Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Start/Sit Advice (Week 5)

Fantasy football managers tend to regard the bye weeks with dread. But the byes separate the savvy managers from the less astute managers.

This is when it gets easier to tell the sharps from the squares.

• Sharp managers tend to draft deep, robust teams that can withstand the absence of key players.
• Sharp managers are better able to identify long-term value on the waiver wire, while the squares are obsessed with chasing last week’s points.
• Sharp managers have an edge in lineup-setting when starters are unavailable and lineups require some thought.

We’ve entered the bye weeks. It’s time to flex those fantasy muscles and start padding that record. Let’s jump into Week 5.

As always, feel free to use these tiered fantasy football rankings as a tiebreaker for your difficult lineup decisions. Beneath the tiers, I’ll offer a few brief thoughts on some of the borderline start/sit guys and some other interesting cases. (Hat tip to PFF’s Nate Jahnke for the snap-count data.)

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Fitz’s Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Start/Sit Advice (Week 5)

QUARTERBACKS

Tier 1

• Lamar Jackson
• Josh Allen
• Jayden Daniels

Tier 2

• Brock Purdy
• Jordan Love
• Kyler Murray
• Justin Fields
• C.J. Stroud

Tier 3

• Baker Mayfield
• Joe Burrow
• Geno Smith
• Dak Prescott

Tier 4

• Deshaun Watson
• Patrick Mahomes
• Trevor Lawrence
• Kirk Cousins
• Caleb Williams
• Sam Darnold
• Joe Flacco

Tier 5

• Andy Dalton
• Derek Carr
• Aaron Rodgers
• Matthew Stafford
• Daniel Jones

Tier 6

• Bo Nix
• Tyler Huntley
• Gardner Minshew
• Jacoby Brissett

In 2021, Joe Burrow threw for 941 yards and seven touchdowns in two regular-season games against the Ravens. Since then, the Ravens have had better luck against Mr. Burrow. Over his last five games against Baltimore (including a playoff game in early 2022), Burrow has averaged 192.8 passing yards. It’s not an encouraging trend, but Burrow has been sharp over his last three games, throwing seven TD passes and averaging 7.8 yards per attempt. Consider him a low-end QB1 this week.

The Cleveland offense is worrisome. Deshaun Watson is averaging a sickly 4.9 yards per pass attempt. Starting offensive tackles Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin have played one combined game this season. The Browns have not scored 20 points or accumulated 300 yards of offense in any game. But dare I say that Watson is startable in a pinch this week? He’s facing a Washington pass defense that ranks 28th in DVOA and has allowed 20.8 fantasy points per game to QBs, second-most behind only the Jaguars. Wills and Conklin returned to practice on Thursday, so Watson should have improved pass protection against a Commanders pass rush that has collected only eight sacks. I have Watson ranked QB14. He’s not a desirable start, but, hey, we’ve reached the bye weeks, and sometimes fantasy managers have to resort to unpleasant options.

Patrick Mahomes is averaging 15.4 fantasy points a game. He’s QB16 in fantasy scoring. And now, Mahomes is going to be without WR Rashee Rice, who accounted for a huge percentage of targets, catches and receiving yards in the Kansas City offense. Mahomes’ fantasy slump dates back to the middle of last season. Since Week 8 of 2023, he’s averaged 15.5 fantasy points per game and has recorded only one 20-point game. Mahomes is one of the greatest pure passers of all time, and yet he’s simply not a top-12 QB for fantasy any longer. Don’t feel guilty about sitting him against the Saints.

RUNNING BACKS

Tier 1

• Jordan Mason
• Kyren Williams
• Derrick Henry
• Alvin Kamara
• Bijan Robinson
• Breece Hall

Tier 2

• James Cook
• Kenneth Walker III
• Aaron Jones
• Chuba Hubbard
• Brian Robinson Jr.
• Josh Jacobs
• James Conner

Tier 3

• Travis Etienne Jr.
• Najee Harris
• De’Von Achane

Tier 4

• D’Andre Swift
• Jerome Ford
• Javonte Williams
• Zack Moss
• Alexander Mattison

Tier 5

• Kareem Hunt
• Trey Sermon
• Cam Akers
• Tyrone Tracy
• Rachaad White
• Rico Dowdle
• Bucky Irving
• Antonio Gibson
• Rhamondre Stevenson
• Chase Brown

