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The Game Plan: Week 5 Edition (2021 Fantasy Football)

The Game Plan: Week 5 Edition (2021 Fantasy Football)

New York Giants vs Dallas Cowboys

Date/Time: Sunday October 10, 4:25pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Cowboys -7
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 52 points
Implied Vegas point totals
: Cowboys 29.5, Giants 22.5

New York Giants

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Daniel Jones 24/36 269 2.2 0.75 26 0.25 22
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Saquon Barkley 14 49 0.65 5 43 0.45 18.14
RB Devontae Booker 2 8 0.1 1 5 0.1 3.01
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Kenny Golladay 0 0 0 5 68 0.4 11.47
WR Kadarius Toney 0 0 0 5 53 0.4 10.17
WR John Ross 0 0 0 3 41 0.35 7.45
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Evan Engram 0 0 0 3 30 0.25 5.98

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Dallas Cowboys

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Dak Prescott 22/30 227 3 0.5 14 0.1 22
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Ezekiel Elliott 19 93 0.85 3 20 0.25 19.23
RB Tony Pollard 9 56 0.25 2 15 0.25 10.98
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Amari Cooper 0 0 0 5 57 0.85 13.17
WR Ceedee Lamb 0 0 0 4 54 0.8 12.28
WR Cedrick Wilson 0 0 0 2 16 0.15 3.36
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Dalton Schultz 0 0 0 5 49 0.5 10.3

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Quarterback

New York: Daniel Jones has been an interesting case study for fantasy football through the first four weeks of the season. He is currently the QB6 on the season, but he hasn’t come through the way fantasy managers anticipated in matchups where they’ve looked his way like against Atlanta. Last week against the Saints defense, Jones was not supposed to finish as a top-6 option due to the matchup, but he did. While going to overtime certainly helped inflate those numbers, Jones performed well when he wasn’t expected to, but he fell short of expectations in a plus matchup against Atlanta in week three. Now against the Dallas defense, Jones is absolutely in the streaming QB conversation again due to the matchup. The Cowboys are allowing 336 passing yards per game and 27.5 fantasy points, which is the 5th-most this season. They’re generating turnovers, but teams are still able to throw all over them, especially due to the negative game scripts. Jones should come through in this matchup, but it’s going to be interesting to see what he can do in a matchup where everyone is expecting it. He can be viewed as a high-end QB2 this week.

Dallas: Through the first four weeks of the 2020 season – before Dak Prescott got injured in game five – he was averaging 50.25 pass attempts per game. The defense simply couldn’t stop anyone and Prescott was forced to air the ball out a ton as a result. Through the first four weeks of the 2021 season, Prescott is averaging just 33.25 pass attempts per game due to the defense improving and the Cowboys running game taking off. While Dak’s certainly not coming with the top-5 upside that he was last year every single week due to the high passing volume, he’s still been an incredibly consistent fantasy asset at the QB position. He’s currently the QB12 on the season and he’s averaging 21.01 fantasy points per game. Turning our attention to week five, the Giants are currently allowing 23.8 fantasy points per game and they’ve allowed players like Taylor Heinicke to finish as a top-12 option against them. Dak should have no problems returning value this week as a low-end QB1 and he comes with upside due to the way that this offense is performing.

Running Backs

New York: Welcome back to RB1 territory, Saquon Barkley! Saquon finally got back to performing like a top-10 fantasy football asset last week against the Saints, despite the tougher matchup. Barkley only ran the ball 13 times, but he averaged 4.0 Yards Per Carry and was able to find the end zone as a runner. Additionally, Barkley also totaled six targets and he reeled in five of them for 74 yards and another score through the air. Looking ahead to week five, Saquon has a matchup up against the Cowboys who are allowing just 54.5 rushing yards per game and only 9.8 fantasy points per game to opposing RBs. However, they are getting gashed through the air by opposing RBs and they’re allowing an average of 8.2 receptions per game to the position and 58.5 receiving yards per contest. With Barkley’s receiving ability, he should go off for another high yardage total in this game and he can be viewed as a mid-range RB1.

