What an interesting week this is setting up to be.
Fantasy football is the ultimate game of strategy because every season has a vast galaxy of variables. How we assess, interpret and act on those variables is critical to our success.
Boy oh boy, Week 5 is chock full o’ variables.
The bye weeks are back to challenge our roster depth and our managerial acumen. Can you win with one hand tied behind your back? Two hands? Two hands and one foot? If you went heavy on Chargers, Browns and Seahawks in your draft, you might be feeling like the Black Knight at the end of the sword fight in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”
But there are some positive variables, too. Week 5 could bring the return of a pair of stars who spent the first four weeks of the season on injured reserve: Cooper Kupp and Jonathan Taylor. Kupp reportedly practiced with the Rams without limitation on Wednesday. Taylor also practiced in full, though it’s unclear whether he and the Colts have resolved their differences over Taylor’s contractual status. Also back in Week 5 is Lions WR Jameson Williams, whose six game gambling suspension was shortened to four games after a change to the NFL’s gambling policy.
And of course, we have to sift through all of the other variables: matchups, injuries, shifting depth charts, etc.
Buckle up, friends. It’s going to be a wild week.
As always, feel free to use these tiered rankings as a tiebreaker for your difficult lineup decisions. Here are all of my fantasy football rankings, tiers, and player notes for Week 5. Below we dive into a few notable players.
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Fitz’s Fantasy Football Outlook
WIDE RECEIVERS
Tier 1
Tier 2
- Amon-Ra St. Brown
- CeeDee Lamb
- Puka Nacua
- DeVonta Smith
- Jaylen Waddle
- Chris Olave
- Brandon Aiyuk
- Deebo Samuel
Tier 3
- Garrett Wilson
- Michael Pittman
- Terry McLaurin
- D.J. Moore
- Zay Flowers
- Nico Collins
- George Pickens
- Calvin Ridley
- Cooper Kupp
Tier 4
- Gabe Davis
- DeAndre Hopkins
- Christian Kirk
- Adam Thielen
- Marquise Brown
- Romeo Doubs
- Christian Watson
- Drake London
- Jerry Jeudy
- Jahan Dotson
- Tutu Atwell
- Courtland Sutton
- Tank Dell
- Jordan Addison
- Jakobi Meyers
Tier 5
- Michael Thomas
- Tyler Boyd
- Jayden Reed
- Robert Woods
- Michael Wilson
- Curtis Samuel
- Josh Downs
- K.J. Osborn
Tier 6
- Wan’Dale Robinson
- Rashid Shaheed
- Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
- Kendrick Bourne
- Rashee Rice
- D.J. Chark
- Zay Jones
Tier 7
- Calvin Austin
- Josh Reynolds
- Skyy Moore
- Odell Beckham
- Darnell Mooney
- Jonathan Mingo
- Marvin Mims
- DeVante Parker
- Brandin Cooks
- Jameson Williams
My rankings for the Rams’ top three receivers this week: Puka Nacua WR9, Cooper Kupp WR23, Tutu Atwell WR34. Collectively, those rankings feel overly aggressive against an Eagles defense that’s usually tough against the pass. But Nacua and Kupp are must-starts, so the only Rams WR who poses a real dilemma is Atwell, who has 22-270-1 this season while averaging 8.8 targets a game. Atwell could feel the target squeeze with Kupp returning to action. It’s still worth at least considering Atwell for your lineup, however, since the Eagles have been much tougher against the run than the pass. Philadelphia has allowed the second-fewest rushing yards and the sixth-most passing yards this season.
-Pat Fitzmaurice
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