Welcome to Week 5, friends. As always, we’re here to provide you with some Quick Grades (or Start/Sit Grades, if you prefer) for the week.

We tapped into our consensus projections and rankings and Derek Brown’s weekly Primer to generate this week’s Quick Grades. See below for the results and accompanying notes.

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Week 5 QB Start/Sit Grades

Notes

Tom Brady: This week, Brady goes full scorched earth. Atlanta’s secondary play has fallen apart. They have yielded the fourth-highest success rate per dropback while also ranking tenth in yards per attempt and 12th in passing touchdown rate. The Falcons are seventh in explosive pass rate allowed. Atlanta has remained a zone-based defense (60% zone for their outside corners). Brady is third in passing accuracy and fourth in completion rate against zone.

Marcus Mariota: Mariota’s level of play has sharply declined as the season has worn on. He’s 27th in PFF passing grade and 35th in adjusted completion rate. Arthur Smith needs to continue to lean on his ground game this week to move the ball because Mariota could struggle mightily. Tampa Bay has limited opposing passers to the eighth-lowest success rate per dropback, fifth-lowest yards per attempt, and fifth-lowest EPA per dropback. The Buccaneers are 11th in pressure rate, which is concerning because Mariota is eighth in turnover-worthy play rate when pressured. Sit Mariota in Week 5.

Ryan Tannehill: Tannehill is an upside QB2 this week. He’s been playing better than his QB22 ranking in fantasy would suggest. He’s been a QB1 in 50% of his games so far this season (QB11, QB8). He’s 15th in PFF passing grade, second in adjusted completion rate, and seventh in yards per attempt (minimum 25 dropbacks). Washington has been giving this year to opposing quarterbacks sitting at fifth in EPA per dropback, fifth in yards per attempt, and first in passing touchdown rate allowed. The Commanders have also been blitz-happy, ranking ninth in blitz rate, which should help Tannehill this week. Tannehill is seventh in PFF passing grade against the blitz, 14th in adjusted completion rate, and second in aDOT. If Washington plans to bring the heat, Tannehill will look to launch it.

Carson Wentz: After flying out of the starting blocks with a two-game heater, Wentz has cooled off with back-to-back games outside the top 24 fantasy quarterbacks (QB30, QB27). His issues stem from pressure, as he’s outside the top 25 quarterbacks in under-pressure accuracy and pressured completion rate. Wentz can dice up this secondary if the Commanders can keep him upright. Tennessee is 26th in pass defense DVOA with the second-highest passing touchdown rate and yards per attempt allowed. Tennessee is 13th in pressure rate, but they are only 24th in blitz rate, so Washington has a chance to give Wentz some clean pockets. Wentz is reincarnating past fantasy memories of Blake Bortles. The fantasy results can be tasty, but please don’t watch the film, or you’ll never play him again. Wentz is a frightening QB2 option that could thread the needle into another top 12 fantasy week.

Davis Mills: There’s no reason even in the deepest of 2QB leagues to consider playing Mills. He has only thrown for multiple touchdowns in two games, yet to eclipse 250 yards passing in any game, and hasn’t finished higher than QB17 in any week. Jacksonville is seventh in pass defense DVOA with the 11th-lowest passing touchdown rate conceded.

Trevor Lawrence: Lawrence is a mid QB2. He’s the QB16 in fantasy points per game, but his fantasy stock is shinier than his real-life play. He’s 26th in PFF passing grade, 20th in big-time throw rate, and 20th in yards per attempt. Lawrence has been operating in play-it-safe mode, which has also led to him ranking ninth in adjusted completion rate and 27th in aDOT. Houston has conceded the tenth-highest yards per attempt and ninth-highest explosive pass rate, but they have been tough in the touchdown department (eighth-lowest passing touchdown rate). Lawrence has directed an offense that’s 24th in explosive pass rate, so he likely won’t take enough chances to take advantage here.

Jimmy Garoppolo: Yuck. That was my first response after typing the quarterback names for this contest. You can likely find better options to plug in over a quarterback that’s finished as the QB22 and QB28 over the last two weeks. Carolina has conceded the 11th-lowest passing touchdown rate and ninth-lowest success rate per dropback. Opposing quarterbacks are averaging 15.4 fantasy points per game (19th) against this defense. Garoppolo is a bottom-of-the-barrel QB2.

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.