Dallas: Excluding the week one performance where the Dallas Cowboys didn’t even attempt to run the ball, Ezekiel Elliott is a top-5 fantasy football RB. He’s absolutely dominated recently and looks as sharp and athletic as we may have ever seen him. In week four, Elliott averaged 7.2 Yards Per Carry, he had 99 total Yards After Contact, and he had five Missed Tackles Forced against a Panthers defense that was performing extremely well up to that point. The Giants are currently allowing 23 rush attempts per game on average for 107.5 rushing yards and .5 rushing touchdowns. The Cowboys RB duo should easily be able to eclipse those numbers and Zeke belongs in your lineup as a top-5 RB this week. Tony Pollard exploded in week two for a massive performance but has been quiet since that point. He’s still averaging 10.5 rush attempts per game, but he only has 127 total yards in that time frame and one target. In a plus matchup, Pollard should remain highly efficient, but it’s probably best to view him as a mid-range RB3 that will need to find the end zone to crack the top-24 at the position. Update: Zeke is listed as questionable for this matchup, but he is expected to play.

Wide Receivers

New York: At the time of writing, we don’t have clarity yet on whether or not Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard are going to be active for this game. I’m operating under the presumption that they’re not and that they’re going to need more time to recover. With that in mind, Kenny Golladay becomes the main beneficiary in this matchup up against Dallas. Golladay had his first big performance here in New York last week against the Saints as he reeled in six receptions for 116 yards, but he failed to find the end zone yet again. This week, Golladay should draw primary coverage from Trevon Diggs, who has been shutting down opposing WR1s. He’s only allowing a 50% catch rate on the season and just .24 Fantasy Points Per Route Covered. There are more favorable matchups on the field and we could see Jones look to those versus trying to force-feed Golladay. For this matchup, Golladay should be viewed as a low-end WR3. Kadarius Toney made the most of Shepard’s absence in week four and he put on a show on multiple occasions with his shiftiness and elusiveness. Toney forced five missed tackles on just seven touches last week and he ended up totaling 79 yards against the Saints. If Shepard and Slayton are both out again this week, Toney should be featured yet again and given plenty of opportunity to create. He’s most likely still available on your league’s waiver wire, so if you’re in need of a spot FLEX option, Toney can be dropped in. Otherwise, he’s merely just a low-end FLEX play at best in this matchup. John Ross made his Giants debut last week and he was able to reel in a long touchdown. As he has always been throughout his career, Ross is nothing more than a boom-or-bust FLEX option that could push your lineup over the top or he could leave you with zero points. Update: Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard have both been ruled out.

Dallas: Amari Cooper fought through injury last week to provide the Cowboys with a dominant receiving threat yet again. While Cooper only saw three targets in week four against the Panthers, he finished with 69 receiving yards and a touchdown. Cooper has some injury concerns coming into this matchup against the Giants, so we’ll continue to monitor that as the week progresses. With that being said, if he’s in the Cowboys’ starting lineup, he belongs in your lineups as well. He can be viewed as a low-end WR2 with upside for the time being. CeeDee Lamb exploded in the first two weeks of the season for 24 total targets and 185 receiving yards. However, since then, he’s only seen eight targets and 79 total receiving yards with zero touchdowns. The Cowboys haven’t needed to air the ball out a ton and Lamb’s fantasy stock is taking a dip as a result. While we might need to adjust our expectations for Lamb and his fantasy outlook week in and week out, he’s still one of the best fantasy assets at the WR position and he belongs in your starting lineups. The Cowboys could easily get out to a big lead yet again in this game, so we might not see the top-12 production from Lamb that we were hoping for, but he still needs to be viewed as a low-end WR2. Update: Amari Cooper is listed as questionable heading into this matchup, but it seems likely that he is set to suit up this week against the Giants.

Tight Ends

New York: Evan Engram was more involved in the offense in week four, but it still only resulted in 27 receiving yards on six targets. At this point, it’s unlikely that we ever talk about Engram as a top-12 fantasy option again and he can remain on your league’s waiver wire.

