One of the most appealing things about drafting Damien Williams was supposed to be Andy Reid's consistent usage of a bell-cow back in the past. While the job has still been profitable for Fantasy owners, it hasn't been a bell-cow situation, and it mostly hasn't been Damien Williams. 

LeSean McCoy and Darrel Williams have taken advantage of the fact that Damien Williams has missed the past two weeks with a knee contusion, but it looks like he'll return on Sunday night against the Colts. That makes everything a little messier in what is still a fantastic situation.

The back that seems the easiest to project is McCoy. No matter who he was sharing with, McCoy has consistently seen between 11 and 14 touches in all four games. That's not very many touches, but it's enough in this offense. He has double digit PPR points in three of four games and has scored three touchdowns in the two games Damien Williams missed. 

I projected McCoy for 13 touches, 80 yards and a very good shot of at least one touchdown against the Colts. That makes him a low-end No. 2 running back better in non-PPR. 

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As for Damien and Darrel Williams, I feel far less certain. I expect Damien Williams will be the No. 2 back this week and have him projected for 10 touches. But he's been very inefficient in limited work, so he's a flex at best. What really scares me is the way the Chiefs have used Darrel Williams as a closer. 

In the past two weeks Darrel Williams has 12 fourth-quarter touches. He's turned them into 78 yards and a touchdown. If Damien Williams sees 40% of the touches in the first three quarters and then Darrel Williams is used to seal the deal late,  you probably won't want to start either of them. 

For more on Week 5, continue reading for my previews for quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end, featuring matchups that matter, DFS plays, streamers, projections, and more.  

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Week 5 Preview

Week 5
QB Preview
QB Preview
Numbers to know

Looking for someone to stream over Goff? I've got options below. 

  • 9.0 - Dak Prescott's yards per attempt. Only Patrick Mahomes has been better by this measure. 
  • 176 - Pass attempts for Matt Ryan, the most in the league. The Falcons can't run or play defense right now, so the Fantasy production should come for Ryan.
  • 20 - Times that Kyler Murray has been sacked this season, more than any other quarterback. It started to show up in his play in Week 4. Hopefully a matchup with the Bengals will help.
  • 8.1 - Average completed air yards for Matthew Stafford. He leads the league in both completed and attempted air yards, which is a huge change from 2018 and a big part of the reason he's been a top 10 Fantasy quarterback. 
  • 90% - of Chase Daniel's throws were rated 'on target' by Sports Info Solutions in Week 4. That would be the best mark in the league. 
  • 75 - Rushing yards for Deshaun Watson, which is just the seventh-best mark in the league.
QB Preview
Matchups that matter
Matchups that Matter
Andy Dalton QB
CAR Carolina • #14
Age: 37 • Experience: 14 yrs.

Week 5 Matchup

vs.

ARI
The Dolphins are on a bye this week, so we'll have to settle for the second-worst defense against quarterbacks. Arizona has allowed 28 Fantasy points per game to opposing starters, including three games where it has allowed at least 32 Fantasy points.
Dak Prescott QB
DAL Dallas • #4
Age: 31 • Experience: 9 yrs.

Week 5 Matchup

vs.

GB
Carson Wentz is the only quarterback to score more than 10 Fantasy points against the Packers this season and his production was based more on touchdowns than yardage. You're probably still starting Prescott, but you can't feel great about it.
Marcus Mariota QB
WAS Washington • #18
Age: 31 • Experience: 10 yrs.

Week 5 Matchup

vs.

BUF
Mariota has been very good this year, averaging 7.8 yards per pass attempt and 6.6 yards per rush attempt. He's even a top-12 quarterback for the year. But you can't start him against the Buffalo Bills defense.
QB Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Top Streamers
Andy Dalton QB
CAR Carolina • #14
Age: 37 • Experience: 14 yrs.