Tier 6

• Roschon Johnson
• Braelon Allen
• Justice Hill
• Tank Bigsby
• Tyler Allgeier
• Austin Ekeler
• Zach Charbonnet
• Emanuel Wilson
• Samaje Perine
• Ty Chandler
• Tyler Goodson

Tier 7

• Jaleel McLaughlin
• Raheem Mostert
• D’Onta Foreman
• Miles Sanders
• Dameon Pierce
• Carson Steele
• Ezekiel Elliott
• Eric Gray
• Ray Davis

Welcome to must-start status, Chuba Hubbard. In Andy Dalton’s two starts for the Panthers, Hubbard has had two 100-yard rushing games, 39 carries, nine catches, 290 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. The Bears aren’t an easy matchup for Hubbard, but they aren’t necessarily a poor matchup. Chicago has allowed the 11th-most fantasy points to running backs.

De’Von Achane is a hard player to rank. It’s easy to understand any reluctance to start him after Achane had 10-15-0 rushing and 3-14-0 receiving in Miami’s putrid offensive performance against the Titans on Monday night. The thing is, there are 13 appealing options at running back this week. To me, Achane is the best of the rest. Yes, the Dolphins’ offense has become a fetid swamp. But Achane is clearly Miami’s lead back, he’s getting a lot of touches, and he has the speed to break off a big play any time he touches the ball.

It’s not comfortable to be bullish on Javonte Williams these days, but … I’m bullish on Javonte, at least for Week 5. Javonte is still operating as the lead back for the Broncos. He led the Denver backfield in snaps last week by a wide margin and had 18 touches. Javonte has a plus matchup this week against a Raiders run defense that ranks 23^rd in DVOA and has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to RBs. The Broncos are home favorites, so the game script should be positive. And we know how much Sean Payton likes to get his running backs involved in the passing game. Start Javonte.

Rhamondre Stevenson is an interesting case. He’s fumbled in each of New England’s first four games, prompting Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo to announce his removal as the starter for Week 5. But will Stevenson merely sit for the first series and then take his rightful place as New England’s lead back? Or will Antonio Gibson get more of the work this week? It might be a mistake, but I’m still ranking Stevenson higher. This week’s matchup against Miami would seem to set up well for him.  When the Patriots were involved in close games in Weeks 1 and 2, upsetting the Bengals and losing to the Seahawks in overtime, Stevenson was a horse. He ran for 25-120-1 against the Bengals, 21-81-1 against the Seahawks. In Weeks 3-4, the Patriots were blown out by the Jets and 49ers. Stevenson had six carries against the Jets, 13 against the 49ers. The Patriots should have a run-friendly game script Sunday against the punchless Dolphins, and the matchup is a good one. Miami ranks 26th in DVOA against the run and has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to running backs.

It seems safe to start Kareem Hunt this week against the Saints. Active for the first time this season, Hunt immediately became the Chiefs’ primary ballcarrier in last week’s 17-10 win over the Chargers. Hunt led the Chiefs’ RBs in snaps and had 14 carries, while Samaje Perine and Carson Steele combined for seven carries. It’s still possible this turns into a messy committee. (And it’s worth noting that Clyde Edwards-Helaire is practicing for the Chiefs again after coming off the reserve/non-football illness list.) But one would have to imagine that the Chiefs are going to be more RB-centric than they’d like to be now that injured WR Rashee Rice is out of the picture.

Opportunity often means more than talent at the RB position, and Colts backup Trey Sermon has a major opportunity with Jonathan Taylor missing Week 5 with what’s being called a “mild” high-ankle sprain. I have my doubts about Sermon’s talent, but I also doubted the talent of Zack Moss early last season, and Moss absolutely smashed early in the season when Taylor had an ankle injury. I have Sermon ranked RB25 against a respectable Jaguars run defense.

There’s a crackle of electricity in the air whenever Chase Brown has the ball in his hands, but it might be premature to start him this week against a rugged Baltimore run defense despite Brown’s riveting two-TD performance last week. As good as Brown has looked this season, starter Zack Moss has played at least 60% of the snaps in every game this season and has acquitted himself well. Maybe we’ll see a changing of the guard soon. But I don’t want to assume it’s about to happen, and I don’t really want to start a part-time running back against a Ravens defense that has given up the third-fewest fantasy points to RBs.