Dallas: If we could combine Dalton Schultz and Blake Jarwin into one fantasy football asset, they’d be unstoppable. While we’ve seen this be a pretty even split between these two options over the first few weeks of the season, Dalton Schultz is starting to pull away with the job. Schultz saw 48 total snaps in week four against the Panthers to Jarwin’s 33. Additionally, Schultz had 19 Receiving Routes Run to just nine for Jarwin. As a result, Schultz saw a 36.4% target share and he reeled in six of his seven targets for 58 yards and yet another touchdown. Schultz now has three touchdowns on the season and 20 total receptions. Fantasy managers have been hoping for some clarity from this TE room in Dallas and – despite Jarwin’s touchdown last week – we may have gotten it. Schultz now belongs in starting lineups as a low-end TE1 moving forward.

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San Francisco 49ers vs Arizona Cardinals

Date/Time: Sunday October 10, 4:25pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Cardinals -5.5
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 50 points
Implied Vegas point totals
: Cardinals 27.75, 49ers 22.25

San Francisco 49ers

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Trey Lance 18/28 207 2.05 0.7 48 0.4 22
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Trey Sermon 13 55 0.35 1 8 0.1 9.53
RB Elijah Mitchell 10 38 0.3 2 14 0.15 8.74
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Deebo Samuel 0 0 0 5 72 0.65 13.73
WR Brandon Aiyuk 0 0 0 4 40 0.45 8.53
WR Mohamed Sanu 0 0 0 2 17 0.25 3.9
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Ross Dwelley 0 0 0 3 38 0.35 7.66

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Arizona Cardinals

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Kyler Murray 25/34 309 2.2 0.6 27 0.8 27
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB James Conner 14 50 0.65 2 9 0.1 11.19
RB Chase Edmonds 7 35 0.1 4 26 0.25 10.02
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Deandre Hopkins 0 0 0 5 66 0.75 13.62
WR Christian Kirk 0 0 0 5 69 0.2 10.45
WR A.J. Green 0 0 0 4 56 0.45 10.22
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Maxx Williams 0 0 0 3 34 0.3 6.57

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Quarterback

San Francisco: With Jimmy Garoppolo not practicing on Wednesday, it appears as though Trey Lance is going to get his first career NFL start this weekend against Arizona. While the passing output might not be out of this world, Lance is absolutely in the low-end QB1 conversation because of his rushing upside. In just two quarters last week, Lance finished as a top-15 QB on the week and there’s the possibility that he cracks the top-5 this week with a game plan that is tailored for his skillset. The Cardinals are allowing just 20.0 fantasy points per game to opposing QBs this season, but they also haven’t faced a QB with Lance’s rushing upside just yet. If you picked him up off of waivers – or you already had him on your bench – Lance deserves to be in your starting lineup this week as a top-12 QB. Update: Jimmy G has been ruled OUT and Lance will get the start. He can be viewed as a top-12 play this week.

Arizona: What is there to say about Kyler Murray that hasn’t been said already from a fantasy perspective? He’s playing insanely well right now and it’s leading to wins on the NFL field and on the fantasy football field too. With the plethora of receiving weapons that Murray has at his disposal, he’s set up to succeed in any matchup. His rushing ability is just the cherry on top of all of that for us that play fantasy football. The 49ers are only allowing 218.2 passing yards per game so far this season, but Murray should easily hit the over on that in this matchup. He can be viewed as a top-3 option yet again.

Running Backs

San Francisco: Trey Sermon has performed well with his increased opportunity and he’s now averaging 4.3 Yards Per Carry on the season. Elijah Mitchell got in a limited practice on Wednesday, so we don’t have complete clarity just yet on what this backfield will look like, but Sermon is likely to lead this committee in carries with the way he’s been playing lately. We’ll continue to monitor this situation and provide more updates as information becomes available, but unless Kyle Shanahan declares that Sermon is going to be inactive or see a decreased workload, I expect him to be the RB to play this week in this matchup. Update: Mitchell appears set to play in this game as he does not have an injury designation. Both Sermon and Mitchell currently land back-to-back as high-end RB3s in my week five rankings.