Ownership

49%
I know how bad Dalton was in prime time. And I'm sorry I didn't take prime-time Andy Dalton into consideration last week. But this game is not in prime time, and it's not against a division opponent. We didn't actually learn anything new about Dalton last week; this is what he does. High peaks and low valleys. Week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals should be one of those peaks, and one of the highest scoring games of the week.
Gardner Minshew QB
LV Las Vegas • #15
Age: 28 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Ownership

30%
I don't like this matchup at all. But then again, Minshew hasn't exactly had a good matchup yet ... at least not in a game he's started. His combination of fearlessness throwing down the field and scrambling when things go wrong makes him a solid streamer even against a good defense. For what it's worth, there aren't very many starters I'd sit for anyone other than Dalton.
One to Stash
Kyle Allen QB
PIT Pittsburgh • #4
Age: 28 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Ownership

33%
I understand if you can't trust Allen against Jacksonville. I wouldn't play him anywhere but two-quarterback leagues and DFS. But I'll absolutely be interested in starting Allen in Week 6 in London against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If you're streaming and looking ahead to next week, Allen is the add.
QB Preview
DFS Plays
Top Play
Lamar Jackson QB
BAL Baltimore • #8
Age: 27 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Week 5 Prices

FanDuel

$8,300

DraftKings

$7,100
Based on DFS scoring, Lamar Jackson is actually the No. 1 quarterback so far this season. Yes, even better that Patrick Mahomes. With no Mahomes on the slate, Jackson is the clear top option in terms of projected Fantasy points and the price difference isn't enough to discourage me from using him. The most difficult decision is whether you pair Jackson with Marquise Brown or Mark Andrews. I'll do both in several lineups.
Top Contrarian Play
Kyle Allen QB
PIT Pittsburgh • #4
Age: 28 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Week 5 Prices

FanDuel

$6,500

DraftKings

$5,100
Kyle Allen came back to earth against Houston in Week 4 and you might see a Week matchup against Jacksonville and take him off your board. Not so fast. They surrendered 28 Fantasy points to Joe Flacco in Week 4 and allowed Marcus Mariota to throw for 300 yards in Week 3. If Jalen Ramsey sits again I'm attacking this defense with a suddenly dirt-cheap Allen.
QB Preview
Heath's projections

Rank

QB

FPTs

1

Patrick Mahomes

36.03

2

Lamar Jackson

27.53

3

Russell Wilson

27.16

4

DeShaun Watson

26.96

5

Kyler Murray

26.65

6

Carson Wentz

26.33

7

Andy Dalton

25.84

8

Matt Ryan

24.94

9

Jacoby Brissett

24.54

10

Tom Brady

24.28

11

Dak Prescott

23.71

12

Philip Rivers

23.49

13

Aaron Rodgers

23.22

14

Jameis Winston

22.73

15

Gardner Minshew

22.24

16

Daniel Jones

22.20

17

Jimmy Garoppolo

22.11

18

Marcus Mariota

21.59

Week 5 RB Preview

RB Preview
Who's Out

The following players are not being projected to play Week 5 at this time. Here's what it means:

Jamaal Williams RB
NO New Orleans • #21
Age: 29 • Experience: 8 yrs.
The Packers looked like they were set to give Jamaal Williams even more work on Thursday. If he can't go, Aaron Jones should have close to a feature role.
RB Preview
Numbers to know
  • 111 - Touches for Christian McCaffrey. That's 19 more touches than any other player in the NFL this year. If he holds up to this workload, he's going to be the most valuable player in Fantasy.  
  • 44.3% - The percentage of Frank Gore's carries that have come against eight in the box. That's the highest mark in the league, which makes it even more remarkable that he's been Fantasy relevant.
  • 6 - David Johnson has at least six receptions in three of four Cardinals games. There is a huge difference between his value in non-PPR and PPR right now. 
  • 2.8 - Yards per carry for Sony Michel. That's last among running backs with at least 40 attempts. He's also not catching the ball, making him extremely touchdown-dependent. 
  • 0% - Not to pick on Michel, but this is his broken tackle rate. He hasn't broken one all season. 
  • 0 - Touchdowns for Leonard Fournette this season. And he's still a top-10 running back in both formats. There's enormous upside with the volume he's getting. 
  • 21 - Broken tackles for Chris Carson on Sunday. He answered the bell in a big way and should hold on to his feature role for now. 
  • 16 - Second-half touches for Ronald Jones. No other Buccaneers RB had more than one. It may finally be happening. 
  • 3 - Catches for Josh Jacobs this year. That is not going to cut it if you're looking for a top-20 season. 
  • 6.1 - Yards after contact per attempt for Jordan Wilkins this year. That's best among running backs with at least 10 carries.
RB Preview
Matchups that matter
Matchups that Matter
Marlon Mack RB
ARI Arizona • #37
Age: 28 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Week 5 Matchup

