Week 5 Fantasy Recap

Alright, Sunday Night is in the books. Thursday was Tampa Bay at Dallas. Bills-Rams is tonight, so I’m skipping it. This is Week 5 through Baltimore’s 30–23 overtime win.

Five weeks is when a role stops being a rumor. Health is still doing most of the rest-of-season work. Also the Cardinals traded Marvin Harrison Jr. to Houston during the first quarter. That’s a sentence.

Kansas City and Carolina were on bye. Kenneth Walker III and Tetairoa McMillan can sit this one out. The roles from last week did not go anywhere.

Stock up: Jahmyr Gibbs, Drake Maye, Christian Watson, Jaylen Warren, Parker Washington, Malik Nabers, Isaiah Likely, Mike Evans, Bucky Irving, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jayden Daniels, Matthew Golden, Garrett Wilson, Brock Bowers, Ollie Gordon II, Justin Jefferson, George Pickens, MarShawn Lloyd, Bhayshul Tuten, Drake London

Stock down / caution: Ladd McConkey (foot), Justin Herbert and the Chargers, CeeDee Lamb (quad), Jonathan Taylor, Chase Brown, Marvin Harrison Jr. (Houston now), Brian Thomas Jr., Will Shipley (foot), Michael Penix Jr. (ribs), Deebo Samuel Sr. (hamstring), T.J. Hockenson (concussion), TreVeyon Henderson (ankle), David Montgomery (groin), Kyle Monangai (inactive), Jeremiyah Love, Bo Nix and Jaylen Waddle, Omarion Hampton, Ashton Jeanty’s rushing scores, Romeo Doubs

The scoreboard, real quick

TB 24–16 DAL (Thu). JAX 19–17 PHI (London). HOU 26–3 TEN. CIN 31–24 MIA. NE 45–17 LV. MIN 23–13 NO. NYJ 17–12 CLE. PIT 34–22 IND. NYG 27–27 WAS (OT). GB 31–7 CHI. DEN 23–17 LAC. DET 45–21 ARI. SF 32–29 SEA. BAL 30–23 ATL (OT).

Monday: Bills at Rams, later.

Sticky things (the ones that might actually last)

Gibbs is not cooling off. 25-151-2 plus 5-56 on 6 targets. 70% of the snaps. Detroit scored 31 unanswered and still did not turn the backfield into a democracy. That’s 105-504-7 rushing plus 27-243-2 receiving through five games. I wanted him under $70 in auction because this was the profile. Five weeks in, this is the profile. Jared Goff went 19-of-30 for 271 and 3 scores. Jameson Williams finally hit two. Gibbs is the one you don’t overthink.

Maye just did the building-block tape twice. 26-of-34 for 374, 4 passing scores, a rushing score, zero turnovers. Last week was 269 and 3 in Buffalo. This week was a 45-burger. DeMario Douglas scored twice (4-65-2). Kyle Williams went 3-91-1. Rhamondre Stevenson handled the backfield after Henderson’s ankle (13-64-1 plus 3-21, 71% of the snaps). I was not starting Maye as a weekly QB2 after seven turnovers in three games. Two clean weeks later, I am.

Watson after getting paid just keeps hitting explosives. 6-143-2, including 42- and 53-yarders. Jordan Love went 25-of-31 for 367. Golden was 6-123 on 7. That’s two Packers WRs over 120 in the same afternoon. I was really high on Watson in the auction plan. Five weeks: 26-474-6. I’m not backing off. Golden’s volume is the sleeper piece that became a weekly WR2/3.

Warren is the Steelers back. 15-101-1 plus 6-87-1 on 6 targets. 188 yards from scrimmage, two long scores, 87% of the snaps. Rico Dowdle sat a third straight week (toe). Mike McCarthy wants a two-back system. Warren is making that sentence look stubborn. Aaron Rodgers went 22-of-31 for 235 and 3 scores. Germie Bernard filled Michael Pittman’s every-down job (6-80 on 9) after Pittman hit IR. Warren is an RB1 until Dowdle actually plays and takes the job back.