Arizona: Over the last two weeks, Chase Edmonds has seen 36 total opportunities and he’s turned that into 169 total yards. While he’s been dominating for fantasy football and bringing a very high floor week after week, he has yet to find the end zone on the season either as a runner or a receiver. At this point, Edmonds now belongs in your starting lineup every single week as a mid-range/low-end RB2 due to his guaranteed workload, his talent, and the offense that he plays in. If he can start to work his way into the end zone, he has top-5 upside any given week. We had concerns about Edmonds and his workload coming into the season, but not anymore. He’s a must-start option every single week. Last week, I wrote about how James Conner was a game-script-dependent RB moving forward. While that is still the case, there may be very few game scripts this season where the Cardinals are playing from behind. This team is legitimate and they’re going to make a push deep into the playoffs this year if everyone can stay healthy. In week five, against the 49ers defense that’s allowing 4.5 Yards Per Rush Attempt and 1.2 rushing touchdowns per game, Conner has an excellent chance of finding the end zone yet again. He’ll need it to return value, but in a landscape where so many other fantasy assets at the position are disappointing or faltering, Conner’s worth considering. He can be viewed as a high-end RB3. Update: Edmonds is listed as a game-time decision due to a shoulder injury. If he isn’t able to play, Conner moves up into low-end RB2 territory with upside. If Edmonds does play, he’s still worth starting as a high-end RB3, but he could see a drop-off in volume just a bit.

Wide Receivers

San Francisco: Hold on, because this is crazy. Deebo Samuel is now on pace for 178.5 targets, 119 receptions, 2,082.5 receiving yards, and 12.75 touchdowns. He’s been utterly dominant through the first four weeks of the season and that doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon. Brandon Aiyuk has remained just a complementary piece in this WR room and Samuel has stolen the spotlight. Moving forward, Samuel belongs in starting lineups every single week as a mid-range WR1 with tremendous upside. Meanwhile, Aiyuk is on the verge of being dropped in fantasy football leagues across the board. He’s struggling to make much of an impact this season and there’s been virtually no explanation for it. He can’t be trusted anywhere near starting lineups currently.

Arizona: We certainly haven’t gotten the top-tier fantasy production from DeAndre Hopkins that we were anticipating coming into the year, but he’s still been incredibly reliable and he’s producing in some tough matchups. Expectations weren’t high for him last week against the Rams secondary, but he still came through with a solid performance off of a 4-67-0 line. He led the team in targets last week and there’s plenty to build off of moving forward. In a matchup against the 49ers secondary this week that’s reeling with injuries, Hopkins should have every opportunity to succeed and come through for fantasy managers with a big performance. He can be viewed as a locked-in WR1 again this week. Do we need to start talking about AJ Green as one of the more consistent fantasy assets out there? Over the last two weeks, Green has seen 12 targets and he’s reeled in 10 of them for 179 yards and a score. With that being said, this is with Kirk and Moore being essentially phased out of the offense, so there’s the possibility that Green fades into the background again this upcoming week if either of those receivers has a big game. However, Green has seen six targets in every single game so far this year and we know that he has the size and talent to make any big play. We shouldn’t be expecting a top-30 fantasy finish out of Green every week moving forward, but for someone who fantasy managers have been scared off of and who is most likely still sitting on your league’s waiver wire, he can be picked up and started as a FLEX play this week if you’re in a pinch. Christian Kirk had been essentially unstoppable through the first three weeks of the season. He was simply getting the job done for fantasy football week in and week out, but that came crashing down this past week against the Rams. Kirk only saw one target in week four and he finished with just five receiving yards. While Kirk has the talent and skillset to make an impact for fantasy every single week, his usage is going to be too unpredictable with all of the other receiving weapons in this offense to rely on him as anything more than a FLEX option. We shouldn’t be completely off of Kirk after this one poor performance though! He still deserves to be dropped back into your starting lineups as a FLEX play due to his upside in this dynamic passing attack. We just might not have the amount of consistency that we thought we had from him after the first three games of the year. Rondale Moore came out and set fantasy football on fire with his performances the first two weeks of the season. In the two games since then, he has just five targets and 29 total receiving yards to pair with zero touchdowns. Moore’s consistency was always in question for me in this offense and we’re seeing Kyler target other options who are on the field more than Moore. He’s still just seeing 37.8% of the Cardinals snaps through the first four weeks of the season and that’s simply not going to be enough to lead to consistent production. He has week-winning upside due to his talent and ability after the catch, but – as we’ve now seen – he has an extremely low floor. Moore is nothing more than a low-end FLEX play in week five.

