The NFL season continues to roll along like a runaway train and if you don’t stay on your toes, the season can pass you by. We’re nearly a third of the way through the 2021 season, and after four weeks, the fantasy football landscape has become clearer. Navigating injuries and disappointment from players with high draft capital is a common occurrence for fantasy football gamers, but now more than ever managers must do what is best for their team, even if that means sitting a star player with a tough matchup.
As always, I hope to guide the tough decisions needed for your fantasy teams to prosper by providing insights into my “Bold Predictions” that lead us to victory.
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Week 5 Fantasy Football Bold Predictions
Clyde Edwards-Helaire (RB – KC) is NOT a top-30 RB
The Week 5 Sunday Night Football battle between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills has all the makings to be a competitive, electrifying game and possibly the best matchup of the early season. Kansas City will head into Sunday night having to game plan against one of the league’s best defenses and an offensive unit capable of scoring in bunches. The Bills have allowed the fourth-fewest total rushing yards and rushing yards per game in 2021, which does not bode well for Edwards-Helaire, who is coming off back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances and 15+ fantasy points in consecutive weeks. The Chiefs could abandon the run game if they find themselves trailing early and having to rely on their franchise QB Patrick Mahomes to lead them from behind. Darrel Williams hampers the upside of the 2020 first-round pick as Williams continues to play the role of the goal-line vulture that often leaves CEH fantasy managers enraged. CEH is a low-end RB2/RB3 for me in a tough AFC showdown on Sunday Night Football.
DeVonta Smith (WR – PHI) finishes as a top-12 WR
Jalen Hurts will need to lean heavily on his number one weapon and 2021 first-round pick against the Panthers. DeVonta Smith has impressed as a rookie, hauling in 7.75 targets per game while averaging 11.9 fantasy points per game (PPR). Heading into Week 5 as the WR31, Smith will build off a stellar Week 4 performance and will look to continue to act as a target hog for Hurts and the Eagles. I expect Smith to put up the best numbers of his short career against Carolina, and he possesses tantalizing upside to finish as a WR1 as the Eagles look to avoid starting their season 1-4.
Trey Lance (QB – SF) is a QB1 in Week 5
Jimmy Garoppolo injured his calf during the Week 4 contest against the Seattle Seahawks, which gave way to Trey Lance, the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, to step in in relief. At times, the multidimensional gunslinger showcased his rushing ability and high football IQ, rushing seven times for 41 yards while throwing for 157 yards and two touchdowns. However, there were moments of inaccuracy and questionable decision-making, which can be expected of a rookie quarterback that was thrust into the starting lineup midway through the contest due to injury. With Jimmy G expected to miss Week 5, and with a full week to game plan for Lance as the starter, I expect a much better performance from Lance. Lance enters the week as the QB15, however, with the mixture of the talented offensive weapons in San Francisco, combined with Lance’s strong arm, big-play ability, and dynamic rushing tendencies, Lance will put up QB1 numbers with the possibility of securing his first career win epically as an upset in a tough divisional matchup against the undefeated Arizona Cardinals, showcasing why he is one of the top young, ascending QBs in the NFL and fantasy gold waiting in the wings.
Conclusion
If you are unable to win with the current state of your team, there is still time to make adjustments without throwing in the towel. Making savvy trades or crucial waiver wire adds can swing your team in a positive direction while executing start/sit decisions as accurately as possible can add another edge to beat out your opponent.
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Joshua Lefkowitz is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joshua, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @JLefkoNFL.