickers on the season. Might be smart to bench the rookie this week against the Packers
DEF to Start
Denver Broncos DEF
The Broncos were added in 71% of leagues this past week with a matchup against the Raiders. They currently rank 2nd in points per game for fantasy defenses while ranking 2nd in the NFL. The Raiders are allowing the 7th most sacks in the NFL while missing Davante Adams this week. They should be the #1 defense this week
Miami Dolphins DEF
The Dolphins and the Patriots face off in the toilet bowl this week as both teams have been hot garbage to start the season. This game should be low scoring with both offenses ranking in the bottom half of the NFL the last three weeks. Dolphins are a good streamer play
Seattle Seahawks DEF
The Seahawks got torched this past week allowing 42 points. They will get some pieces back in their front seven that will make them better this week. They are facing the Giants without Malik Nabers this week making it a favorable matchup. We have seen this defense play well the first three weeks against bad offenses they should bounce back this week.
DEF to Sit
Cleveland Browns DEF
Although I do like the Browns to potentially pull off the upset, the Commanders have scored 80 points the last two weeks. This will be their toughest matchup of the season and allowed 33 points to the Cowboys in week 1. It’s smart to leave the Browns on your bench this week.
Houston Texans DEF
The Texans have a tough matchup this week against the Buffalo Bills. They currently rank 13th among fantasy defenses despite only having 1 week over 10 points. It’s best to bench them this week.
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