Although I don’t think Tank Bigsby is on the cusp of supplanting Travis Etienne as the Jaguars’ starting RB, Bigsby has looked terrific this season. He had seven carries for 90 yards last week against the Texans, providing the Jags’ offense with a badly needed spark. But Bigsby hasn’t played more than 32% of the offensive snaps in any of the Jaguars’ first four games. He isn’t a safe start this week against the Colts. And by the way, the Indianapolis run defense might not be a red-carpet matchup anymore. In Weeks 1 and 2, Joe Mixon and Josh Jacobs both had more than 150 rushing yards against the Colts. In Week 3, the Colts held the Bears’ D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson to 21 carries for 50 yards. Last week, the Colts held Najee Harris to 13 carries for 19 yards.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Tier 1

• CeeDee Lamb
• Justin Jefferson
• Nico Collins
• Ja’Marr Chase

Tier 2

• Jayden Reed
• D.K. Metcalf
• Marvin Harrison Jr.
• Garrett Wilson
• Chris Olave
• Chris Godwin
• Mike Evans
• Deebo Samuel

Tier 3

• Amari Cooper
• George Pickens
• Diontae Johnson
• Drake London
• DJ Moore
• Stefon Diggs
• Michael Pittman Jr.
• Zay Flowers
• Tyreek Hill
• Terry McLaurin
• Brandon Aiyuk
• Brian Thomas Jr.
• Dontayvion Wicks
• Wan’Dale Robinson

Tier 4

• Xavier Worthy
• Tee Higgins
• Rashid Shaheed
• Christian Kirk
• Josh Downs
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba
• Darnell Mooney
• Tank Dell
• Jerry Jeudy
• Courtland Sutton

Tier 5

• Keenan Allen
• Rome Odunze
• Jaylen Waddle
• Xavier Legette
• Jakobi Meyers
• Tyler Lockett
• Jordan Addison
• Tre Tucker
• Darius Slayton
• Jauan Jennings

Tier 6

• Tutu Atwell
• Jordan Whittington
• Jalen Tolbert
• Keon Coleman
• Demarcus Robinson
• Allen Lazard
• Curtis Samuel
• Bo Melton
• Mike Williams

Tier 7

• Greg Dortch
• Michael Wilson
• Gabe Davis
• Andrei Iosivas
• Josh Reynolds
• Ray-Ray McCloud
• Alec Pierce
• Justin Watson
• Rashod Bateman
• JuJu Smith-Schuster
• Luke McCaffrey
• Elijah Moore
• DeMario Douglas
• Jonathan Mingo

Please don’t spite-bench Garrett Wilson. Yes, he’s off to a slow start, but Wilson has dealt with some difficult matchups over the first four weeks, and his numbers are far from awful. He has a 25.6 percent target share. He’s on pace for 85 catches and just over 1,000 — which is about what he gave us the last two years with worse QB situations. I’m not worried about Aaron Rodgers’ passing ability based on what we’ve seen so far. Wilson is still no worse than a low-end WR1 or top-end WR2. Bench him at your own peril.

Dontayvion Wicks becomes an appealing Week 5 option with Packers WR Christian Watson out with a high-ankle sprain and Romeo Doubs unlikely to play after missing two late-week practices because he’s in a snit about his usage. Wicks had 200 air yards last week to lead all NFL receivers. He finished with five catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns in the Packers’ 31-29 loss to the Vikings. Now, Wicks faces a Rams pass defense that ranks 31st in DVOA and has given up the sixth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers. The Packers’ target distribution can be pretty unpredictable, and Wicks clearly benefitted from the Packers falling behind 28-0 last week and having to throw like crazy to try to get back in the game. Still, I have Wicks ranked WR30 and consider him a solid play.

Rashid Shaheed tends to fare much better against zone coverage than man coverage, and this week he faces a Kansas City defense that plays man coverage at one of the highest rates in the league. I don’t care. I want Shaheed in my lineup regardless. Shaheed isn’t just a field stretcher anymore. He’s running a fuller route tree for the Saints these days — although with an average depth of target of 14.5, he’s still a home-run threat. The Saints don’t really have a legitimate No. 3 receiver and don’t have a prolific pass catcher at tight end, so Shaheed’s target outlook is sunny. Get him into your lineup.