Parker bounced back in London. I treated him as a WR3/flex last week after 1-7. Then he went 6-124-2 on 9 targets in a 19–17 win. Trevor Lawrence was 24-of-39 for 331 and 2 scores. Tuten set a career high with 22 carries (22-72 plus 2-24). 68% of the snaps. I said four weeks of 13-plus carries was a lead-back job. Five weeks of it is a role. Brian Thomas Jr. was 0-for-3. Two years of this is still a role change. Brenton Strange was 7-68 on 8. Stream Strange. Start Parker. Start Tuten.

Nabers with Jameis Winston is an alpha. 11-121-1 on 20 targets (38.5%). Winston went 33-of-54 for 326 and 3 scores and the Giants tied it from 14 down in the fourth. Likely was 11-94-2 on 13. Two weeks of WR1 volume for Nabers and a locked-in TE1 for Likely. I’m raising both.

Evans is Purdy’s guy. 7-113-1 on 10 targets (37.0%) through the ribs. Four of five games with at least 12 PPR. The 49ers are 5-0. Christian McCaffrey played 82% of the snaps (11-68-1 plus 3-15). That’s the snap share I was waiting on after 55% in Week 1. I’m not dumping CMC. I’m also done pretending this is 2023. Evans is the 49ers WR you start every week.

JSN with another 100-yard night (5-102-1 on 8, plus a 16-yard rush) even after a right-ankle sprain and two drops on the last drive. Sam Darnold threw two more picks. Five interceptions in three games since the glute. JSN is still 37-583-7 through five. Two quarterbacks. Same alpha. I said the role holds even if Seattle’s passing game gets worse. It got messier. JSN is still the Seahawks offense.

Irving on Thursday was the first win of Tampa’s year. 21-165-1 plus 2-10-1. A 72-yarder that flipped the half. Jalon Daniels went 19-of-25 for 189. Emeka Egbuka scored on a jet sweep and saw 36% of the looks. Baker Mayfield is still out. 165 is not the weekly baseline. The 20-touch job might be.

Justin Jefferson came back from the ankle (6-79-1 on 7, 89% of the snaps). Kyler Murray went 24-of-30 for 229 plus 51 on the ground. Minnesota is 5-0. Aaron Jones went 25-113-1 on 87% of the snaps. That’s a volume RB2 on an unbeaten team heading into a bye. Bank Jefferson. Jones is the sell-high before Jordan Mason is eligible after the bye, if you can get an actual RB2 back.

Bowers in a 45–17 loss still ate. 8-110-1 on 10 (27.8%). Kirk Cousins threw for 243. Jeanty was 10-27 plus 3-50 on 6. Volume is sticky. Zero rushing touchdowns through five games is not a yellow flag anymore. It’s a billboard. The receiving work is the standalone piece. I’m not sitting Bowers. I am lowering Jeanty’s rushing-score projection until somebody on that offense remembers the goal line exists.

Zay Flowers with Huntley was still 8-53 on 9 (29.0%). That’s a healthy Zay. Derrick Henry went 24-102 plus a receiving score. Tyler Huntley went 24-of-32 for 201, 2 passing scores, and the overtime sneak. Flowers stays in. Henry stays in. Huntley is a Superflex start, not a 1QB smash.

London keeps the Penix bump. 7-118 on 11 (32.4%). Three games with Penix, three WR1 weeks. Bijan Robinson went 17-86 plus 4-32 (81% of the snaps). Brian Robinson was 7-16. If Penix’s ribs are a week, London and Bijan are still the Falcons you start. Tua in overtime threw the game-ending pick. Don’t stream that.

Injuries that actually change rest of season

Lamb’s quad on Thursday looked scarier than the reporting. 2-9 on 5 targets after 17-189-1. Rapoport had a bruise, not a tear. Schottenheimer called it a bruise. Dallas has extra days before Green Bay on Sunday Night. I’m not sitting Lamb in Week 6 unless Wednesday’s practice report is empty. Pickens (9-130-1 on 13, 31.0%) is the Cowboys WR you actually start if Lamb is limited. Ryan Flournoy popped for 3-90. That’s a dart, not a WR3 you feel good about.

