Week 5's fantasy football playbook
The latest fantasy football news, rankings, start/sit advice, and more to help you avoid misery on Sunday.
Thanks again for being a loyal reader and subscriber! Keep reading for the latest fantasy football rankings, news, and analysis from the 5th Down Fantasy team and around the web. Best of luck in Week 5!
📰 Week 5 news you can use
Who is trending up and down heading into Sunday’s action, courtesy of our friends at FantasyPros.
🙌 Jonathan Taylor was able to practice in full all week, and his status seems to be less of a question of health and more of a question about whether or not he’s in game shape and fully ready to go. It looks like he’s trending towards being active against the Titans, and he will be a must-start fantasy option if so.
😧 Rhamondre Stevenson was a surprise addition to the injury report this week and is now questionable because of a thigh injury. We haven’t gotten many details on the severity of it, and it does seem like there’s a real shot that he doesn’t play. The team will make a decision about his availability closer to game time, and Ezekiel Elliott will be primed to get the bulk of the work in this backfield if Stevenson is unable to play.
🤷 Saquon Barkley has been practicing in a limited fashion this week, but the team wants to be cautious with his recovery and make sure they aren’t rushing him back. If he’s unable to play, Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell will both see the field a good amount in his absence.
😬 Davante Adams didn’t practice at all this week and is looking a little iffy for Monday night’s game against his former team. We should get more information about his status later this weekend, and fantasy managers can expect Jakobi Meyers to be a good fantasy play if the star wideout is unavailable in Week 5.
🤞 Javonte Williams hurt his hip in Week 4 and couldn’t return to the game, but he was able to log a full practice session on Friday and is now considered questionable to play in Week 5. The team will make a decision about his availability closer to game time, and if he’s active, that will mean that Jaleel McLaughlin should not be started in an already tough matchup against the Jets.
View the latest FantasyPros player news on 5thDownFantasy.com.
📋 Week 5 rankings update
Insights on key fantasy matchups from the 5th Down team and my favorite experts from around the web, and a fresh update on my player rankings below…
📈 3 guys up
Jordan Love (QB, GB at LV) — “Love is off to an excellent start in fantasy football, in part thanks to his 10 combined passing and rushing touchdowns. While his touchdown efficiency will likely decrease over time, his general efficiency should improve. Aaron Jones and Christian Watson returned on Thursday Night Football last week and should be healthier this week. Ideally, Love will also be getting left guard Elgton Jenkins back after he missed the past two weeks. Love might be a fantasy starter over the rest of the season, but he should be considered even more so this week due to the opponent. The Packers have the third-easiest matchup for quarterbacks this week against the Las Vegas Raiders, according to PFF's strength of schedule tool. The Raiders have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.” — Nathan Jahnke, PFF.com
Breece Hall (RB, NYJ at DEN) — “Hall is going back to Denver, which is the place where he suffered his torn ACL in Week 7 last year. Hall's offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett, is facing his former team, and current Broncos coach Sean Payton has been vocal about Hackett's failures in 2022. And Robert Saleh said Wednesday that Hall has "no pitch count anymore" in his recovery from last year's injury. The best thing for Hall though is his matchup against the Broncos. Denver has allowed the most Fantasy points to opposing running backs, and four running backs in the past three games (Brian Robinson Jr., De'Von Achane, Raheem Mostert and Khalil Herbert) have scored at least 22.2 PPR points against the Broncos. That includes 11 total touchdowns for those running backs.” — Jamey Eisenberg, CBS Sports
Jaylen Warren (RB, PIT vs. BAL) — “His touches are going up in each game, and so are his yards-per-carry. More importantly, he is arguably the better ball carrier on the team and his snap count has increased while his counterpart’s, the aforementioned Najee Harris, has gone down. He’s trusted on third downs as he’s a reliable check-down target, and that’s what truly matters this week against the Ravens. Kenny Pickett is dealing with a knee injury, which will limit his mobility, and his main short-field target, TE Pat Freiermuth, is going to miss Sunday. To keep drives moving they’ll need to rely more on Warren, and he’s a solid play in PPR.” — Matt New, 5th Down Fantasy
📉 3 guys down
Brandon Aiyuk (WR, SF vs. DAL) — “Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk carry most of the receiving load in San Francisco with Aiyuk being a true outside receiver in the first four games and Samuel being moved around, everywhere. I am expecting Stephon Gilmore and DaRon Bland to hold their own against Aiyuk on the outside … The 49ers’ offense may lean heavily on Christian McCaffery and George Kittle in this one, build in some additional risk if you manage Aiyuk and Samuel.” — Gavin Babbit, 5th Down Fantasy
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