In need of a fantasy football win? We aren’t too far from the midway point of our regular season, and you can’t afford to fall too far behind. I’m here to help you break those ties and have your team pointing in the right direction when Week 5 is all said and done.
Which Players Should You Start in Week 5?
All stats are from TruMedia unless otherwise stated.
Chuba Hubbard, RB | CAR (at CHI)
Andy Dalton gets the headlines because of the position he plays, but how about Chuba Hubbard?
Consecutive games with 100+ rushing yards and 4+ catches since 2023
- Christian McCaffrey: Weeks 15-16, 2023
- Chuba Hubbard: Weeks 3-4, 2024
The Panthers gave Hubbard four carries inside the 10-yard line on their first drive last weekend against the Bengals, a nod to their commitment to maintaining balance, even while Dalton plays well.
Chuba Hubbard over the past two weeks:
🔵 218 rushing yards (3rd)
⚫ 124 yards after contact (3rd)
🔵 13 first downs (T-2nd)
⚫ 85.6 PFF grade (4th) pic.twitter.com/1gLQu0F7MQ— PFF CAR Panthers (@PFF_Panthers) October 2, 2024
Hubbard was on the field for a season-high 72.9% of the snaps last week and, like it or not, has one of the top 10 roles in the NFL. That’s not to say he’s a top-10 fantasy running back, but with a rock-solid touch count in hand, he’s a top-20 option until proven otherwise.
Keon Coleman, WR | BUF (at HOU)
Was last week an appetizer? Keon Coleman made a few nice plays (3-51-0) and left points on the field by dropping another chunk play; now, the second-round pick gets the ideal spot for a breakout performance.
Coleman’s profile
- aDOT: 15.1 yards
- Houston’s defense: 13.3 aDOT to opposing WRs, highest in the league
- Houston’s defense: 7.8% WR touchdown rate, fifth highest in the league
Coleman hasn’t been weighed down with opportunities this season, but in his limited looks, he has produced 37.4% over expectation.
This is the first week in which I have the rookie ranked as my top Buffalo receiver. He’s a viable Flex play and a strong bring-back option for DFS players looking to stack up the Texans’ pass game.
Tucker Kraft, TE | GB (at LAR)
Tucker Kraft has seen over 18% of the targets when he’s been on the field in three straight games, and with Jordan Love back under center, that level of involvement alone is enough to justify going in this direction.
The 2023 third-round pick has yet to post an average depth of target (aDOT) over 3.5 yards in a game this season. While that caps his ceiling, those of us streaming the position are more worried about a reasonable floor than any sort of upside case.
The number of viable tight ends seems to decline by the week, and with two of them on bye in Week 5, Kraft — Week 4’s top scorer at the position — is a top-12 option in this spot, one whom I’m playing over both of Baltimore’s options.
Jordan Love, QB | GB (at LAR)
Love looked predictably rusty against an aggressive Vikings bunch in his return to action after missing just two games due to an MCL sprain, but his willingness to cut it loose late was encouraging.
As the Packers find their groove, Love saved your fantasy matchup with the best fourth quarter of his career (20.1 fantasy points, a number that Aaron Rodgers only topped twice during his time with the team). It required garbage time (garbage-adjacent, at the very least) for Love to reward your loyalty last week, something that I don’t think will be the case this week.
We know about the receiver talent in Green Bay, so the fact that Kraft’s production from last week could carry over (Rams: league-high 10.6 yards allowed per TE target this season) lands Love safely inside my top 10 at the position.
We got glimpses of meaningful mobility from Love last season. That’s what I’ll be watching in this game. I don’t have any questions about him as a passer, but if Love is going to be a difference-maker this season, his ability to move around is critical.
Which Players Should You Sit in Week 5?
Rhamondre Stevenson, RB | NE (vs. MIA)
The game script is going to work away from the Patriots more often than not, but this weekend looks like the exception. That said, are we sure that Rhamondre Stevenson is going to keep getting chances?
He’s put the ball on the ground in all four games this season (two lost) and averaged under four yards per carry in both games against the Dolphins last season, with none of his 30 touches gaining more than 12 yards.
If you’re in a bind, Flexing Stevenson is reasonable, though I’m not doing it with the utmost confidence. Avoiding this offense is the move that winning teams in 2024 are making.
Jordan Addison, WR | MIN (vs. NYJ)
How you view Addison’s profile tells you a lot about who you are as a fantasy manager. Are you an optimist or a realist?
My guess is that you read that and assumed that there was a “right” or “preferred” option to that question. That, because I’m the number-crunching type, I’d encourage you to take the realist approach.
Wrong.
Fantasy leagues can be won in a variety of ways. The most certain way to lose is to be unaware of who you are as a manager.
If you skew on the optimistic side of things, a player like Addison is one you should target. In his return from an ankle injury, he caught a 29-yard touchdown against the Packers (average career TD reception length: 29.5 yards) and was handed the ball on a jet sweep resulting in another score.
Players rarely sustain the type of scoring rate that Addison currently has (12 scores on 78 career touches), but maybe we are looking at a high-pedigree receiver who is destined to do special things. If that’s what you believe, you can probably acquire his services cheaper than you’d assume.
If you’re like me and believe that regression to the mean is close to inevitable, you’re using Addison’s Week 4 stat line as an excuse to move on. No Jaire Alexander for Green Bay last week resulted in some odd coverage responsibilities, and that allowed Addison to thrive — but I do think his value is more likely to decline moving forward than grow.
The target ceiling is only so high. What if Sam Darnold regresses? What if Jalen Nailor has earned himself more run? What if T.J. Hockenson returns in a month and walks into a 6-8 target role?
This is a tough matchup against a slow-moving team. Addison isn’t a top-40 receiver for me this weekend, which could lower his value in the trade market if you elect to wait to test the waters.
Xavier Legette, WR | CAR (at CHI)
With Adam Thielen sidelined, Xavier Legette was targeted on Carolina’s fifth play from scrimmage (12-yard reception), and he led Panthers receivers last week with an 85.7% snap share.
The role Legette filled on Sunday was that of an underneath option (9.4 aDOT compared to Diontae Johnson’s 15.0) against the Bengals, something that is good for his long-term outlook. That said, I’m not tempting fate and plugging Legette in this week.
There are plenty of other WR options who offer a higher-ceiling case than Legette against a Bears defense that has allowed a score on just 1.5% of receiver targets, the fourth-lowest rate in the league.
For the time being, Carolina’s rookie is a DFS-only play. Still, he should be universally rostered, given his role and the upside that Dalton has infused this offense with.
Dak Prescott, QB | DAL (at PIT)
I don’t mean to nitpick but in a game with a 55-yard touchdown pass and a completion percentage north of 81%, 16.7 fantasy points against the Giants in Week 4 was underwhelming.
Dak Prescott took what the defense was giving him. While that’s not a bad thing for Dallas, fantasy managers need more aggression — aggression that I fear we might not see on a weekly basis, given the limitations of his supporting cast outside of the great CeeDee Lamb.
New York put a cap on its defense and held Prescott to a 5.5 aDOT, this after three straight games of Dallas’ QB recording a rate of at least 8.5 yards. I was impressed with Prescott’s ball placement on some of those in-breaking routes, which leaves him open for future upside in catch-and-run spots. But the fact that he was just 4 of 8 passing on third downs (18-19 otherwise) caught my eye.
Struggles in that department, obviously, kill drives and lower possession expectations. Prescott remains a fringe QB1 due to the Cowboys’ inability to move the ball on the ground. They led for seven of nine drives in Week 4 and couldn’t enforce their will (23 carries for 80 yards), but the upside is limited in a significant way.