@

KC
The Chiefs are allowing 5.9 yards per carry to opposing running backs, the worst mark in the league. The Colts should try to establish the run and take the air out of the ball like Detroit tried to do with Kerryon Johnson.
Josh Jacobs RB
GB Green Bay • #8
Age: 26 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Week 5 Matchup

vs.

CHI
Jacobs has looked every bit the first-round talent, but he runs into a stiff test in Week 5. The Bears have only allowed 11.5 Fantasy points per game and a lot of that damage has come through the air, where Jacobs hasn't been used.
Latavius Murray RB
BUF Buffalo • #28
Age: 34 • Experience: 11 year

Week 5 Matchup

vs.

TB
The Buccaneers are allowing 2.9 yards per carry to opposing running backs. This is not the week to hope Murray can provide flex appeal with limited touches.
RB Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Week 5 Adds
Nyheim Hines RB
CLE Cleveland • #22
Age: 28 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Ownership

31%
Even with Mack likely active, Hines could be a solid play against the Chiefs. He caught six passes last week while chasing the score. My problem with Hines is his inefficiency when they throw him the ball. He's turned 97 career targets into just 499 yards. That's Carlos Hyde level inefficiency.
Ito Smith RB
DAL Dallas • #43
Age: 29 • Experience: 4 yrs.

Ownership

29%
If you're really desperate this week, plug Smith in there and hope he gets the goal-line work as he did in Week 4. There should be plenty of touchdowns to go around in this game.
Stashes
Alexander Mattison RB
LV Las Vegas • #22
Age: 26 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Ownership

55%
I don't have any new justification, but Mattison is going to remain at the top of this list because of his situation. He's the clear handcuff to a back who has yet to play 16 games in a season. He's also on a team that strives to be one of the most run-heavy teams in the league and is averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
Tony Pollard RB
TEN Tennessee • #20
Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Ownership

52%
Much like Mattison, Pollard is just one injury away from a featured role in a very good situation. I prefer Mattison because of Cook's injury history, but both Pollard and Mattison need to be rostered virtually everywhere.
RB Preview
DFS Plays
Top Plays
Christian McCaffrey RB
SF San Francisco • #23
Age: 28 • Experience: 8 yrs.

Week 5 Prices

FanDuel

$9,100

DraftKings

$8,700
McCaffrey is the highest priced back on both sites, but he's also the best value. Based on my projections, you'd either have to price McCaffrey over $10,000 or price everyone else below $8,000 to make someone else No. 1. He has eight more carries than any other back while averaging nearly 5 yards per carry. He leads the position in receptions and is averaging better than 8 yards per catch. He's the No. 1 player at the position and he's probably had rotten touchdown luck. There's no reason to get cute; just play McCaffrey.
Contrarian Plays
David Montgomery RB
DET Detroit • #5
Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Week 5 Prices

FanDuel

$5,700

DraftKings

$5,200
Early in the week there's a lot of guess work when it comes to projected ownership, but Montgomery hasn't done much yet to make people excited about playing him. I expect that will change in Week 5 against the Raiders. They'll be without Vontaze Burfict, which helps, but mostly I'm just counting on Montgomery's volume paying off. He had 24 touches last week and he has 16 or more in each of his past three games. Dalvin Cook is he only running back with at least 16 touches against the Raiders this year, and he posted 143 yards and a score.
RB Preview
Heath's Projections