We had an interesting conversation about Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the FantasyPros start/sit show this week. JSN is coming off an eight-catch game against the Lions, but those eight receptions netted only 51 yards. That’s my concern with Smith-Njigba: the lack of big plays and touchdowns. We’re 21 games into JSN’s career. He has four career touchdowns and is averaging 9.7 yards per catch. Smith-Njigba’s usage has been more encouraging this season under new Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb than it was last year with Shane Waldron calling the plays, but JSN is still averaging an uninspiring 6.8 yards per target. When he had 95 catches and 1,606 receiving yards at Ohio State as a 19-year-old sophomore while playing alongside Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, JSN seemed destined for stardom. I’m starting to worry that Smith-Njigba’s ceiling might be that of a good NFL possession receiver. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I was hoping JSN might become a more athletic Keenan Allen. It’s possible he’s just a more athletic Tyler Boyd.

With Malik Nabers out with a concussion this week, Wan’Dale Robinson gains at least a small degree of value, but we probably shouldn’t ascribe superpowers to Wan’Dale, who catches a lot of passes but doesn’t break off many big plays or score many touchdowns. Part of the reason Wan’Dale has been so effective this season is that Nabers has been such a force, demanding more and more defensive attention with each passing week. Wan’Dale is the Taco Bell of wide receivers: You can get impressive quantity at an affordable price, but there isn’t much nutritional value.

I’m being cautious with my Week 5 ranking of Panthers rookie Xavier Legette, slotting him in at WR43. But Legette has undeniable appeal. He had 10 targets last week and had 6-66-1 receiving. Legette also had two carries for 10 yards, and it’s easy to understand why the Panthers got him involved as a runner: This dude looks dangerous with the ball in his hands. Legette is 6-1 and 221 pounds with 4.39 speed. He’s a load to deal with after the catch, and I thought he looked good as a route runner last week. Legette had a favorable matchup last week vs. the Bengals’ outside cornerbacks. His matchup against the Bears this week isn’t as friendly. Still, I’d be willing to start the intriguing Legette if I were in a bye-week squeeze.

Jakobi Meyers is the Raiders’ de facto No. 1 receiver with Davante Adams on the shelf (and perhaps on his way out of Las Vegas for good via trade). The thing is, Meyers might be running a lot of his routes this week into the coverage of Broncos CB Patrick Surtain Jr., who’s been a human blanket this season. Surtain is allowing just 0.12 fantasy points per route run into his coverage. I’m ranking Meyers as a midrange WR4.

TIGHT ENDS

Tier 1

• George Kittle
• Travis Kelce
• Jake Ferguson
• Brock Bowers

Tier 2

• Dalton Kincaid
• Trey McBride
• Tucker Kraft
• Pat Freiermuth

Tier 3

• Evan Engram
• Cole Kmet
• Kyle Pitts

Tier 4

• Isaiah Likely
• Mark Andrews
• David Njoku
• Dalton Schultz
• Mike Gesicki
• Zach Ertz
• Cade Otton
• Juwan Johnson
• Colby Parkinson
• Hunter Henry
• Tyler Conklin
• Noah Fant

Tier 5

• Noah Gray
• Johnny Mundt
• Greg Dulcich
• Jonnu Smith

How gross has the TE position been for fantasy gamers this season? Through four weeks, George Kittle is the only tight end with multiple TD catches. Kittle has scored two touchdowns in three games. NFL tight ends have combined for 21 touchdowns in 64 games.

In a bleak TE landscape, Green Bay’s Tucker Kraft could be a ray of hope now that Packers QB Jordan Love has returned from a sprained MCL. Kraft earned nine targets against the Vikings last week and had a season-high six receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown. Love threw 54 passes with the Packers in catch-up mode for most of that game, so we shouldn’t count on such heavy target volume for Kraft every week. But the Packers are going to be without WR Christian Watson, who has a high-ankle sprain, and WR Romeo Doubs, who’s being listed as doubtful after missing a pair of practices because he’s pouting about his usage. Their absences raise Kraft’s target floor. Love is one of the NFL’s better passers, and Kraft has getting ample playing time. His snap shares in Green Bay’s last two games: 80% and 96%.

The Saints’ Juwan Johnson could be a sneaky start this week. His surface stats this season are unexciting (4-39-1 on six targets), but Johnson’s route participation has risen to 52.3% over the last two weeks, and Johnson could get a bump in snaps with Saints TE Taysom Hill dealing with broken ribs. Johnson will be facing a Chiefs defense that’s giving up a league-high 14.4 fantasy points per game to tight ends.

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