Start ’em, Sit ’em: NFL Week 5 Fantasy Football Lineup Picks

We have plenty of uncertainty surrounding Week 5 with multiple teams dealing with positive cases of COVID-19. That could make for some difficult start ’em/sit ’em dilemmas with the Packers and Lions also on a bye. Keeping that in mind, here are a few players to start or fade heading into the week.

Start ’em, Sit ’em – NFL Week 5 Fantasy Football Lineup Picks

Quarterback: Start ‘Em

Teddy Bridgewater, CAR (at ATL)

After having moved on from Cam Newton, the Panthers have turned to Bridgewater under center. He’s led them to a 2-2 record, which is even more impressive when you consider that Christian McCaffrey (ankle) has missed the last two games. Bridgewater coming off of his best game of the season against the Cardinals, throwing for 276 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also chipped in 32 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.

The one downside with Bridgewater is that prior to Week 4, he had two touchdowns and two interceptions through three games. However, as he continues to get more comfortable with his new teammates, he could be primed to explode in this matchup against the Falcons. They have arguably the worst defense in the league, which has resulted in them allowing the second-most passing yards per game and the most passing touchdowns.

Quarterback: Sit ‘Em

Carson Wentz, PHI (at PIT)

It’s been close to a disaster scenario for Wentz this season. The Eagles have once again been decimated by injuries at wide receiver, which has left Wentz without many viable pass-catching options. As a result, he has thrown for 242 yards or fewer in each of the last three games and only has four total touchdown passes this season. With that being said, he hasn’t helped his cause either by throwing seven interceptions.

Things likely won’t be much better for Wentz this week. There is a chance that Alshon Jeffery and/or DeSean Jackson will return from injury, but even if they do, they could be on some sort of a snap count. This is also a brutal matchup against the Steelers, who put a ton of pressure on opposing quarterbacks, which has resulted in 15 sacks across three games.

Running Back: Start ‘Em

Devonta Freeman, NYG (at DAL)

The Giants seem well on their way to a top pick in next year’s draft. Losing Saquon Barkley (knee) for the season has been a crushing blow, and it hasn’t helped matters that Sterling Shepard (toe) is also on IR. They can’t replace Barkley with just one player, so they went out and signed Freeman to help their backfield depth. He didn’t play much in Week 3 after having just signed with the team earlier in the week, but he was on the field for 54.5 percent of their offensive snaps in Week 4. That was significantly more than Dion Lewis (30.9 percent) and Wayne Gallman (14.7 percent). The end result was Freeman turning 11 carries into 33 yards and catching all four targets for 35 yards.

Expect Freeman’s role to once again expand in Week 5. Him being on the field for roughly 70 percent of their offensive snaps on a weekly basis is not outside of the realm of possibilities. Any expanded workload could be big in this matchup against the Cowboys, who have allowed the second-most rushing yards per game.

Running Back: Sit ‘Em

Raheem Mostert, SF (vs. MIA)

The 49ers have been decimated by injuries this season. Things somewhat improved for them last week with both Deebo Samuel and George Kittle returning to action against the Eagles. They could receive even more reinforcements this week with both Mostert (knee) and Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle) trending in the right direction.

Even if Mostert does return this week, the 49ers might not have a need to give him a heavy workload against the lowly Dolphins. They also have two capable runners behind him in Jerick McKinon and Jeff Wilson, who have filled in admirably during his absence. While there will be plenty of weeks moving forward that you’ll want Mostert in your lineup, this might not be one of them.

Wide Receiver: Start ‘Em

Deebo Samuel, SF (vs. MIA )

Getting Samuel back in Week 4 was huge for the 49ers. They were extremely thin at wide receiver with Brandon Aiyuk and Kendrick Bourne being their top two options during his absence. Samuel did have a quiet performance in his return, likely because the fact that he was only on the field for 34.2 percent of their offensive snaps.

Another week removed from injury, expect Samuel to be on the field more in this matchup against a Dolphins defense that has allowed the fifth-most passing yards per game in the league. If Garoppolo is able to return, Samuel becomes an even more appealing option.

Wide Receiver: Sit ‘Em

A.J. Green, CIN (at BAL)

Is Green toast? It sure looks that way after four games. The good news is that he’s been on the field for an average of 68.8 percent of the Bengals’ offensive snaps and he’s second on the team with 33 targets, just one behind team-leader Tyler Boyd. The problem is that he’s only been able to convert those targets into 14 catches for 119 yards.

This certainly doesn’t look like the kind of matchup that is going to leave Green with a throwback performance. The Ravens have one of the stoutest defenses in the league, allowing an average of only 18.3 points a game. Despite his lofty target share, stay away from Green.

Tight End: Start ‘Em

Dalton Schultz, DAL (vs. NYG)

The Cowboys have their terrible defense to thank for making them one of the most prolific passing offenses in the league. That’s also resulted in Schultz receiving plenty of targets despite the team having a stellar trio of wide receivers. Since Blake Jarwin was lost for the season, Schultz has caught 17 of 24 targets for 208 yards and two touchdowns across the last three games.

Schultz should continue to receive little attention from opposing defenses with so many other talented options around him. That could leave him with another big afternoon against a Giants defense that has very few quality pass coverage options behind cornerback James Bradberry.

Tight End: Sit ‘Em

Austin Hooper, CLE (vs. IND)

Joining the Browns has proven to significantly downgraded Hooper’s fantasy value. He hasn’t recorded more than 34 receiving yards in any of his four games, and he only has one touchdown reception, which came in last week’s shootout against the Cowboys. His problem has been a lack of targets with him only averaging 4.3 per contest.

There might not be many targets for Hooper this week, either, in a matchup between two teams who love to run the ball and control the clock. That might not lead to a lot of offensive possessions for either side. The Colts have also been very stingy through the air, allowing the fewest passing yards per game on their way to allowing a league-low 14 points per game.


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Author
I’ve been covering fantasy sports since 2007. Along my journey, I’ve contributed to companies including SportsLine, RotoWire, Sports Illustrated and DraftKings. My passion for fantasy sports began by playing in traditional season-long leagues and has expanded into DFS and sports handicapping. In 2018, I was a finalist for the 2018 FSWA Basketball Writer of the Year award. You can contact me by e-mailing [email protected].

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