Non-PPR Rank

PPR Rank

RB

FPTs

PPR FPTs

1

1

Christian McCaffrey

23.06

29.22

2

2

Alvin Kamara

19.49

25.04

3

3

Dalvin Cook

19.11

22.36

4

4

Nick Chubb

16.33

19.68

5

5

Ezekiel Elliott

15.94

19.30

7

6

Leonard Fournette

14.29

18.28

9

7

Le'Veon Bell

13.23

18.25

12

8

James Conner

12.93

17.56

11

9

Austin Ekeler

12.97

16.44

17

10

David Johnson

12.54

16.40

10

11

Joe Mixon

13.21

16.23

6

12

Derrick Henry

14.85

16.11

14

13

David Montgomery

12.84

15.50

15

14

Aaron Jones

12.69

15.33

30

15

James White

9.76

15.11

13

16

Lesean McCoy

12.87

15.03

16

17

Chris Carson

12.54

14.95

24

18

Wayne Gallman

11.10

14.75

20

19

Melvin Gordon

11.50

14.67

8

20

Mark Ingram

13.30

14.65

18

21

Todd Gurley

12.40

14.51

32

22

Chris Thompson

9.12

14.48

26

23

Phillip Lindsay

10.08

13.38

33

24

Nyheim Hines

9.06

13.23

28

25

Devonta Freeman

9.87

13.22

19

26

Josh Jacobs

12.08

13.13

29

27

Darrel Williams

9.85

12.97

21

28

Frank Gore

11

12.76

23

29

Jordan Wilkins

11.24

12.60

27

30

Jordan Howard

9.96

12.05

22

31

Carlos Hyde

11.24

11.99

35

32

Royce Freeman

9

11.78

25

33

Matt Breida

10.39

11.59

36

34

Devin Singletary

8.56

11.13

34

35

Raheem Mostert

8.85

10.40

43

36

Tarik Cohen

6.32

9.91

39

37

Rex Burkhead

7.59

9.77

31

38

Sony Michel

9.41

9.64

37

39

Ronald Jones

8.30

9.03

38

40

Miles Sanders

7.79

8.79

Week 5
WR Preview

There has been plenty of drama in Minnesota this week. First Adam Thielen called out the team's inability to pass, then Kirk Cousins apologized to his No. 1 receiver. It seemed like maybe the drama was over until Stefon Diggs missed practice on Wednesday and reports surfaced that he would like a trade. Diggs was back at practice on Thursday and says he didn't request a trade. But even if all the drama is over, the underlying issue still exists: The Vikings passing woes. 

A big part of this is an issue I warned you about before the season. Mike Zimmer fired John DeFilippo last year because DeFilippo wouldn't run the ball enough. Zimmer gave Kevin Stafanski a three-game audition, the Vikings ran the ball on nearly 50% of their offensive plays, and Stefanski was given the job in 2019. 

Stefanski clearly got the message, because Minnesota has actually run the ball even more in 2019, with 119 rush attempts to 99 pass attempts. Even Brian Schottenheimer would tell you that's a very run-heavy scheme. 

It follows a pretty clear pattern too. The Vikings won by 16 in Week 1 and only attempted 10 passes. The won by 20 in Week and threw the ball just 21 times. In Week 2 and Week 4 they were chasing the score and attempted a normal number of passes, 32 and 36 respectively. In the four games they've won since Stefanski took over Cousins has averaged 20 pass attempts.

Now let's not get confused. They're not winning because they're running. They're running when they're winning. Which brings us to Week 5. 

The Vikings face the Giants, who have been the worst pass defense in the league, even with one good performance against Washington. If you want to buy into the idea of a "squeaky wheel game", the Vikings should have no trouble getting both Thielen and Diggs touches. At the same time, they're a five-point favorite in a game with an over-under of 43.5. From what we've seen in Stefanski's seven games calling plays this is exactly when the Vikings go run-heavy. 