Ladd was active and did not play. Schefter had “not expected to play meaningful snaps” before kickoff and then the snap count was zero. The Chargers are 0-5. Quentin Johnston sat (chest). Tre Harris left with a hamstring (2-16). Herbert went 14-of-24 for 121, a score, a pick, 54 rushing yards, and five sacks. Hampton fell to 30% of the snaps (14-33). Kimani Vidal scored on a 42-yarder (8-57-1, 42%). Keaton Mitchell had the receiving work (6-11 plus 3-18 on 4). I was on the McDaniel hype train all summer. Ladd is still my highest best-ball exposure. I’m not selling him for peanuts. I’m also not starting him, Hampton as an RB1, or Herbert as a weekly QB2 until somebody on that offense looks healthy and functional. Next is Kansas City. That’s not the get-right spot.

Penix took a shot late, sat overtime, and Tua Tagovailoa threw the pick. Ribs. Day-to-day until we hear otherwise. Atlanta hosts Chicago next. If Penix sits, you’re starting London and Bijan anyway and you’re not touching Tua in 1QB.

Deebo left in the third with a hamstring (2-21). Hamstrings lie. Brandin Cooks scored on the go-ahead drive (1-7-1) and ran routes on the last drive. That’s a stash, not a WR3. Evans played through the ribs and a neck scare. Groins and ribs linger. Have a backup for San Francisco’s passing game besides CMC.

Hockenson went into concussion protocol after two snaps (1-7). Minnesota is on bye in Week 6, so that’s two weeks to clear it. Gavin Bartholomew ran the job (5-33 on 6). Don’t stream him into a bye. Hockenson should be back for Week 7. Jefferson’s return is the Vikings passing game.

Henderson’s right ankle ended his afternoon in the second quarter (4-22 plus a catch, 16% of the snaps). Stevenson ate. If Henderson sits against the Jets, Rhamondre is a must-start. I already sat Henderson as a league-winner bet. The ankle just made that easier.

Shipley scored, then the foot, then out. Dameon Pierce inherited an island (11-14, 77% of the snaps). Saquon Barkley was already out. Tank Bigsby is on IR. Pierce is the FAAB leftover, not 2023 Saquon. Dallas Goedert returned (6-38 on 9). Darius Cooper scored again (2-71-1). Jalen Hurts threw for 220. I’m not sitting Hurts. I am not rostering three Eagles skill players and hoping.

Montgomery’s groin lasted three drives (5-11, 14% of the snaps). Woody Marks played 85% the rest of the way (15-62 plus 4-23). Houston is 1-4 and just traded for Harrison. Marks is the Texans back this week. Don’t bid like you found 2023 Achane. Do bid like you need a running back with a feature-back snap share.

JSN played through the ankle. He was hampered. He still went 5-102-1. Seattle at Denver on Thursday. If he’s limited, you’re guessing among Cooper Kupp and whoever else is healthy. I’m not sitting JSN unless he’s a surprise inactive.

Quinshon Judkins finished 14-44 plus 3-6 and walked out in a boot. Cleveland.com had him wincing, then playing, then the boot. Pro Football Doc was not panicked yet. Baltimore at home is not the week you find out. Sit him until the boot is a rumor.

Monangai was inactive (thumb/toe). D'Andre Swift went 9-43-1 plus 4-30 on 5. Tyson Bagent threw two picks and got benched for Case Keenum. Caleb Williams missed a third straight and warmed up before the game. Ben Johnson at Atlanta with Caleb would change the ceiling. Swift and Monangai are still the starts. Colston Loveland was 2-19 on 5. Three weeks of process, one box score, then this. Sit him until Caleb is back.

Ja'Marr Chase cleared protocol and hit the one-hander (6-77-1 on 10). Tee Higgins played through the adductor (2-22 on 4). Joe Burrow threw 4 scores on 190 yards. Chase is fine. Higgins is a WR2 with a yellow flag, not a sit.

Breece Hall sat a second straight (quad). Braelon Allen went 24-116-1 on 86% of the snaps. That’s the 20-touch smash I would not promise last week. If Hall sits again at New England, Allen is an RB2. If Hall practices, scale it.