Tight Ends

San Francisco: George Kittle is reportedly dealing with a calf injury and is unlikely to suit up for this matchup, but we’ll continue to monitor the situation and update when there’s more information. If Kittle cannot start, Ross Dwelley would get the biggest bump up in rankings, but he’s unlikely to work his way into my top-20. Update: Kittle has now been listed as doubtful and is unlikely to suit up.

Arizona: Maxx Williams‘ usage and production are essentially like watching a rollercoaster. In week one, he had zero receiving yards. In week two, he had 94 yards that was followed up by just 19 in week three. And then last week against the Rams he had five receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown. While Williams absolutely can be a potential top-12 fantasy asset at the position due to the offense that he plays in, there is no predictability with his usage just yet. He’s a mid-range TE2 at best for week five.

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Buffalo Bills vs Kansas City Chiefs

Date/Time: Sunday October 10, 8:20pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Chiefs -2.5
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 56.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals
: Chiefs 29.5, Bills 27

Buffalo Bills

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Josh Allen 27/40 304 2.55 0.45 28 0.8 29
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Zack Moss 10 40 0.4 1 10 0.2 9.36
RB Devin Singletary 9 45 0.1 2 11 0.2 8.26
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Stefon Diggs 0 0 0 6 82 0.75 15.84
WR Emmanuel Sanders 0 0 0 4 66 0.5 11.51
WR Cole Beasley 0 0 0 7 58 0.25 10.98
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Dawson Knox 0 0 0 5 55 0.5 11.04

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Kansas City Chiefs

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Patrick Mahomes II 26/38 312 3.1 0.75 18 0.4 28
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire 17 69 0.55 3 21 0.25 15.18
RB Darrel Williams 4 14 0.15 2 10 0.05 4.5
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Tyreek Hill 0 0 0 7 97 1 19.18
WR Mecole Hardman 0 0 0 3 33 0.35 7.11
WR Josh Gordon 0 0 0 2 34 0.3 6.36
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Travis Kelce 0 0 0 7 89 1 18.31

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Quarterback

Buffalo: Josh Allen wasn’t asked to do a ton last week – compared to his normal standards – and the Bills still won 40-0. In a game this week against the Chiefs defense that just allowed Jalen Hurts to throw for 387 yards and is one of the most favorable matchups for opposing fantasy QBs, Allen belongs in your lineup this week as a top-3 option. This game is expected to be a fireworks show and you’re going to want pieces of it.

Kansas City: We had to wait a few games for it, but we got the week-winning upside from Patrick Mahomes that we all have been expecting in week four against the Eagles. Mahomes completed 80% of his passes for 278 yards and five touchdowns, while also adding an additional 26 yards on the ground. Mahomes took care of business against Philadelphia and he most likely helped carry fantasy managers to a victory last week. Moving ahead to week five, this is going to be an incredibly fun game to watch. Up to this point of the season, the Buffalo Bills are the most difficult matchup for opposing QBs and they’re allowing just 9.0 fantasy points per game to the position. While we know that that is in large part due to the fact that the Bills played Davis Mills and the Texans offense in week four, that’s a shocking number. We know that Mahomes is going to score more than nine points and this game has the potential to turn into an absolute shoot-out, but the week-winning upside might not be there in this matchup. With that being said, it’s still Mahomes and you’re plugging him into your lineup as a top-5 option regardless.