I'm projecting Cousins for 27 attempts in Week 5. That would be his second-highest mark in a win under Stefanski. It's also not likely enough to support a good game from both Thielen and Diggs. This year 41% of Cousins attempts have gone to his two best receivers. Last year it was 51%. Even at that inflated mark, that would only be 14 targets to split up between the two. At Thielen's career rate of 9.3 yards per target (he's only at eight this year), he'd be around 65 yards with seven targets. Diggs has been less efficient and would project for 55 yards at his career rate of 8.1 yards per target. 

Of course that's if they split targets evenly, but generally Thielen gets a bigger piece of the pie. For that reason, I have Thielen projected as a low-end No. 2 receiver while Diggs is more of a low-end flex option. The truth is either of them could be start-worthy if they score, but the odds of scoring a touchdown are cut by the run-heavy approach as well. 

Cousins may have apologized to Thielen, but the apology we need is one from Stefanski to Fantasy managers who drafted Vikings receivers. 

WR Preview
Who's Out

The following players are not being projected to play Week 5 at this time. Here's what it means:

Davante Adams WR
NYJ N.Y. Jets • #17
Age: 32 • Experience: 11 year
If Adams can't go in Week 5, Marquez Valdes-Scantling would be a top-25 receiver and Geronimo Allison would be a low-end flex. At quarterback, I'd be very worried about Aaron Rodgers.
Jarvis Landry WR
NO New Orleans • #80
Age: 32 • Experience: 10 yrs.
Landry suffered a concussion after putting up his best day as a Brown. If he's out this week, I'd expect a monster performance from Odell Beckham.
Christian Kirk WR
JAC Jacksonville • #13
Age: 28 • Experience: 7 yrs.
Kirk suffered a lower leg injury on Sunday and will likely miss Week 5. I'll be all in on Larry Fitzgerald and slightly interested in KeeSean Johnson.
Kenny Stills WR
NO New Orleans • #12
Age: 32 • Experience: 10 yrs.
Stills pulled a hamstring and the Texans receiving corps finally doesn't look quite as crowded. Let's see if Will Fuller or Keke Coutee can take advantage of the extra opportunity.
Dontrelle Inman WR
WAS Washington • #80
Age: 35 • Experience: 7 yrs.
Inman did a nice job filling in for Mike Williams before he left Week 4 with an injury. Hopefully Williams returns in Week 5.
John Ross WR
PHI Philadelphia • #83
Age: 29 • Experience: 6 yrs.
Ross has been placed on injured reserve. Auden Tate has a great opportunity against a bad Cardinals defense.
WR Preview
Numbers to Know
  • 47.81% - Robby Anderson's share of the Jets air yards. If Sam Darnold returns in Week 5, he'll be an interesting No. 3 receiver.
  • 18.2 - Average targeted air yards for Demarcus Robinson. Even after Week 4's disappointment, he's someone you can plug in as a flex if you're looking for upside.  
  • 46 - Targets for Cooper Kupp, the second-most in the league. He's had at least nine targets in every game and looks like a true No. 1 receiver. 
  • 41 - Combined targets this season for Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. Week 4 was a Diggs week, but it's going to be terribly frustrating t figure out which Vikings' receiver to start each week. 
  • 16 - Targets for Auden Tate the past two weeks.
  • 318 - Air yards for Keenan Allen. That's not just the most in the NFL, it's nearly 10% more than second place (Mike Evans).
  • 4.5 - Yards per target for Trey Quinn. That's the lowest among receivers with at least 20 targets. 
WR Preview
Matchups that matter
Matchups that Matter
DJ Chark WR
LAC L.A. Chargers • #9
Age: 28 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Week 5 Matchup

@

CAR
The Panthers are allowing just 5.2 yards per pass attempt. They've faced some great receivers and held most of them in check. You should probably try to avoid the Jaguars pass catchers.
Corey Davis WR
NYJ N.Y. Jets • #84
Age: 29 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Week 5 Matchup

vs.

BUF
Davis and A.J. Brown made a big splash in Week 4, but if you're adding them it's only as a stash. You shouldn't start them against Buffalo.
Josh Gordon WR
TEN Tennessee • #19
Age: 33 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Week 5 Matchup

@

WAS
Washington has allowed 31.5 Fantasy points per game to receivers, the second most in the league. Gordon is my favorite Patriot receiver in Week 5, but they're all in play against this matchup.
WR Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Week 4 Adds
Auden Tate WR
ARI Arizona • #89
Age: 27 • Experience: 5 yrs.

