Fantasy football rankings Week 5: Sleepers, predictions, starts, Josh Downs, Xavier Worthy and more

As we enter Week 5 of the fantasy football season, byes are here, injuries are frustrating and managers are stressed. Nobody wants to drop out in Week 6. So let's make sure you have all the glitches, starts, sleepers and more you need to win.

Memory! I always have some fun ranks! This could be anything from cartoons to players from the 80s to things not to do in your 30s – feel free to offer your suggestions. And I try to answer as many comments as possible… however… if it's a simple WDIS within a position or a “Who should I trade for?” type question, these are 99% with the ranks and the link to covered in the trading charts. Let's go!

#CheckTheLink age

Week 5 Waiver
Week 5 SOS Ranks
Fantasy 101 (weather, start/sit, trading, more)
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WEEK 5 FANTASY FOOTBALL PREVIEW

BYES: DET, LAC, PHI, TEN

Buccaneers at Falcons, Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET

SLEEPERS: Cade Otton, TE, TB – With Trey Palmer injured and Jalen McMillan already out, the Buccaneers added Sterling Shepard to the active roster, but Otton has had to do more work in the last two games due to those injuries.
NOTES: Week 4 was the first game in which Rachaad White had over 2.8 YPC (4.9), but it was the second game in a row in which he had less than 50% of RB touches and almost the same Number like Bucky Irving…Kyle Pitts averages 2.02 YPRR when lined up as an in-line tight end, compared to 1.35 YPRR when lined up in the slot and 1.15 out-wide… Granted, both top wideouts were sidelined, but Dallas Goedert was on the line 44.4% of the time in Week 4 – you know, for a desperate Pitts hopeful.

Jets at Vikings, LONDON, Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET

SLEEPERS: Mike Williams, WR, NYJ – Shows better performance against the zone, while Allen Lazard sees an uptick against the man and the Vikings are the team with the highest zone strength (83.1%).
NOTES: Breece Hall's Utilization Score (FantasyLife) has decreased each week – 9.6, 9.3, 8.9 and 6.1 in Week 4…Aaron Rodgers hasn't thrown a touchdown under pressure, he's 17th under pressure in the EPA and the Vikings are under pressure 43.6% of the time with just four rushers (third best).

Panthers at Bears, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

Ravens at Bengals, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

SLEEPERS: Justice Hill, RB, BAL – The Bengals defense isn't stopping anything right now.
NOTES: Ja'Marr Chase and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are the only two wideouts without a single – not ONE – off-target pass coming their way (minimum 20 targets)… Derrick Henry records his highest yards before contact (YBC) with the Ravens (2.66, fourth overall this year) with a previous high of 1.82 in his rookie season… Chase Brown has 6.9% explosive runs, Zack Moss 4.2%.

Dolphins at Patriots, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

SLEEPERS: Antonio Gibson, RB, NE – Deep option, but there are rumors that Gibson could do more with Rhamondre Stevenson's fumbles, and the Dolphins are tied for the second-highest number of forced missed tackles per attempt (0.19). , behind only the Giants.
NOTES: Dolphins offense with Tua Tagovailoa during the Tyreek Hill era: 0.15 EPA/Dropback, 6.5 YD/Play, 8.8 YD/TGT and 5.5 TD/ATT% compared to -0.21 , 4.8, 6.7 and 2.3%… Ja'Lynn Polk led the Patriots are on track, although Kendrick Bourne can return to practice this week.

Browns at Commanders, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

SLEEPERS: Jerome Ford, RB, CLE – D'Onta Foreman gets some chances when he takes the lead, but that doesn't happen often, the Commanders continue to be efficient on offense and also struggle to stop elusive running backs.
NOTES: Terry McLaurin leads the NFL in TmAirYD% with 56.9%, followed by George Pickens (53.5%) and Malik Nabers (51.5%) in second and third. He's also poised for another good week with a YPRR against man coverage of 2.22 (1.38 against zone), and the Browns are the third-best man coverage team (40.6%). Additionally, the Browns have teams shooting their first read at 78.5% (highest), Jayden Daniels is shooting his first read at 71.7% (seventh) and McLaurin is shooting his first read at 31.6% (18th)… Deshaun Watson wasn't that good even when not under pressure, averaging just 3.1 TD/ATT%, which ranked 25th.

Colts at Jaguars, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

SLEEPERS: Josh Downs, WR, IND – By waiver, I like him with Anthony Richardson or Joe Flacco
NOTES: Going back to downs, he had a TmTGT% of 25.0 with Richardson, and in his action, Flacco looked 33.3%, but a small game example. And Richardson averaged 11.0 YD/TGT while Flacco averaged 8.9 on downs, so again, that's why I like him either way… The Jaguars are on defense -EPA third-worst against QBs and WRs and fourth-worst against slot receivers. Excite Michael Pittman Jr. and Downs when Flacco starts.

Bills at Texans, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

SLEEPERS: Khalil Shakir, WR, BUF – If someone has success against the Texans' pass defense (fourth-lowest catch percentage allowed), Shakir will have an easier time leading the way. More below…
NOTES: Shakir leads the Bills in First Read% with 21.1 (Dalton Kincaid second with 19.3%), and given the Texans' solid pass defense, First Read is often the target with the fourth-highest First Read% allowed at 73, 5… Get ready for Nico Collins to continue his claim to the No. 1 WR spot as he led the zone coverage with a 3.19 YPRR against (7th highest, min. 5 targets) and the Bills run zone with 77.0% (9th highest ) dominates.

