Each week there are some obvious starts and sits in fantasy football. Other decisions are not quite so simple. Here are some of my picks for Week 5 in the latest edition of Studs, Duds & Sleepers.
STUDS
QB: Jordan Love (GB at LAR): Love returned last week and delivered instantly. Now he gets the Rams, who’ve already allowed two signal callers to surpass 30 fantasy points in the season’s first four weeks.
RB Kenneth Walker III (SEA vs. NYG): He’s back. Walker erased any concerns about this abdomen injury in his Week 4 return. This week brings a Giants’ team that has already allowed five running backs to hit double-digit PPR points in four weeks.
WR: Amari Cooper (CLE vs. WAS): I’ll keep rolling receivers out vs. Washington all season long. Six wideouts have scored 15 or more PPR fantasy points vs. the Commanders this year and no team has allowed more fantasy points to wide receivers.
TE: Pat Freiermuth (PIT vs. DAL): After getting into the end zone for the first time of the season last week, the Steelers’ tight end has landed inside my top 12 this week facing a Dallas defense missing a few of its star players to injuries.
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Get ready for kickoff to Week 5’s action w/Dan Clasgens & James Adams on the Fantistics Insider Football Podcast…
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DUDS
QB: Sam Darnold (MIN vs. NYJ): It’s an awesome season so far for Donald and I usually am a sucker for the “revenge game” narrative. However, this time I am passing on it as no team has ceded fewer fantasy points to quarterbacks this season than the Jets.
RB: Zamir White (LV at DEN): While I am not prepared to recommend cutting White at this point, there are few scenarios where I will advise starting him. Alexander Mattison appears to be a more appealing fantasy option. Add to it a matchup vs. a tough Broncos’ D and no Raiders will likely be inserted in any of my lineups.
WR: Tank Dell (HOU vs. BUF): The good news is it looks like Dell will return from his rib injury. The bad news is Dell is clearly the third fiddle in the passing attack. He needs to play his way into your lineups.
TE: Hunter Henry (NE vs. MIA): Henry is the ultimate boom or bust player. In Week 2 he had 18.9 PPR points. In his other three contests he’s combined for less than 10 PPR points. This week he faces a Miami team that has yet to allow an opposing tight end to score vs. them in 2024.
SLEEPERS
QB: Trevor Lawrence (JCK vs. IND): It’s been a brutal start so far for Lawrence and the Jags. That said, this is the week when things get right. The Colts are giving up the third-most fantasy points to the position on the year and Lawrence has reached at least 21 fantasy points in three of his last four outings vs. his AFC South rivals.
RB: Rico Dowdle (DAL at PIT): There may finally be someone emerging in the Dallas backfield as Dowdle has now had 60 percent more of the carries in each of the past two weeks. The matchup vs. Pittsburgh isn’t great, but the expected volume makes him a RB3/flex play in our first bye week of the year.
WR: Jordan Whittington (LAR vs. GB): Whittington was a fast riser late in the draft season and now he’s finally showing us why. He saw 27.3 percent of the target share last week and has a high ceiling this week vs. GB in a contest I expect to be high scoring.
TE: Tyler Conklin (NYJ vs. MIN): The Vikings’ D has been surprising, but they have seen a pair of tight ends reach 17+ PPR points in the last three weeks. With 14 targets over the last two outings and me expecting the Jets to be playing from behind, Conklin is in my top 15 this week.
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