Ownership

36%
This is more of a short-term play, but Tate is going to face the Arizona Cardinals as the No. 2 receiver in the Cincinnati offense. He has 16 targets over the past two games with Ross in the lineup, and this should be a high-paced, high-scoring game. I like Tate as a top-25 receiver in Week 5.
Diontae Johnson WR
HOU Houston • #18
Age: 28 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Ownership

32%
Johnson has now seen 12 targets in his first two starts with Mason Rudolph and he's turned them into nine catches for 129 yards and two scores. He's crushing the value of Smith-Schuster in the role that JuJu occupied last year. There's clear chemistry between him and Rudolph, and Johnson looks like a solid flex or No. 3 receiver moving forward.
Deebo Samuel WR
SF San Francisco • #1
Age: 28 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Ownership

37%
It's easy to forget because of their bye week, but Deebo Samuel is the only 49ers receiver with double-digit targets this season. He's surpassed Dante Pettis and Marquise Goodwin by catching 78% of his targets and averaging 13.5 yards per reception. The 49ers should have to throw a bit more against the Browns on Monday Night Football, and Samuel could have a breakout performance in prime time.
Stashes
Corey Davis WR
NYJ N.Y. Jets • #84
Age: 29 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Ownership

37%
I want to add both Davis and Brown after their big Week 4 performances, but you can't start them against the Bills. Because of that matchup, they are best viewed as stashes in leagues where you don't have Week 5 bye concerns.
A.J. Brown WR
PHI Philadelphia • #11
Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Ownership

26%
I want to add both Davis and Brown after their big Week 4 performances, but you can't start them against the Bills. Because of that matchup, they are best viewed as stashes in leagues where you don't have Week 5 bye concerns.
WR Preview
DFS Plays
Top Plays
Keenan Allen WR
CHI Chicago • #13
Age: 32 • Experience: 12 yrs.

Week 5 Prices

FanDuel

$7,500

DraftKings

$7,300
Keenan Allen has one disappointing game and his price drops back below $8,000. I can't help but to keep playing him. He's the top scoring wide receiver by both FanDuel and DraftKings scoring this season yet he's nowhere close to the top-priced player. I suppose that could be because of the matchup with Chris Harris and the Broncos, but Allen has plenty of success against this defense on his resume. And they haven't exactly been the same old Broncos defense anyway.
Larry Fitzgerald WR
ARI Arizona • #11
Age: 41 • Experience: 18 yrs.

Week 5 Prices

FanDuel

$5,800

DraftKings

$6,000
Fitzgerald should see even more targets without Christian Kirk in a game that I expect will be high-scoring. He's priced like a No. 3 receiver this week and I expect him to perform like a No. 1. The Bengals are allowing nearly 10 yards per target to opposing receivers.
Contrarian Plays
Marquise Brown WR
KC Kansas City • #5
Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Week 5 Prices

FanDuel

$5,400

DraftKings

$5,700
Brown has struggled the past two weeks but there's no way a receiver with 300 yards receiving already should be priced like this. Even in his struggles the past two weeks he's seen 16 targets. I'll bet on that type of volume, especially when it's low-priced with low ownership.
WR Preview
Heath's Projections

