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Rival Fantasy NFL: Week 5

Challenges

Last week’s challenge was a doozy. No one could have predicted that Jordan Addison and Kj Osborn would combine for just three targets, one reception, and 16 receiving yards. Addison was blanked against Carolina, while Osborn saw just one reception. It was a curious stat line for both due to the plus matchup, but Kirk Cousins was a disaster outside of two Justin Jefferson touchdowns, adding two picks and just 195 passing yards.

For this week’s challenge, we will head to Indianapolis for a fun one. We all know that Michael Pittman is the number one receiver in Indy, but it has become clear that Anthony Richardson has an affinity for Josh Downs, so much so that he can be considered the number two receiver over the talented but inconsistent Alec Pierce. This week’s challenge will be Josh Downs vs. Michael Pittman. I will be taking the Downs side and will leave the Pittman side open here.

Josh Downs has impressed through four weeks of the season. He has a fantasy-relevant 21.1 percent target share and has managed to haul in 4.3 of his 6.8 targets per game. His yardage average is modest at just 40 yards a piece, but the workload is impressive, as is his chemistry with his rookie quarterback. His average depth of target and air yards per game ranks sixth and third on the team, respectively, so Downs is going to need to reprise the after-the-catch skills that helped make him such a high draft pick to truly flourish in the Colts scheme. Downs should eventually become a game-breaker a la DeVonta Smith in this scheme, albeit Downs is not as talented as Devonta. Still, his usage and success last year should give us an idea of what Downs’ ceiling is in this offense. This week against the Tennessee Titans, Downs should thrive as the perceived third option, as the Titans have allowed the fifth most receiving yards per game to the wide receiver position.

On the other side, we have the unquestioned number one receiver in Indianapolis, Michael Pittman Jr. Pittman leads the Colts with averages of 9.8 targets, 6.5 receptions, 61 receiving yards, 70 air yards, and a whopping 30.5 percent target share. He has been better than expected with a rookie quarterback who was ‘supposed’ to need to sit for at least a year and should only get better as he continues to build an on-field rapport with Richardson. Pittman has outproduced Downs in every game so far this season and is facing a Titans team that has had massive issues trying to keep opposing number ones in check. This challenge was, of course, designed for whoever takes Pittman to win, but much like last week, nothing is guaranteed.

Fantasy Bingo

Another heartbreak. As suspected, my best chance of winning in Week 4 was the corner I mentioned. Unfortunately, my receivers decided to simultaneously have their poorest outings of the season, leaving me without the yardage to hit the relatively easy 100 plus receiving yard achievement. I also narrowly missed on the four total TDs (RB). They finished the day with three, lighting up one of the four squares in question. This week, it appears that my best chance for a will again come from a corner square. The achievements I need to hit are one passing TD (QB), three receiving TDs (WR), three FGs made (K), and two rushing TDs plus one receiving TD (RB). The running back and kicker achievements are going to be difficult, but still represent my best opportunity to win this week. There were some other corners that looked like they had a chance, but most were blocked by uncontrollable achievements like field goals missed or fumbles.

Difficult achievements included on my cards this week include two TDs rushing + one receiving TD + one passing TD (RB), three passing TDs in the second quarter (QB), one rushing TD in the second quarter (WR), 25 rushing yards (TE), 90 receiving yards (RB), zero field goals made (K), more than 50 rushing yards (WR), one rushing TD and two receiving TDs (RB), 500 total yards (QB), 100 rushing yards (QB), five field goals made (K), two receiving TDs in the fourth quarter (RB), one rushing TD in the fourth quarter (WR), three field goals missed (K), and more than four passing TDs in the fourth quarter (QB). These, of course, are not the only challenging achievements, as there are oddly specific achievements like the three passing TDs in the second quarter littered across the skill positions. There are also more doable but far from a sure thing achievements like 125 receiving yards (TE), 150 receiving yards (WR), and two TDs rushing plus one receiving (RB).

I stuck to the three running back and two wide receiver build this week but made some adjustments. I benched Tony Pollard and D’Andre Swift as they will be facing each other on Sunday Night Football but going up against two of the strongest defenses in the NFC. I plugged in David Montgomery, who had emerged as the obvious lead back in Detroit and has an easy matchup against Carolina. I also tapped Breece Hall, who is supposed to be without snap limitations in Week 5 against the get-right Broncos. I also swapped Jalen Hurts for Justin Fields, as Fields gets an uneven Commanders defense. Good luck to all on your bingo cards this week!

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Raju Byfield is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Raju, check out his profile and follow him @FantasyContext.