Running Backs

Buffalo: Zack Moss has been the beneficiary of some positive game scripts recently and he is delivering for fantasy lineups with the opportunity. With that being said, it’s unlikely that the Bills will choose to lean on Moss in this game where the passing game should be working flawlessly. If you do start Moss or Devin Singletary, you’re hoping that one of them finds the end zone. Moss shouldn’t be viewed any higher than a mid-range RB3.

Kansas City: Do you remember all that criticism that was being hurled at Clyde Edwards-Helaire after week two? Through the first two weeks of the season, CEH had just totaled 89 yards on the ground and just three targets. He was the RB47 during that time frame and seemed like he was trending towards being a complete bust at the position. However, since then CEH has gone on to total 202 rushing yards and he’s also tacked on two receiving touchdowns during that span as well, which is good enough for an RB10 ranking. The Kansas City Chiefs offensive line is absolutely moving people off the ball and CEH is taking advantage of open running lanes. CEH had 56 Rushing Yards Before Contact and averaged 7.3 Yards Per Attempt last week against the Eagles. The Bills’ defense is a little bit more difficult to move, though, and they’re allowing just 51.2 rushing yards per game, which signals that we might not get the week-winning upside from CEH in this one. With that being said, he’s still an incredibly reliable fantasy football RB as an RB2 and he should be viewed as such for this matchup. Darrel Williams got an increased workload last week in a blowout win and he was used as the goal-line back again last week, which resulted in a touchdown. At this point, CEH is the only Chiefs RB worth considering for starting lineups, but Williams deserves to be rostered everywhere due to his upside if something were to happen to Edwards-Helaire. He’s not in the FLEX conversation this week, but if he’s available on your waiver wire, he’s worth stashing.

Wide Receivers

Buffalo: Stefon Diggs has yet to go off for a dominant performance like we’ve been waiting for, but he’s still getting the job done for fantasy football. He’s currently the WR19 through four weeks and he has been providing a very high floor for fantasy managers every single week. As mentioned before though, managers are waiting for the blowup performance from the star wideout and there’s a very strong possibility that that happens here this week. The Chiefs are allowing the 6th-most fantasy points to opposing WRs so far this season and they have no one who is going to be able to match up on Diggs and slow him down. Start Diggs with full confidence as a borderline top-5 play this week. Emmanuel Sanders continues to be everything fantasy managers are asking for out of their FLEX spot and more. Through four weeks, Sanders is the WR23 on the season and he’s being used in the right way that indicates this success is here to stay. Sanders ranks 8th in terms of Air Yards at the WR position so far this year and he has an impressive ADOT of 17.4. In a matchup against the Chiefs defense that’s struggling to slow down opposing passing games, Sanders belongs in starting lineups as a high-end FLEX play. Cole Beasley has certainly disappointed over the past two games, but the Bills haven’t really needed him. In a game where it should be a back-and-forth battle throughout all four quarters, we should see the target share for Beasley rise back up. He can be viewed as a low-end FLEX play this week in Full PPR formats.