Non-PPR Rank

PPR Rank

WR

Non-PPR FPTs

PPR FPTs

1

1

Keenan Allen

15.28

22.30

2

2

Odell Beckham

14.30

20.55

11

3

Michael Thomas

12.13

19.61

4

4

Tyler Lockett

13.56

19.59

3

5

Sammy Watkins

13.78

19.36

6

6

Julio Jones

13.04

19.23

10

7

Tyler Boyd

12.31

19.18

8

8

Larry Fitzgerald

12.80

19.15

7

9

DeAndre Hopkins

12.84

19.04

5

10

Chris Godwin

13.05

19.03

9

11

Cooper Kupp

12.43

18.97

12

12

Amari Cooper

11.85

17.46

15

13

Allen Robinson

10.81

16.52

24

14

Sterling Shepard

9.92

16.38

14

15

Marquez Valdes-Scantling

10.89

16.09

19

16

Emmanuel Sanders

10.38

15.84

13

17

Mike Evans

11.24

15.75

26

18

Julian Edelman

9.79

15.61

22

19

Robert Woods

10.22

15.52

18

20

Courtland Sutton

10.48

15.32

16

21

Adam Thielen

10.51

15.04

17

22

Marquise Brown

10.49

15.03

21

23

Alshon Jeffery

10.23

14.90

20

24

JuJu Smith-Schuster

10.23

14.68

23

25

Brandin Cooks

10.18

14.63

25

26

D.J. Chark

9.80

14.23

28

27

Auden Tate

9.52

14.03

30

28

Calvin Ridley

9.21

13.93

29

29

Tyrell Williams

9.51

13.86

31

30

John Brown

8.93

13.77

39

31

Golden Tate

8.27

13.50

27

32

Josh Gordon

9.66

13.49

41

33

Paul Richardson

8.08

13.36

33

34

Philip Dorsett

8.91

13.21

35

35

Michael Gallup

8.53

12.84

36

36

D.J. Moore

8.50

12.84

45

37

Cole Beasley

7.22

12.75

44

38

Mohamed Sanu

7.42

12.73

34

39

Deebo Samuel

8.63

12.45

32

40

Demarcus Robinson

8.92

12.39

38

41

Diontae Johnson

8.35

12.30

37

42

Will Fuller

8.45

12.27

40

43

Stefon Diggs

8.17

12.11

42

44

Curtis Samuel

7.90

11.84

49

45

Jamison Crowder

6.73

11.78

46

46

Robby Anderson

7.14

10.94

43

47

D.K. Metcalf

7.52

10.50

52

48

Dede Westbrook

5.96

10.05

Week 5
TE Preview

It isn't a great week for streaming tight ends. No one below 70% ownership ranks in my top 10 at the position. But it is an eventful week, at the very least. It's also not exactly terrible, with my top three streamers all ranking in the top 15

At the beginning of the week I was ready to go all in on Jack Doyle, who once again looks like the most-targeted tight end in Indianapolis. But then T.Y. Hilton came back to practice. You know who hasn't yet? Davanta Adams. And that's why Jimmy Graham now occupies the top spot. 

Tyler Eifert has been under consideration. It's just hard to balance how bad he's been with how bad Arizona has been against the position. I do expect that game to be high scoring, so I'll stand by my take that I'd stream Eifert over O.J. Howard. 

One name we weren't considering at all early in the week was Jeremy Sprinkle. But a huge hole in that passing game has opened up and there's little doubt Washington should be pass-heavy against the Patriots. And is just so happens that Sprinkle's QB this week loves throwing to his tight ends. More on that below. 

So who are we benching for these streamers? Howard and Jared Cook for sure. I also have Eric Ebron below all the streamers with T.Y. Hilton back. 

Week 5 TE Preview

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Who's Out

The following players are not being projected to play Week 5 at this time. Here's what it means:

Vance McDonald TE
PIT Pittsburgh • #89
Age: 34 • Experience: 8 yrs.
Nick Vannett may be the Steelers starting tight end for the near future.
Vernon Davis TE
WAS Washington • #85
Age: 40 • Experience: 15 yrs.
Both Davis and Jordan Reed will miss Week 5 with concussions. That leaves Jeremy Sprinkle as the team's starting tight end.
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Numbers to Know
  • 11.2 - Travis Kelce's yards per target, the best among tight ends. He hasn't reached the end zone as much as we'd like, but he's still the best tight end in Fantasy. 
  • 38 - The number of targets for Evan Engram and Zach Ertz, which leads the position. 
  • 4.9 - Average targeted air yards for Darren Waller. If that continues he's going to be much more valuable in PPR than non.
  • 108 - PPR Fantasy points allowed by the Cardinals this season. No other team has allowed more than 78.
  • 6 - Plays of more than 20 yards for Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews. Andrews is still playing limited snaps, but he's getting the most valuable snaps for Fantasy. 
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Matchups that matter
Matchups that matter
Tyler Eifert TE
JAC Jacksonville • #88
Age: 34 • Experience: 9 yrs.

