The Jets have moved out of the 32nd spot in the rankings! Okay, no matter what they did in Week 4, since we hit the first week of scheduled byes and not the unexpected pair mother nature and Roger Goodell’s ineptitude provided in Week 1. As such, the Saints, Redskins, Falcons, and Broncos are tied for dead last in the Fantasy Football Power Rankings this week, since, after all, it is a one-week snapshot.

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21-32

 
E.J. Manuel is starting for the Raiders while Derek Carr recovers from a transverse process fracture in his back, and that cripples the fantasy value of the offense. Marshawn Lynch is not starting caliber, Amari Cooper has been a wreck to open the year and now gets a humongous downgrade at QB, pushing him into bench territory with Beast Mode. Jared Cook is a fringe starter, and if Michael Crabtree is healthy enough to play this week after being inactive last week, he’s a WR3/Flex option with a low floor now that he’s tied to Manuel in a tough matchup. I’ve clowned on the Jets all year, so they deserve their due after back-to-back wins. They have a streamable defense that I wrote about in-depth in the Week 5 Defenses to Stream, Bilal Powell is an RB2 if Matt Forte remains out with turf toe, and Austin Seferian-Jenkins is a top-10 TE this week against a Cleveland squad that’s been torched by tight ends including a 6-68-2 line to Tyler Kroft last week. The Vikings topple in the rankings in the aftermath of Dalvin Cook’s season-ending torn ACL. Kyle Rudolph is a fringe starter at TE at best, but the duo of Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen are a high-end WR2 and WR3, respectively, and the defense is a starting unit.

11-20

 
The horrible state of running back provides the motivation for this group, namely the Bears. Mitch Trubisky has been named the starting quarterback in Chicago, and the Bears would be wise to lean heavily on Jordan Howard with the No. 2 pick in this year’s NFL Draft getting his first action in meaningful games. The lack of playmakers in the passing game should keep Tarik Cohen busier than the typical backup running back. The explosive rookie back is a better option in PPR formats than standard scoring leagues, but he’s usable in the latter. The Titans would rank higher if Marcus Mariota was healthy, but he’s dealing with a strained hamstring. If signs point toward him missing the game, the Titans topple, but it sounds like he might not miss time. Still, if he plays at less than 100%, his running upside takes a hit. The Dolphins are awful and squandered a matchup against the Saints. Even after watching New Orleans’ Week 3 opponent blow up at Gillette Stadium after being held to 13 points in Week 3, I’m not buying the Saints as even an average defense. With that in mind, the Dolphins bagel in London against the aforementioned Saints is problematic, as is the continued poor play — putting it nicely — of Jay Cutler. They have a dreamy matchup again this week, though, and they’re finally in Miami for a game. Jay Ajayi has a low floor, but he did rush for 122 yards in Week 2 and played 62% of Miami’s offensive snaps last week, easing some of the concerns about his knee. Furthermore, DeVante Parker’s 6-69-0 line wasn’t horrendous, and Jarvis Landry piles up receptions averaging 8.3 per game this year. The latter is much less exciting in standard scoring leagues, but both Landry and Parker will benefit from Tennessee’s leaky secondary that’s surrendered the second most fantasy points per game to receivers, according to Pro-Football Reference. They’ve been torched by receivers for 59 receptions, 688 yards, and an NFL most eight touchdown receptions. The 49ers obviously nosedive in the rankings if Carlos Hyde’s hip suffers a setback after playing in Week 4 as a game-time decision, but after playing last week, my current expectation is that he’ll continue to play through it. Pierre Garcon was shut down by Patrick Peterson, and he’ll find sledding much easier against the Colts this week, making him a strong candidate to post top-25 WR fantasy scoring numbers this week.

6-10

 
Is Cam Newton back or is New England’s defense really that bad? I’m thinking more of the latter than the former, but he did enough to generate fringe QB1 optimism this week and keep Kelvin Benjamin in fantasy starter territory. Speaking of fantasy starters, after stringing together three solid games in a row culminated in a 7-70-2 line against New England last week, Devin Funchess is a fringe WR3 or flex option. Deshaun Watson is a top-10 QB this week, and that’s not something I anticipated on writing this early in the year or perhaps ever. Kirk Cousins ripped off some decent runs against the Chiefs on the Monday Night Football game last night, and Carson Wentz rushed for 55 yards on four carries in Week 2. Watson’s rushing upside is immense this week. Lamar Miller’s a middle-tier RB2, DeAndre Hopkins is a WR1, and the defense is usable primarily due to their sack upside against a Chiefs team that’s allowed 16 sacks this year (third most). If these rankings were presented later in the week with favorable outlooks for Ty Montgomery and Davante Adams, the Packers would sneak into the top five. This early in the week and with the Packers playing in the 4-O’clock slate of games, there’s potential for a fantasy nightmare.