Kansas City: After being stifled in weeks two and three, Tyreek Hill reminded everyone in week four why he’s still an every-week must-start option. Hill saw 12 targets against the Eagles and he turned that into 11 receptions for 186 and three total touchdowns. If you had Hill in your lineup, you most likely won your matchup with this performance. Moving forward to week five though, Hill has a much tougher task in front of him against the Bills secondary. The Bills are allowing just 97.2 yards per contest and only 10.0 fantasy points per game to the position. This number is skewed by the fact that they faced the Texans in week four, but this is still one of the most stout secondaries in the game and they’re going to have a plan for how to contain Hill. Whether or not it works remains to be seen, so Hill belongs in your starting lineup this week as a top-5 option yet again. Josh Gordon appears set to make his Chiefs debut this week against the Buffalo Bills and there is certainly plenty of hype surrounding him. It’s hard not to at least be intrigued with the athletic receiving threat when he’s tied to Patrick Mahomes, but we should not be looking to play him just yet right out of the gates. We have no idea what his snap count is going to be and/or what his target share is going to shake out as with the other receiving threats in this offense. He’s worth adding to the bottom of your bench if you have room available, but we should not consider him a lock for starting lineups in his first week out there. Mecole Hardman certainly has not lived up to the pre-season hype and buzz surrounding him. Through four weeks, he is just the WR60 on the season and has yet to have one of the blowup performances that would cause us to even consider him for our FLEX in deeper formats. Unfortunately, Hardman’s now a tricky fantasy evaluation because of the signing of Gordon. If the Chiefs were completely content with Hardman and his development, they probably wouldn’t have considered bringing in someone with Gordon’s past and the potential complications that could arise moving forward. Hardman had very little upside based on the way he’s been playing so far this season and the door seems to have been slammed shut now. Hardman’s merely just a bench stash at this point in deeper formats. Byron Pringle had been doing very little from a fantasy perspective up to this point and it’s seeming like his involvement in the Chiefs offense is going to be relegated to minimal with the signing of Gordon. Pringle is merely just a hold in Dynasty leagues at this point. In redraft formats, he can be dropped to your waiver wire.

Tight Ends

Buffalo: Your eyes do not deceive you, Dawson Knox is currently the TE6 on the entire season. He has come alive over the past couple of weeks and he’s consistently been Allen’s key target when the Bills get into the red zone, which is translating to touchdown production. In this matchup against the Chiefs, who are allowing 87 yards per game to the TE position, Knox should feast yet again. Fire him up as a mid-range/low-end TE1.

Kansas City: Travis Kelce was quiet in week four, but that’s to be expected when Hill rumbles for three touchdowns. He still provided a safe floor for fantasy managers though and there’s absolutely no reason why we should move him out of the TE1 spot in our rankings. It’s a tougher matchup against the Bills defense, but Kelce should get back to producing at a high level in a game where Hill’s not going to be able to break free as regularly as he did in week four.

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Indianapolis Colts vs Baltimore Ravens

Date/Time: Monday October 11, 8:15pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Ravens -7
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 47.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals
: Ravens 27.75, Colts 20.25

Indianapolis Colts

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Carson Wentz 23/36 242 1.75 1.2 14 0.2 17
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Jonathan Taylor 16 66 0.65 3 23 0.25 15.53
RB Nyheim Hines 2 8 0.1 4 38 0.25 8.94
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Michael Pittman Jr. 0 0 0 6 71 0.4 12.48
WR Zach Pascal 0 0 0 4 38 0.3 7.47
WR Parris Campbell 0 0 0 1 16 0.15 3.2
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Jack Doyle 0 0 0 3 28 0.2 5.26

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Baltimore Ravens

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Lamar Jackson 20/32 257 2.05 0.7 38 0.85 26
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Latavius Murray 12 43 0.75 1 5 0.1 10.2
RB Le’Veon Bell 5 16 0.15 1 7 0.15 4.78
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Marquise Brown 0 0 0 4 66 0.55 11.87
WR Rashod Bateman 0 0 0 4 49 0.35 8.94
WR Sammy Watkins 0 0 0 3 40 0.3 7.4
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Mark Andrews 0 0 0 5 60 0.4 10.76

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Quarterback

Indianapolis: Carson Wentz still certainly showed several instances of holding onto the ball too long and trying to do too much during last week’s outing against the Dolphins, but he did enough for the Colts to be able to bring home their first victory of the season. With that being said, Wentz still isn’t doing enough from a fantasy perspective to be pushed into the top-20 at the position. In a matchup against Baltimore this week, who is just allowing 1.5 passing touchdowns per game this season, Wentz is merely just a low-end QB2.

