Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em – Week 5
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Quarterbacks
Start ‘Em
Teddy Bridgewater, Miami Dolphins
I have to be honest, prior to the start of the season, I thought Bridgewater was going to be the Dolphins’ starter due to performance, not injury to Tua Tagovailoa. Tua’s injury is regrettable, but I still believe Bridgewater can be a good fantasy starter. The Dolphins have really good weapons and they are facing a Jets defense giving up nearly 20 points per game to quarterbacks. Good matchup and a good start for Bridgewater.
Jared Goff, Lions
If you haven’t already noticed, the Lions offense is stellar this season and their defense is abysmal – two things that lead to great fantasy quarterback play. Even without D’Andre Swift and Amon-Ra St. Brown last week, Goff still threw for 378 yards and four scores. Now, facing off with a Patriots defense that is allowing more than 20 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, we could see Goff lead the position in Week 5.
Sit ‘Em
Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
The Bears have not been good at much this season, but they have been really good at defending the pass. They are only giving up 12 points per game to opposing quarterbacks and a league-low D-PAC score of 1.69. It also seems like something is wrong with this Vikings offense. If you have other options, sit Cousins this week.
Geno Smith, Seahawks
Geno Smith has been performing very well for fantasy in the last couple of weeks, but all good things must come to an end. Heading into New Orleans is always a tough situation to overcome, especially since they’ve allowed just three passing touchdowns through the first four weeks. If you’re banking on another great performance from Smith this week, I’d cash that check now and find an alternative start at quarterback.
Running Backs
Start ‘Em
Rhamondre Stevenson, Patriots
There’s little good to say about the Patriots’ passing game except that it’s probably going to lead to more opportunities for the teams’ running backs. Rhamondre Stevenson has taken more carries in each week of 2022 to this point and he is easily the target leader out of the backfield. He’ll take his 4.91 YPC against Detroit, who is sporting the fifth-highest D-PAC score of 12.12 while surrendering the second most fantasy points per game (30.68) to running backs. This is also a nod to Damien Harris, but I like Stevenson just a touch more this week.
Melvin Gordon, Denver Broncos
The injury bug is biting hard this year, especially at the running back position. With Javonte Williams on IR, Melvin Gordon is the clear-cut primary back in Denver. For now. Gordon should see north of 50% of the offensive snaps this week if he can hold on to the ball. They face the Colts this week who are giving up over 20 points per game to running backs with a league-worst D-PAC score of 13.51. You drafted and stashed Gordon for this exact situation, now is the time to start him.
Sit ‘Em
Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons
In a similar situation as Melvin Gordon, Tyler Allgeier seems to be in line to be the lead back in Atlanta due to the injury of Corderelle Patterson. However, Allgeier looks like the starter but should be in quite the timeshare with Caleb Huntley. He does pose a decent threat in the passing game, and Atlanta has also shown to have quite the commitment to running the ball, however, this matchup is bad. Tampa Bay is only giving up 11 points per game to running backs, which is not a lot to share among two to three backs.
Latavius Murray, Broncos
I know, you’re probably not thinking of starting Latavius Murray this week anyway, but you’re going to want to consider picking him up as a stash. Murray was a last-minute play for the Saints last week with Alvin Kamara getting the late scratch. His 5.18 YPC got him signed off of the Saints practice squad by Denver. Murray will be on the Broncos’ roster for the entire year because of this move – he can’t be placed on the practice squad. Denver made this move because of the injury to Williams and because they are going to utilize him – just not much in Week 5. Add Murray but don’t start him yet.
Wide Receivers
Start ‘Em
Robert Woods, Titans
The injury to Treylon Burks is going to keep him out for at least a couple of weeks. Turf toe is no joke and will likely limit Burks for an extended period of time. Robert Woods is the last best hope for the Titans’ passing game. With back-to-back weeks of solid fantasy output, Woods makes for a necessary start in Week 5.
Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys
Michael Gallup made his first appearance since tearing his ACL last season and had a decent game. He caught two of his three targets for 24 yards and hauled in a touchdown. In a bigger positive sign, he was on the field for 64 percent of offensive snaps, so there is room for improvement. In his second game back, he’s facing the Rams who are giving up over 51 points per game to wide receivers. I expect Gallup to be on the field more and be targeted more this week.
Sit ‘Em
Diontae Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers
This would be a really tough decision to make, but I don’t see much happening for the Steelers offense this week. The Bills have arguably one of the best defenses in the league and are only giving up 30 points per game to wide receivers. They have also been historically dominant against rookie quarterbacks. I expect Kenny Pickett to have a very rough starting debut in Buffalo, which will trickle down to Johnson.
D.J. Moore, Panthers
With the current state of affairs in the Carolina passing game, you cannot start D.J. Moore. He has yet to surpass 50 yards receiving and only once has he caught more than three passes in a game during the 2022 campaign. With the 49ers pressuring defense, Baker Mayfield won’t have enough time in the pocket to get quality targets to Moore, thus confounding the problem. Until we see some semblance of a functioning passing game, Moore is off of the fantasy radar.
Tight Ends
Start ‘Em
David Njoku, Browns
Over the last two weeks, David Njoku has caught 14 balls for 162 yards. He will continue to be a focal point in the Cleveland offense, seeing six to eight targets per game. You don’t pay a player big bucks just to abandon using him after a couple of successful weeks. He’s been targeted more this season than Kyle Pitts and Dallas Goedert, among others. We’ll continue to see him produce good fantasy numbers and he’ll be the team’s second-most-targeted pass catcher after this week.
Hayden Hurst, Cincinnati Bengals
So far this season Hayden Hurst’s usage has been unpredictable. This week they play the Ravens who have a league-worst 7.08 D-PAC score. The Bengals have shown to use the tight end when they are facing a team with a vulnerability to it. With the Ravens struggling and the tight end position being quite finicky this season, I see a strong game from Hurst this week.
Sit ‘Em
Logan Thomas, Washington Commanders
It almost feels like you could sit tight end not named Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews. All the rest are bench-able if you are able to. If I have to pick one, I’ll go with Logan Thomas, who has been serviceable, averaging just under 10 points per game, but has a tough matchup with the Titans this week.
Robert Tonyan, Packers
Robert Tonyan’s fantasy day was saved by a touchdown on one of his two receptions last week. Don’t count on that again against a Giants defense that hasn’t surrendered a tight end touchdown all season and has limited the position to less than nine fantasy points per game. There are plenty of other tight ends who could catch four balls for 45 yards this week, so avoid Tonyan.
Don’t forget to hit us up on Twitter with any of your lineup questions. You can find Benjamin @FFRabbitDad and Brendan @OBryanBren. If you have a question, we will give you some guidance. After all, we want you to win!
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