5- Chiefs (@ Texans)
Kareem Hunt is such a stud. He hit triple-digit rushing yards for the third time in four week, and he added four grabs for 20 yards last night. He alone makes the Chiefs a top-10 mainstay in the Fantasy Football Power Rankings. Tyreek Hill had a quiet effort against Washington (5-35-0 and no carries), but that’s probably partially the product of the Chiefs exploiting Washington’s inability to defend tight ends. Travis Kelce predictably took a blowtorch to the Redskins’ defense blowing up for a 7-111-1 line after being held to one yard on one reception in Week 3. This is a really strong trio of fantasy talent.

4- Buccaneers (vs. Patriots)
Doug Martin’s been reinstated after completing a four-game suspension that carried over from last year (he served one game last year and three to start this year), but if your backfield is lackluster, I have no problem with rolling the dice on him. This game has an over/under total of 55.5 points with the Bucs serving as 5-point underdogs, according to Pinnacle. The Patriots defense has been a train wreck, making both Jameis Winston and Mike Evans legitimate threats to lead their respective positions in scoring this week. Cameron Brate is a fantasy starter at TE this week, and even O.J. Howard is a reasonable dart throw. DeSean Jackson has posted two clunkers in three games but did tally a 4-84-1 line against the Vikings in Week 3, and any potential key offensive cog for a team facing the Patriots has big upside. Furthermore, the spread suggests the Bucs could be playing catch up, adding to the potential for looks.

3- Cowboys (vs. Packers)
Ezekiel Elliott made the most of his first cushy matchup of the year last week ripping off 139 yards from scrimmage and a pair of scores (one rushing and one receiving), and he has another this week. Dez Bryant’s catch percentage (40.0%) is once again awful this year, but averaging 10 targets per game is outstanding, and averaging four grabs for 53.0 yards receiving per game with a pair of touchdown grabs isn’t bad. Perhaps most importantly, however, is that he terrorized the Packers in a 31-34 playoff lost last year reeling in 9 of 12 targets for 132 yards receiving and a pair of touchdown grabs. He’s a WR1 this week. Add in Dak Prescott as a top-10 QB, and it was tough to put the ‘Boys behind the No. 2 team in the rankings.

2- Patriots (@ Buccaneers)
New England’s defensive woes are fantasy gold for the likes of Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Brandin Cooks, and Chris Hogan. Expanding on the latter duo, no team has been more giving to receivers this year in terms of per game fantasy scoring allowed than the Bucs. Danny Amendola is even a fringe fantasy starting option now that we’ve entered the bye weeks. The biggest knock on New England is the low floor that accompanies so many mouths needing feeding in the Patriots’ offense. The other knock, however, is their RBBC. Mike Gillislee is a touchdown-dependent option who watched Dion Lewis score a red-zone touchdown on an 8-yard run in the fourth quarter last week. Gillislee is benchable, Lewis is a non-starter currently, but James White is a good option even in standard leagues this week. White hauled in 10 of 12 targets for 47 yards last week while chipping in seven yards on a single carry, and Tampa Bay has coughed up 20 receptions for 163 yards and one touchdown on 24 targets in only three games. They’ve been much stingier on the ground yielding only 196 yards rushing and one touchdown on 72 carries, enhancing the odds of White being Bill Belichick’s back of choice to lead the committee in work.

1- Steelers (vs. Jaguars)
The Steelers are home this week, and Le’Veon Bell is coming off of a blowup game in which he rushed for 144 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 35 carries while reeling in four of six targets for 42 yards receiving. Antonio Brown is coming off of a quiet 4-34-0 game on nine targets, but he’s second in targets (45), receptions (30), and receiving yards (388) this season, and he and fellow receiver Martavis Bryant get a lift from Ben Roethlisberger’s massive home/road splits favoring playing at home. Last year, Big Ben averaged 319.2 yards passing per game with 20 touchdowns, five interceptions, and a 70.80% completion percentage in six home games. The Steelers are 8.5-point favorites hosting the Jaguars, and with the game’s over/under total sitting at 44, Pittsburgh has an implied team over/under total of 26.25 points.

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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.