Fantasy Football starts, sits, and sleepers for Week 5
BOSTON -- If you've been flipping a coin to build your fantasy football roster each week, you've come to the right place. All those inner "start or sit" arguments that you've been having with yourself can come to an end.
With Week 5 of the football -- and fantasy football -- season upon us, we turn to CBS Sports' Jamey Eisenberg for a plethora of start and sit advice, with a handful of sleeper options as well.
As always, best of luck while you hit the laboratory to concoct your roster this week.
Quarterbacks
Start: Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence vs. Houston
"Lawrence struggled with five turnovers (four fumbles) in the rain in Philadelphia in Week 4, and that snapped a two-game streak with at least 22 Fantasy points. He should get back on track this week against the Texans at home, and Houston just allowed Justin Herbert to pass for 340 yards and two touchdowns for 25 Fantasy points. We all know Lawrence had a rough rookie campaign under Urban Meyer in 2021, but his best Fantasy outing last year came in his first meeting with the Texans when he scored 25 points. History has a chance to repeat itself here in Week 5."
Sit: Indianapolis' Matt Ryan @ Denver (Thursday Night Football)
"Ryan has been decent as a Fantasy quarterback this season when he's had a healthy receiving corps. If you remove the Week 2 game at Jacksonville when Michael Pittman and Alec Pierce were out, Ryan is averaging 19.0 Fantasy points per game. And he just had his best outing of the season in Week 4 against Tennessee with 22 Fantasy points. But this should be a tough test for Ryan at Denver on Thursday night, especially if Jonathan Taylor (ankle) is out. The Broncos are allowing an average of just 11.5 Fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, and Davis Mills, Jimmy Garoppolo and Derek Carr have combined for just 29 Fantasy points against Denver in the past three games."
Sleeper: Tennessee's Ryan Tannehill @ Washington
"Tannehill has two games this season with at least 20 Fantasy points and three games this year with multiple touchdowns. His only bad game was at Buffalo in Week 2, and we should give him a pass in that matchup. This week, he's facing a bad Washington defense that is allowing 24.5 Fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. The Commanders have allowed 10 passing touchdowns and just one interception this year."
Running Backs
Start: New England's Damien Harris AND Rhamondre Stevenson vs. Detroit
On Harris: "I thought about making both Patriots running backs the Start of the Week with their matchup against the Lions, and both should be standout Fantasy options in Week 5. Detroit leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns allowed to running backs with eight, and the Lions are No. 2 in Fantasy points allowed to the position, trailing only the Texans. Harris has scored a touchdown in three games in a row, so he should keep his touchdown streak alive in this matchup. He's been a pleasant surprise despite the New England offense struggling, and he's averaging 14.3 PPR points per game in his past three outings."
On Stevenson: "Stevenson has been on fire the past two games with 31 PPR points over that span, and he has eight catches for 51 yards on 10 targets in those two outings. I like Harris as a borderline No. 1 running back in all leagues, and Stevenson is a quality No. 2 Fantasy option, with his value slightly higher in PPR."
Sit: Arizona's James Conner vs. Philadelphia
"Kliff Kingsbury said the Cardinals wanted to feature Conner more heading into Week 4 at Carolina, and he had 18 total touches, including three catches. But Conner only managed 77 total yards with that workload for 10 PPR points, and he hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 1. This Eagles run defense is tough, and in the past three games against Dalvin Cook, Antonio Gibson and James Robinson, no running back has more than 38 yards on the ground or 40 total yards. That trio averaged 6.0 PPR points per game against the Eagles, and this could be another rough outing for Conner, even at home. He's only worth using as a flex option in the majority of leagues."
Sleeper: Green Bay's A.J. Dillon vs. New York Giants (In London)
"Dillon is worth using as a No. 2 running back in all leagues this week against the Giants in London. The Packers are eight-point favorites as of Wednesday, and Dillon should have the chance for plenty of carries. He hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 1, so he's due, and the Giants have struggled with running backs of late as four guys in the past three games have either 100 total yards or a touchdown. I like Aaron Jones and Dillon in this matchup, with Dillon no worse than a flex in all formats."
Wide Receivers
Start: Minnesota's Adam Thielen vs. Chicago
"Thielen is hot heading into Week 5 against the Bears with 14 catches for 133 yards and a touchdown in his past two games against Detroit and New Orleans on 17 targets, and he scored at least 15 PPR points in each outing. He actually has at least seven targets in three games in a row, and it's great to see Kirk Cousins continue to lean on him opposite Justin Jefferson. Thielen missed both games against Chicago in 2021 due to injury, but he scored three touchdowns against them in two meetings in 2020. It wouldn't be a surprise to see him find the end zone against the Bears again this week."
Sit: Carolina's D.J. Moore vs. San Francisco
"Let's hope putting Moore here can turn into some sort of reverse jinx, and he starts to put up the type of production we were hoping for prior to the season. Heading into Week 5, Moore has one touchdown and no games with more than 50 receiving yards. He did get 11 targets in Week 4 against Arizona and had six catches for 50 yards, but more is expected of him. He needs better play out of Baker Mayfield, but this isn't the week to trust Moore in the majority of leagues. The 49ers have only allowed four receivers to score at least 12 PPR points, and they haven't allowed a receiver to score a touchdown since Week 1."
Sleeper: Buffalo's Gabe Davis vs. Pittsburgh
"It's been a frustrating start to the season for Davis, but this could be his time to shine. He was a full participant in practice Wednesday, so hopefully the ankle injury he's been dealing with is behind him. Isaiah McKenzie (concussion) could be out this week, and Jamison Crowder (ankle) won't play. That puts Davis in line for a potential target bump against the Steelers, who have already allowed six receivers to score at least 13 PPR points this season. We've made plenty of excuses for Davis between the ankle injury and the poor weather in Baltimore in Week 4, but he only has one touchdown so far and one game with more than six PPR points. He should reward the Fantasy managers who stuck with him with a big game this week."
Tight Ends
Start: L.A. Chargers' Gerald Everett @ Cleveland
"Keep an eye on the injury report for Keenan Allen (hamstring), and if he's out again then consider Everett a must-start tight end in all leagues. With Allen leaving in Week 1, Everett has three games this year with at least 13 PPR points, including two touchdowns. He just had five catches for 61 yards and a touchdown on six targets at Houston, and he should have the chance for another quality outing against the Browns in Week 5."
Sit: Dallas' Dalton Schultz @ L.A. Rams
"Schultz has now played two games with Cooper Rush, and he combined for two catches for 18 yards on seven targets in those outings. I hope that his catchless performance in Week 4 against Washington was due to the knee injury he's dealing with that caused him to miss Week 3. But this is a tough matchup for him in Week 5 at the Rams, who have yet to allow a tight end to score. The Rams have held Dawson Knox, Kyle Pitts, Zach Ertz and George Kittle to a combined 11 catches for 93 yards and no touchdowns on the season."
Sleeper: New York Jets' Tyler Conklin vs. Miami
"The Dolphins have allowed a tight end to score in two of the past three games with Mark Andrews in Week 2 and Hayden Hurst in Week 4. Conklin had a down game in Week 4 against Pittsburgh in the first game with Zach Wilson, but he still managed three catches for 52 yards on five targets. Conklin scored at least 10 PPR points in each of his first three games this season, and he's capable of getting back to that level again this week."
Click here to read all of Eisenberg's Week 5 Start & Sit advice!
