Every round of a fantasy football draft brings with it decisions to be made, pitfalls to avoid and potential league-winning upside if you make the right picks. And our analysts are here to make sure you’re well prepared for every round of your draft; here are their thoughts on what to do – and what not to do – with your fifth-round pick (rounds based on consensus ADP in 1/2 PPR scoring formats as of Aug. 3):
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Q1. Who has the greatest sleeper potential in Round 5?
For whatever reason, fantasy owners appear to be scared of drafting rookie running backs, but not me. Jonathan Taylor is a much-improved version of Marlon Mack, and though he may not have much receiving upside with Nyheim Hines there, he could have a Nick Chubb-like season. You don’t draft a workhorse like Taylor and not use him immediately.
– Mike Tagliere (@MikeTagliereNFL)
Did you know that from Weeks 10-17 last year, Robert Woods was the WR8 in Half PPR format? This was all the while only scoring two receiving touchdowns on the entire season! If Woods had even one or two more touchdowns, he would’ve been much higher than WR8. The Rams have done nothing this offseason to indicate that they’re moving away from this offensive philosophy switch at the end of last season, which means that Woods could very easily finish in this same range again in 2020. However, he’s being drafted as the WR24 off the board! I’m getting Woods on every single roster that I can this year.
– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)
There is a pretty big disconnect between what the average fantasy football player thinks about Robert Woods (WR25, 5th-round pick in ADP) and what the expert consensus thinks about him (WR16, 3rd-round pick). Woods scored just three touchdowns last year but there is bound to be positive regression, and he’s seen at least 130 targets in each of the last two years. With Brandin Cooks gone, he’s almost certainly going to be better than his ADP and fantasy drafters should hopefully catch up to the expert consensus soon.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)
Q2. Who has the greatest bust potential in Round 5?
I thought about David Johnson here, but as a running back who was essentially traded for DeAndre Hopkins, he’s going to get work regardless. Instead, I’ll go with T.Y. Hilton who showed up to training camp with a hamstring issue. This is a problem in general, but even more so now that he has a new quarterback in Philip Rivers. Hilton simply has too much risk for his fifth-round price tag.
– Mike Tagliere (@MikeTagliereNFL)
Unfortunately, the easy answer here is T.Y. Hilton. While I like Hilton the player, he’s had problems staying healthy over the past few seasons. That’s continued on into this year already and Hilton doesn’t look like he’s going to be 100 percent entering the season. Additionally, the Colts now have talented young wideouts that are going to take away targets in Parris Campbell and Michael Pittman Jr. I’d love to have Hilton as my WR4 as someone that I don’t need to rely on this year, but can get big performances out of when he’s on the field. However, at WR22, he’s going as someone who will be the backbone of your fantasy WR corps. It’s an easy pass for me.
– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)
Darren Waller should be the fifth tight end off the board, but I think there is too much bust potential to take him in Round 5. The Raiders added Jason Witten, Henry Ruggs, Lynn Bowden, and Bryan Edwards, so there will be plenty of more competition for targets. Also, remember, last season, the Raider assumed they’d have Antonio Brown and then had to coordinate a new offensive focus on the fly. With their new additions, the Raiders have had months to figure out how to involve them in their offense, so Waller’s usage should decrease. With plenty of upside tight ends available late, Waller has the biggest chance of anyone in Round 5 to be a bust in my opinion.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)
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