Harrison was inactive in Arizona because he was being traded to Houston in the first quarter. Five catches, 85 yards, a score through four games as a Cardinal. He reunites with C.J. Stroud. Nico Collins is still the Texans WR you start (5-56 on 7). I’m not dropping Harrison in best ball. I’m also not starting him in redraft until we see an actual target share in Houston’s rotation. A second-round pick does not magically fix the tape.

Trending up (raise the rest-of-season number)

Gibbs. Last week was 2.9 yards a pop in a loss. This week was 151 and 2. The average comes back to earth. The role might not. Raise him again.

Maye. Two weeks. Zero turnovers in the second one. 374 and 5 total scores. That’s a QB1 window, not a stream.

Watson and Golden. Love is going to throw it. Watson is going to hit explosives. Golden just posted 123. Raise both.

Warren. Three weeks of 20-plus touches with Dowdle out. Career-high 36.8 PPR. I’m treating him like a locked-in RB2 with RB1 weeks.

Parker. I walked him down to WR3/flex last week. 6-124-2 is the apology. Tuten’s 22 carries is the backfield half.

Nabers and Likely. Winston is a video game. 20 targets and 13 targets in a tie. Raise both until New York remembers how to run.

Evans. 37% of Purdy’s looks. That’s the 49ers WR1 job I wanted when they signed him.

Irving. First 100-yard game since 2024, then 165. Tampa is 1-4. The touches are real.

JSN. Five weeks. Two quarterbacks. Still the WR1 on the board in PPR.

Daniels is back. 17-of-25 for 199, 9-103-2 rushing, brace on the elbow. Washington collapsed a 14-point lead and still tied it. The rushing scores are the projection change. Jacory Croskey-Merritt went 11-82-1. Volume RB2/flex if the receiving work ever shows up. It didn’t (zero targets).

Gordon. 18-88-1. Second week as Miami’s lead back. No targets. RB2/flex on a team that just lost again. Keep him. Don’t bid like 2023 Achane.

Jefferson. Ankle, sit, then 6-79-1. That’s Justin Jefferson. Raise him back to the WR1 tier you drafted.

Lloyd. I flipped on him when Josh Jacobs hit the commissioner’s exempt list, then three weeks looked like a committee. Chris Brooks is on IR. Lloyd got the lead look (10-31-2) and Kaleb Johnson waited until garbage time. Two punch-ins is noisy. A two-man backfield with Pierre Strong on passing downs is the first interesting structure. I’m not calling him a league winner. I am putting him back on the flex radar.

Tyler Warren led Indianapolis (7-83 plus a rushing score). That’s the Colts pass catcher while Alec Pierce sits. Stream him. Don’t pay TE1 money.

Allen in New York. 24-116-1. Hall’s quad is the hinge.

Trending the wrong way

Herbert and McDaniel. 0-5. 121 passing yards. A fumble, a pick, five sacks, four rookies on the line. Next is Kansas City, then a schedule that does not care about your August notes. I am not declaring the season dead. I am lowering every Chargers passing projection until Ladd plays a real snap and somebody blocks for longer than a commercial break.

Taylor. 15-45. Steelers stuffed him for three quarters. Daniel Jones went 24-of-44 for 267, zero scores. Josh Downs was 3-47. Keenan Allen was 5-45. Volume RB1 with a shrinking ceiling until Indianapolis remembers the end zone. Sixteen field-goal attempts on the season. That’s a fun sentence. It’s also a touchdown problem.

Chase Brown. 13-39, no first downs of 10-plus for a second straight week. Samaje Perine rotated in on early downs (14-68 plus 2-10-1, 51% of the snaps to Brown’s 60%). Brown is still a start. The 20-touch smash is not the weekly baseline anymore.

Love in Arizona. 12-22, stuffed, 2.2 PPR. Third time in four weeks under 8. Trey McBride still ate (9-66-1 on 10). McBride is the only Cardinals skill player I’m starting every week. Love is a dart with a Rams game next.

Jeanty. Five games. Zero rushing scores. 2.7 yards a pop on Sunday on a bad ankle/foot. The 6 targets are the sticky part. The rushing efficiency is still not.

