I have to admit something – I don’t remember a time, in all of my years watching NFL football, where I legitimately turned off a game because it was unbearable to watch. Unfortunately, that happened last night on Thursday Night Football, and I hope it doesn’t happen again.
I guess there’s a first time for everything.
Before we move on to the players to consider for your lineups for Week 5, let’s briefly look back on our suggestions for Week 4 and see how we did(all points are in PPR format, per Fantasy Pros):
| Player | Stat Line | Fantasy Points | PPR Rank |
| Tyler Lockett | 6/91/0, LF | 13.1 | WR26 |
| Chris Olave | 4/67/1 | 16.7 | WR17 |
| David Njoku | 5/73, -6 rush, FL | 9.2 | TE14 |
Bonus players were a bit all over the place but I did identify the TE1 of the week in Hockenson so that felt great. Had a couple misses with Gabe Davis and Treylon Burks.
For this exercise, we will consider success for a player of 10+ points for the given week. In this case, two of our main suggestions were hits. With another four bonus plays being just slight misses and two being complete busts.
In honor of postseason baseball beginning today, we’re sitting on a .666 average as we step to the plate for Week 5. We’ll shoot to call our shot like the Babe and swing for the fences this week rather than a single up the middle. Unfortunately, batting .1000 is unrealistic – but hey, .666 would get you the biggest deal in MLB history.
Jared Goff – QB, Lions(@ Patriots) & Bailey Zappe – QB, Patriots(v Lions)
Brian Hoyer left the game last Sunday, which allowed Zappe to make his NFL debut and he performed admirably. Zappe threw for 99 yards and a touchdown and looked comfortable operating New England’s offense after coming off the bench and being thrust into game action. It appears Zappe is in line to start this week, as Hoyer was placed on IR and Mac Jones is still recovering from his high ankle sprain in Week 3. The Lions are a solid matchup for Zappe in his first start, as they allow 25.9 points/per game to opposing QBs and are bottom 12 in pass rush(per PFF), meaning Zappe should have time to make throws downfield.
(NOTE: If Jones manages to get cleared to play Sunday, he is worth starting consideration despite not being 100%. Keep an eye on this situation as it develops prior to kickoff.)
With Goff, he finished as the QB1 in Week 4 and gets another solid matchup against the Patriots in New England. The Pats are top 10 in points allowed to QBs and Goff has proven to be a matchup-based QB(23.2 points/per game average in good matchups) and this is another week to trust him. As long as he continues to sling it each week, you have to continue to roll him out as a QB1 until otherwise.
Travis Etienne(and James Robinson) – RB, Jaguars(v Texans)
It’s clear the entire fantasy community really wants Travis Etienne to be a thing, but so far, managers have been disappointed. With that being said, the Etienne hype train continues to roll on
,and I guess I am hopping on board for at least a week. If there is ever a time to consider Etienne as a starting option, this is the week to do it. The Jaguars host the Texans this Sunday and both Etienne and James Robinson are good plays this week. The Texans defense has given up the most points to RBs through four weeks and have allowed opposing backs to score multiple touchdowns the last two weeks. Pass catching specialists have averaged 6 yards per catch against Houston and 5.1 yards per rush on the ground. Both Jags RBs can find success this week.
Michael Gallup – WR, Cowboys(@ Rams)
Gallup was one of our bonus plays for Week 4(and hit) and has found this list again for Week 5. The Cowboys travel to Los Angeles to take on a struggling Rams team that appears to be going through a super bowl hangover in the early part of 2022. LA’s defense, in particular, has struggled to slow down opposing WRs through four weeks, giving up at least one touchdown in 3 out of 4 weeks. Per PFF, the Rams secondary have given up nearly 11 yards/rec and have a team passer rating of 91.5 against(sports-reference). LA is 3rd in points allowed to opposing WRs. Gallup’s snaps should increase each week and he found the endzone in his season debut last week. He could find it again on Sunday.
BONUS PLAYS
In continuing with our bonus plays for each week, I have decided to put a little spin on this and consider these options as sleepers and/or deep sleepers, depending on your format and roster size.
Rhamondre Stevenson/Damien Harris – RBs, Patriots(v Lions) – I would not consider either RBs as sleepers for this week, as you most likely roster one or the other; or both of them. But the matchup could not be sweeter at home against a Lions defense getting shredded by RBs(28.4 points allowed). Both can be considered as trustworthy options in Week 5.
Sleeper – JuJu Smith-Schuster – WR, Chiefs(v Raiders) – JuJu has seen at least 8 targets in 3 out of 4 weeks and appears to be a top three option for Patrick Mahomes. The Raiders are a decent matchup on Monday night and with a healthy dose of consistent targets, the touchdowns are sure to come.
Deep Sleeper – Juwan Johnson – TE, Saints(v Seahawks) – I wouldn’t expect Johnson to have himself a career day the way Hockenson did last week. But Michael Thomas remains banged up and is iffy to play, leaving Johnson an opportunity to find additional targets in the best matchup for TEs.
Deep Sleeper – Donovan Peoples-Jones – WR, Browns(v Chargers) – Peoples-Jones appears to be the WR2 for the Browns so far, with 9 targets seen last week. He also had 11 targets in Week 1 and now faces a Chargers secondary that most likely will game plan to take away Cleveland’s top two playmakers through the air in Amari Cooper and David Njoku. It could be another week where Peoples-Jones sees a solid target share.