Rolling into week five of the NFL season, most players have started to hit their strides. Some, however, are playing below par for their career. I’m here to help you separate the good from the bad and figure out which players you should start on your fantasy team this week.
Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon finally started cooking this week with two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown on top of 181 all purpose yards, amassing 36.1 fantasy points. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott broke the 500 yard mark, with 502 passing yards and four touchdown passes, en route to 37.28 points in his win over the Cleveland Browns. Robert Tonyan, Green Bay’s tight end, also went off this week, posting 98 yards and three touchdowns, all in just six catches, giving him a career high 27.8 fantasy points.
With guys finally settling in to this season, and others proving themselves to be among the best of the league, it’ll be hard to know who to start. Keep reading to see my suggestions for this week in the NFL.
Quarterbacks:
Thursday night’s matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Chicago Bears should be a good one. However, the quarterback duel will not. For the Bucs, they have one of the best quarterbacks of all time, Tom Brady. But for the Bears, they still are trying to figure out who their quarterback really is. Assuming they start Nick Foles again, I would say he should be sitting this week just because it isn’t clear how many snaps he’ll be taking. Brady on the other hand is looking really good this year, racking up 1,122 yards and 11 touchdown passes. I believe Brady will continue this hot streak against the Bears, as they have struggled to slow down offenses and prevent scoring, so he should be starting.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has been looking like an MVP candidate this year. I’ve always seen the potential talent that Allen had and now that he has good targets, like Stefon Diggs, to go after, he’s been able to really prove himself. Allen has led the Bills to 4-0 for the first time since 2008, andis a definite start this Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. The Titans’ quarterback Ryan Tannehill has looked pretty good this year, however in fantasy I wouldn’t call him that impressive. He doesn’t ever really amass big fantasy points, averaging 19.6, which is why I say you should be sitting him.
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has been phenomenal, throwing five touchdowns and 931 yards in just three starts. I can see Herbet taking a few sacks on Monday night because the New Orleans pass rush is exceptional, but other than that, Herbert should be able to throw darts around the Saints’ secondary, which is why he should be starting week five. On the other side of the ball, Drew Brees has been passing really well, just breaking 1,000 yards this week and eight touchdowns. Averaging around 250 yards and two touchdowns per week, I expect Brees to put up big numbers once again, so he should be starting this week as well.
Running Backs:
Tampa Bay halfback Ronald Jones has had a mediocre running year, as the addition of Tom Brady has taken away touches for him. Jones has barely broken 250 yards and has only ran for one touchdown in his 57 carries. With Jones going against one of the better run stopping defenses in the NFL, the Chicago Bears, he should be sitting this week. For Chicago, David Montgomery is having an even worse year than Jones, rushing below 250 yards and no touchdowns so far. Montgomery should be sat as well.
With the way the Pittsburgh Steelers defense has looked this year, I wouldn’t start anybody on the Eagles offense on Sunday. Eagles running back Miles Sanders already wasn’t playing well this year and this week won’t be any different. Sanders should sit on your team. Steelers running back James Conner, however, has looked better than ever, already amassing two rushing touchdowns on this very pass heavy offense. Conner is projected 13 points in ESPN fantasy this week, and against this Eagles defense I can see him booming for 14 or 15. He would be a good start for your team this week.
Monday night we have the Chargers at the Saints: Austin Ekeler at Alvin Kamara. The Saints are great run stoppers on defense and I see them holding Ekeler to under 100 yards and no touchdowns. Kamara, on the other hand, I can see going off against this Chargers defense, posting 150 yards and one or two touchdowns. Ekeler should sit this week; Kamara should start.
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends:
Tampa Bay wide out Scotty Miller has led the team in receiving yards with just 15 catches, but 250 yards and a touchdown catch. As much as I like how he’s been playing, he just isn’t getting enough targets to be starting on a fantasy team. For Chicago, Allen Robinson has been playing like a Pro Bowl threat with 25 catches and 335 yards, good for ninth in the league in receiving yards. On top of that, he has scored twice putting him among the top 17 receivers. Robinson has been a great weapon for Chicago and if they can figure out the quarterback situation, he could be even better. Robinson should sit this week, but as soon as the Bears become confident in the air attack, he should be starting every week.
On Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals travel into Baltimore to play the Ravens. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is having another stellar year, and the Bengals defense is not, meaning the passing game will be wide open for deep threat Marquise Brown and tight end Mark Andrews. Both should be getting around 10 targets, meaning they will be great for fantasy and definitely should start. For the Bengals, they’re still trying to figure out their offense and playing ESPN Fantasy’s sixth ranked defense will not help them out. Quarterback Joe Burrow will barely be able to get his passes off before the pass rush gets to him, forcing the Bengals to run the ball a lot. All Bengals receivers and tight ends should be sitting this week.
For the Chargers on Monday night, I really like Keenan Allen against the Saints. Right now, he has 327 yards and a touchdown, and I see him adding a lot to those totals this week. Allen should play well this week, which is why I want him starting for you. As far as the Saints’ receiving corps goes, Michael Thomas may be making a return this week, but he is listed as a game time decision. If Thomas plays Monday, I would give him the start, but have a backup plan just in case. Other than that, the Saints don’t have much receiver depth, and none of their other receivers should be starting. A good waiver wire option to replace Thomas on Monday would be Chargers receiver Mike Williams. He’s only projected 7.4 points, but it’s better than nothing.
![2023 was defined by female vocalists such as Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift and Paramore’s Hayley Williams as their diversity and talent amongst their respective genres topped the musical charts. Williams took to Instagram to show her gratitude for having owned the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top 100 chart. “We know enough by now to know success doesn’t equal value. That being said, to experience the [No. 1] on this album, as this version of Paramore, is such a sweet and surreal moment to celebrate together,” Williams wrote.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2023-A-Musical-Recap-2.0-1.png)
![Holding the disc, senior Nathan Thompson waits for an opportunity to pass to senior Timmy Fry. Parkway United’s ultimate frisbee team is made up of students from each of the four Parkway schools. “The one thing I really like about ultimate [frisbee] is the community because it’s so different from any other sport I've been a part of. [My] national teammates are people who we play against in the regular season, so we see each other all the time. It's always fun hanging out with [them],” Thompson said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/C96A6823-1200x800.jpg)
![Senior Josie Grunzinger watches the football game intently from the sidelines on Oct. 18. Grunzinger stood out to the crowd as the only girl on the football team, encouraging other girls who want to play football to take a chance and go for a sport outside of their comfort zone. “If you think you could [play football] and you want to do it, just try it, because all it takes is to actually try it out,” Grunzinger said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Untitled-design-1200x675.png)
![With her arms held high, junior Jenna Rickelman throws the ball across the pool during a girls water polo practice. With hours of practice after school and over the summer, Rickelman saw many improvements in her water polo skills. “When I look at [my] stats, I'm so much better than I was last year,” Rickelman said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Untitled-design-2-.png)
![Putting on his helmet, catcher and senior Tommy Eschbach prepares to get in his primary stance. Despite losing 6-1 against Eureka on April 16, Eschbach didn’t let the tough loss affect his playing or mental health. “It's [so] easy to get caught up in the sport and what you're doing that [after] one bad game or a stretch of games it is hard to remind yourself that your worth as a person isn't directly related to your performance on the field,” Eschbach said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC_0415-1-1-1200x800.jpg)
![Sports organizations have changed lives on and off the field, improving athletes’ muscle strength, reducing their risk of diseases and building energetic work capacity worldwide. However, many student-athletes struggle to balance schoolwork and athletic commitments, hoping to seek more understanding and support from their teachers and coaches. “To lessen mental strain student-athletes [face] and create a healthier, more comfortable lifestyle, there shouldn’t be any homework. I'm already [at school] for eight hours and [homework] creates a bigger load for student-athletes in AP or honors classes,” track and field sprinter and sophomore Lucy Penton said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_0095-1-e1713883278514-1200x847.jpg)
![At the Spring Pep Rally on March 8, boys varsity water poloist and junior Jack Brau stands with the boys water polo team. The group, hoping to include everyone — whether boy or girl, varsity or JV — cheered on the girls water polo team during the sports team runouts. “Even though we all play separate games and have different practices, we like to see ourselves as one big group who represent one water polo [team],” Brau said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_8810-1-1200x800.jpg)
![Looking for an open teammate, freshman Patrick May passes the ball across the court at the Nov. 28 game against Parkway Central. May started in the game against the Colts. ”Growing up, [my parents] always gave me a basketball, [and] we had a basketball hoop outside. I grew up playing [all the time], playing on the [driveway] and shooting hoops with my dad.” May said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/image2-1-1200x801.jpg)