Raiders at Broncos, Sunday, 4 p.m. ET

SLEEPERS: Broncos DST? — This game looks gross
NOTES: Courtland Sutton is the only player to have completed 100% of his team's end zone goals (Nico Collins is second with 78%). The Broncos' defense has the sixth-highest stuff% (48.6).

Cardinals at 49ers, Sunday, 4 p.m. ET

SLEEPERS: Launch the main options.
NOTES: Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. post the largest and fifth-largest declines in TGT% on 1-2 downs on third down (3D), respectively, with McBride going from 23.5% to 4.3% (-19.2). Harrison 28.4% to 13.0% (-15.4) … Greg Dortch has a 34.8 3D-TGT% (eighth highest in the league) … After giving up three double-digit scores in the first two weeks, only One wideout exceeded the 3.2 point mark against Harrison 49ers, that was Tutu Atwell (9.3). Sure, the 49ers played the Patriots last week, but avoiding Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch — with or without Trey McBride — is smart.

Packers at Rams, Sunday, 4 p.m. ET

SLEEPERS: Tutu Atwell, WR, LAR – The Packers have been prone to big plays, and while that might bring to mind Demarcus Robinson, the Rams have designed plays to allow Atwell to make some big plays, even in Week 4 with Jordan Whittington often out there.
NOTES: Jayden Reed is the only top-10 wideout without a target in the end zone (Rashee Rice would have been here too had he not been injured in Week 4)… Reed also leads the NFL in YPRR against zone (4.40 ), and the Rams have the seventh-highest zone rate… Matthew Stafford surprisingly has 11.5 YD/Comp without Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, compared to 9.9 with them.

Giants at Seahawks, Sunday, 4 p.m. ET

SLEEPERS: Whether Malik Nabers plays or not, Wan'Dale Robinson because…
NOTES: Robinson leads the league with 53.7% of his team's third-down targets (next best is George Pickens at 38.7%). He also has the biggest jump in TGT% on 1-2 downs compared to 3D (36.8, with Calvin Ridley). Second with 26.6 – up from 12.5% to 39.1%… The Giants' run defense allows the most missed tackles per attempt (0.21), and Kenneth Walker is third-highest in forcing them ( 0.34).

Cowboys at Steelers, Sunday, 8 p.m. ET

SLEEPERS: Najee Harris, RB, PIT – Not a true sleeper, but given the workload with injuries to Jaylen Warren and Cordarrelle Patterson as well as the Cowboys run defense, Harris is an RB2.
NOTES: The Steelers lead the league in stuff% (51.1%, the Packers are second at 50.0%). After the Browns did nothing against the Cowboys in Week 1, the teams with an average YPRR of 2.48 against them (over the past three weeks) are second place, the Rams at 1.93.

Saints at Chiefs, Monday, 8:15 p.m

SLEEPERS: Xavier Worthy, WR, KC – Not just because of Rashee Rice – see below
NOTES: Against the Chiefs, no running back rushed for more than 46 yards and they are the third lowest in Explosive Run% allowed (1.9 – Ravens and Vikings tied at 1.3%). The Saints defense allows the lowest TD/Drive% (9.5 with Broncos second). at 10.6%, but are prone to blocked catches with 9.19 AirYD/TGT (second highest) and 12 catches allowed over 20 yards.

Some “buy lows” and “sell highs” (without context) since I found out I had a hernia during an ER visit…let that stop you!

BUY:

Anthony Richardson, QB, IND
Travis Etienne, RB, JAX
Josh Jacobs, RB, GB
DeVonta Smith, WR, PHI
Deebo Samuel, WR, SF
Brandon Aiyuk, WR, SF

SOLD:

Jayden Daniels, QB, WSH
Sam Darnold, QB, MIN
Brian Robinson Jr., RB, WSH
Zack Moss, RB, CIN
Davante Adams, WR, LV – Only if the WR1 value is reached – no guarantee that the team being traded is the Chiefs
Chris Godwin, WR, TB
Stefon Diggs, WR, HOU

FUN WITH RANKS

This came from a reader suggestion – please keep it up! – and I would have done that never I've thought about it, but it's fun. I didn't even expect to have 10, but it was easier than expected.

Top 10 weather — How is it outside? And unless otherwise noted, they all have low humidity!

Sunny and cloudy around 70 degrees
It's snowing heavily – no thunderstorms, slush, etc. – heavy, snowball quality, snow falling
No clouds, bright sun and low 60s
Thunderstorm with lightning
Breezy and in the upper 70s
Heavy @$$ snow – thirty meters plus ready for construction
Light fog on a cool evening – not thick enough to cover anything
After the rain, rainbow-like temperatures around 70 degrees
Low 80s…at the beach
Cool off the afternoon rain on a day with temperatures above 80°

DFL: Rainy and temperatures below 50°C or above 85°C with any humidity

WEEK 5 FANTASY FOOTBALL PROJECTIONS

🚨 HEAD UP 🚨 These may differ from my rankings and MY RANKS are the Order in which I would start players outside of additional context, such as “Need the highest upside potential, even if it's risky.” Also based on 4 point TDs for QB, 6 point break and half PPR

Projections Download Link – SATURDAY UPDATE

WEEK 5 FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS

🚨 HEAD UP 🚨

Unfortunately, there is still no perfect widget. I know many see this on your phone, but 1) use the rankings widget on a PC/laptop etc if possible, or 2) open it in your phone's browser, especially for Android users, to stop scrolling works (or Android users can try two-finger scrolling).
ECR = “Expert” consensus ranking (which not everyone updates regularly, so use with caution).
Will be updated regularly. Please find out about the blocking of the lineups.

(Top photo by Josh Downs: Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images)