Week 5 Matchup

vs.

ARI
Week 4 was the first time the Cardinals didn't allow the No. 1 tight end in non-PPR. Instead they gave up a top-five performance to Will Dissly. If ever there's a week to use Eifert, this is it.
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Waiver Wire Targets
Week 5 Streamer
Jimmy Graham TE
NO New Orleans • #80
Age: 38 • Experience: 12 yrs.

Ownership

66%
Graham should see an increased target share with Adams out and will be one of the few targets Aaron Rodgers trusts in the red zone.
Tyler Eifert TE
JAC Jacksonville • #88
Age: 34 • Experience: 9 yrs.

Ownership

25%
We haven't actually talked too much about Eifert, and that's because he hasn't done much. He does have a 15% target share, and he saw a pair of red-zone targets in Week 4. If he hadn't dropped one of them, he'd be even more popular this week.
Jack Doyle TE
IND Indianapolis • #84
Age: 34 • Experience: 9 yrs.

Ownership

42%
I liked Doyle a lot more when I didn't expect T.Y. Hilton to play. As it is, I still like him in PPR more than Eric Ebron. This should be a high-scoring game against the Chiefs with the Colts throwing plenty to chase the score.
Jeremy Sprinkle TE
DAL Dallas • #87
Age: 30 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Ownership

0%
Colt McCoy is starting for Washington. He's targeted tight ends at a 28% rate during his time in Washington, and Sprinkle is the last man standing at tight end with Reed and Davis out. This is a desperation play, but it's not an awful one.
Stash
Hunter Henry TE
NE New England • #85
Age: 30 • Experience: 9 yrs.

Ownership

48%
Every week that passes, Henry gets closer to returning and his ownership gets lower. I get it, and now that the byes are starting, it should only go lower. I'm still very interested in stashing him if I'm streaming weekly because if Henry comes back as what we expected, I still expect him to be a top-six option.
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DFS Plays
Top Plays
Mark Andrews TE
BAL Baltimore • #89
Age: 29 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Week 5 Prices

FanDuel

$6,100

DraftKings

$4,800
Andrews has at least seven targets in every game this season and has scored in three of four games. I don't believe Monday night was an indication that this Pittsburgh defense has figured things out, either. Andrews should be a high volume option once again with enormous upside in a game that could be high scoring with the way Baltimore's defense has played.
Contrarian Plays
Evan Engram TE
JAC Jacksonville • #17
Age: 30 • Experience: 8 yrs.

Week 5 Prices

FanDuel

$6,300

DraftKings

$5,800
I don't care how bad the matchup is. If I can get one of the top tight ends on the slate at below 5% ownership I'm going to do it. There should still be plenty of targets as the Giants chase the score without Saquon Barkley.
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Heath's Projections

Non-PPR Rank

PPR Rank

TE

NON-PPR

PPR

1

1

Travis Kelce

13.97

20.37

2

2

George Kittle

10.98

16.83

6

3

Darren Waller

10.05

16.80

3

4

Evan Engram

10.67

16.76

4

5

Mark Andrews

10.60

16.24

5

6

Zach Ertz

10.09

16.22

7

7

Austin Hooper

8.76

14.51

8

8

Greg Olsen

7.94

12.24

10

9

Jack Doyle

7.40

12.15

9

10

Will Dissly

7.62

11.72

11

11

Delanie Walker

7.20

11.57

12

12

Eric Ebron

5.95

8.80

15

13

Tyler Eifert

5.24

8.58

14

14

Vernon Davis

5.24

8.52

13

15

Jimmy Graham

5.44

8.51

17

16

Jason Witten

4.76

8.05

16

17

Jordan Akins

5.17

7.36

19

18

Noah Fant

4.43

7.21