Baltimore: Lamar Jackson certainly hasn’t lived up to the pre-season hype this year, but his numbers could be so much better if he hadn’t been let down by his receivers time and time again. The Ravens receivers have been credited with six drops so far this season and several of those could have been for big gains and/or touchdowns, which would make Jackson’s numbers look a lot better. In the meantime, he’s still continuing to provide a very high floor with his rushing ability and there’s no reason to downgrade him this week against the Colts. He can be viewed as a mid-range QB1.

Running Backs

Indianapolis: Fantasy managers were a little bit worried about Jonathan Taylor after the first few weeks, but he’s starting to show his top-tier talent again and is finally contributing for fantasy lineups. Taylor put together a dominant performance in week four against the Dolphins as he rumbled for 103 rushing yards on 16 carries and a score while adding three receptions for 11 yards. It’s certainly still not as productive as fantasy managers were hoping for when they drafted JT as a top-10 RB, but it’s encouraging none the least. Looking ahead to week five, the Ravens have been fairly stingy in terms of rushing yards allowed with only 70.5 per game this season, but they are allowing 1.2 rushing touchdowns per game. Taylor might not average over six Yards Per Carry again this week, but he does have a very good chance of finding the end zone with how much opportunity he’s being given around the goal line. Nyheim Hines was in a plus spot to contribute for fantasy lineups last week, but he ended up hurting them as he finished with negative points due to a fumble. He watched Marlon Mack re-emerge and see 10 carries, while his snap count dropped from 34 to just 22 in week four. Moving forward, it appears as though this backfield is going to be a three-headed monster again, which means that we can’t trust Hines for fantasy purposes. He’ll have some big performances here or there, but trying to predict them is going to be more of a headache than it’s worth. He can be viewed as a low-end RB3 this week.

Baltimore: With Ty’Son Williams out of the picture, Latavius Murray has stepped in and shouldered the workload for the Ravens this season. He hasn’t been particularly efficient – only 3.4 Yards Per Carry on the year – but he’s finding the end zone with regularity. With that being said, he’s nothing more than a high-end RB3 every week moving forward due to his touchdown dependency and the lack of receiving work in this offense.

Wide Receivers

Indianapolis: Did you know that Michael Pittman is tied for the third-most Inside-the-10 targets in the entire NFL? Unfortunately, it hasn’t converted to any receiving touchdowns just yet, but these opportunities are golden for fantasy football. Pittman was just a few yards away from finding the end zone last week against Miami too, which would’ve spiked his fantasy football production. Over the past three weeks, Pittman has now seen 32 targets and he’s reeled in 20 of them for 250 receiving yards. He’s the WR23 in fantasy football over that time frame, but as mentioned before that number could be so much higher based on his red-zone involvement. Those targets eventually start to translate to touchdowns and it’s coming for Pittman. It might not happen here in this game due to the matchup against the Ravens’ secondary, but he’s continued to produce despite tough matchups with his guaranteed volume. He needs to be in starting lineups every week moving forward and he can be viewed as a mid-range WR3 this week.

Baltimore: Rashod Bateman has the potential to make his Ravens debut this week, but there hasn’t been clarity on that situation just yet. If he plays, it has a direct correlation to Marquise Brown‘s fantasy outlook, so make sure to check back here later on this week for an updated outlook once there’s more information.

Tight Ends

Indianapolis: Mo Alie-Cox emerged with a big performance last week, but that was due to Jack Doyle‘s snap count taking a bit of a tumble potentially because of injury. It’ll be important to monitor the practice reports for Doyle this week to see if we can look Alie-Cox’s way for fantasy purposes. Even if Doyle outright misses this game – which likely isn’t going to happen – Alie-Cox wouldn’t be anything more than a low-end streaming dart throw.

Baltimore: Mark Andrews has yet to find the end zone this year, but he has been the definition of consistency at the TE position. He’s now averaging 4.5 receptions and 63.25 receiving yards per game and every single one of his performances have been around that range. We might not get the upside we were hoping for this year from him, but he’s still been worth the draft pick spent to acquire him due to his reliability. He can be viewed as a mid-range/low-end TE1 this week.

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Kyle Yates is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Kyle, check out his archive and follow him @KyleYNFL.

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