BTJ. 0-for-3 in a win. Parker went 6-124-2. I wanted Parker as a next-tier WR in auction. I’m done pretending BTJ’s target share is coming back this month.

Doubs. 1-16 on 3. A.J. Brown is eligible off IR next week. Chism and Kyle Williams just outplayed him. I said Doubs was the Patriots pass catcher. One quiet week is not a funeral. Brown’s return is.

Waddle and Nix. Two catches, 19 yards. Courtland Sutton scored on 2-18-1. Sean Payton took the play sheet back and the Broncos still converted 1-of-11 on third down early. Waddle slammed the helmet. Don’t panic-sell Waddle. Don’t auto-start him over actual WR2s. Nix is a Superflex start, not a 1QB one, and Seattle on Thursday is not a smash.

Hampton. 30% of the snaps. Three-man committee on an 0-5 team. I lowered the RB1 talk last week. I’m lowering it again.

Olave. 4-46 on 6. Tyler Shough went 16-of-25 for 96, 2 picks. Alvin Kamara played 27% after the back. Olave’s four-week target share is still the thing. New Orleans at the Giants is not a get-right spot if Shough keeps throwing it to the other team.

CMC’s efficiency was fine. 11 carries is still not 2023. Kaelon Black mixed in (6-16). The 82% snap share is the green light I wanted. The 11 carries are the yellow one I’m keeping.

The Eagles backfield is a crisis with extra steps. Pierce on an island averaged 1.3 yards a pop. If Saquon sits again, you’re starting Pierce and hoping Carolina’s front is friendlier than last week in London.

League-winner watch

Gibbs, if 25-touch games are just a week. That’s a top-3 RB profile and Detroit just scored 45.

JSN. Five weeks. Two quarterbacks. Still the WR1 on the board in PPR even on a 5-102 night with a rolled ankle.

Maye, if zero-turnover Maye is the new normal. That’s how QB2s become championship-roster QB1s.

Watson. Big-play WR who just reminded everyone he is big and fast, on a team that will throw. Golden is the cheaper version of that sentence.

Warren is the waiver version of the Walker sentence. Not a first-round league winner. A “Rico is still hurt” one. Those count too.

Parker if 20-plus percent of TLaw’s looks is the new normal again. Late-round-turned-WR2 in best ball. “Why did I fade him after Week 4” in redraft.

Evans if 35% of Purdy’s looks sticks. That’s why they signed him.

Nabers. 20 targets in a tie. Winston is going to keep slinging it.

Bowers, because tight end is where seasons get won. Lamb, when the quad is a bruise. That’s not a take. That’s a public service announcement.

A few more notes

George Kittle was 5-24 on 6 through an illness. Snap share was fine. Don’t overthink one quiet 5-0 afternoon. DK Metcalf went 3-12. Bernard is the add next to him. Garrett Wilson went 7-104-1 on 11 (37.9%). That’s the Jets WR1 job, even in a 17–12 slog.

Walker and McMillan were on bye. I’m not walking back either one. Rashee Rice’s hamstring and Tyquan Thornton’s ankle are still Chiefs problems. Walker is still the constant.

What I’m watching

Tonight is Bills-Rams. If you have Kyren Williams, Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, Josh Allen, James Cook, or Dalton Kincaid, you already know. DJ Moore’s shoulder and Keon Coleman too. I’ll leave it.

Thursday is Seattle at Denver. JSN’s ankle. Darnold’s turnovers. Nix and Waddle in a short week. That’s a sit-heavy slate if the practice reports look ugly.

Lamar’s ankle. Huntley at Cleveland is not the same offense. Flowers and Henry stay in.

Penix’s ribs. Caleb’s hamstring. If both play, Falcons-Bears is a smash script. If neither does, it’s a run-game stream.

Ladd’s foot. Herbert at Kansas City. Walker comes off the bye. That’s the rest-of-season fulcrum of the week.

Saquon’s hamstring. Shipley’s foot. Pierce at Carolina. Lamb’s bruise before Green Bay on Sunday Night.

AJ Brown is eligible. Doubs’ target share is the question.

And then we can talk about the rest of Week 6 after the Sunday slate. Commanders-49ers on Monday can wait.