Week 5 WR Start/Sit Grades

Notes

Brandon Aiyuk: Since Garoppolo has been back under center, Aiyuk has a 22.2% target share and 31.2% of the team’s air yards. Those numbers sound much better than they are because it equates to six targets and 38 receiving yards per game. Aiyuk has been the WR39 and WR50 since Week 3. He’s a weekly WR4 without any injuries to this depth chart. He’ll run about 77% of his routes against Horn and Jackson.

D.J. Moore: Moore has been hamstrung by pitiful quarterback play his entire career. This might be the worst of the lot, though. He’s been unable to get anything going with his 25.9% target share having to deal with a 51.7% catchable target rate (90th). It’s sad. Moore is 31st in PFF, receiving grade immediately ahead of Chris Godwin and Justin Jefferson. His ceiling with Mayfield this season has been as a WR3. He’ll line up opposite Emmanuel Moseley and Charvarius Ward on about 68% of his routes. Moseley has allowed a 70.6% catch rate and 91.5 passer rating. Ward has been even better with a 60% catch rate and 77.1 passer rating in coverage.

Noah Brown: Brown finished with the second-most targets in Week 4 (6, 23% target share). However, Brown ran a route on just 76% of team dropbacks because he was forced to leave late with a neck injury (79% snap share). The expectation is that he is back for Week 5. He’s been a nice story the last three weeks, commanding a 21% target share, 69 receiving yards and four catches per game as the WR31 in half-point scoring. However, the return of Michael Gallup makes it tougher to trust Brown as anything more than a WR4.

Michael Gallup: First game back for Michael Gallup: 83% route participation, three targets and one touchdown. He’s a plug-in-play fantasy WR upside option ahead of a juicy Rams matchup. I’d expect his snaps to increase another week removed from his injury.

DeVonta Smith: The Slim Reaper has granted the full WR3 boom-or-bust experience through the 1st month of the season. In two games he’s surpassed over 80 receiving yards with a WR1 overall performance. But outside those two games are two finishes outside the top-70. His upside alone and role in the Eagles offense – 10th overall in route participation (97%) and 22% target share – warrants FLEX consideration, especially in a solid matchup versus the Cardinals. Arizona perimeter defensive backs Marco Wilson and Trayvon Mullen are each bottom-15 graded CBs per PFF this season.

Marquise Brown: It’s hard not to be productive when your QB leads the NFL in pass attempts. Case in point with Hollywood Brown, who ranks third in the NFL in targets (11 per game) and fourth in the NFL in receptions (7.5 per game). He also ranks 6th in air yards (420). Brown plays such an integral role in the Arizona passing game that he has a super-high floor every single week, even in a tougher matchup versus the Eagles, who are middle-of-the-pack versus fantasy WRs this season. They do, however, play very favorably into chasing Brown’s volume as they have faced the second-most WR targets this season. Brown’s ultimate finish will hinder how efficient he is on the volume he gets, and I’d be optimistic after his slow start to the season. His yards per route run has increased every single week.

Rondale Moore: Rondale Moore played 86% of the snaps while running a route on 94% of dropbacks in Week 4. He relegated Greg Dortch back to the bench. Moore earned 5 targets and a 10.4 aDOT in his season debut, seeing two targets of 20-plus air yards. His downfield usage and lack of slot deployment (34% slot rate) were vastly different from his rookie-year usage. Considering Dortch was a top-36 WR for three straight weeks before Moore came back into the lineup, the second-year wideout owns sneaky WR4 appeal in Week 5. Especially if Darius Slay is healthy, who would likely force targets away from Marquise Brown. Moore picked up a knee injury this week and only managed limited practices on Thursday and Friday. He’s been listed as questionable. With A.J. Green not carrying an injury designation this week and back in the lineup, if Moore is active, I expect him to reprise his slot role. This would pin him against Josiah Scott, who has allowed a 72.7% catch rate and 140.3 passer rating in his career (22 targets). If Moore can’t play, fire up Greg Dortch, who would operate as the inside receiver.

Allen Lazard: Since his Week 2 return, Lazard has seen a 17.8% target share while running a route on 93.1% of Rodgers’ dropbacks. Over the last three games, he has led the team with six deep targets and is second in red zone targets to only Doubs (three vs. four). Lazard is likely to be shadowed by Adoree Jackson. Jackson has shadowed in three games this year, following Robert Woods, Robbie Anderson, and CeeDee Lamb on 65-91% of their routes. In shadow coverage, he’s allowed eight targets, six receptions, and 57 receiving yards (one score), with the bulk of that production coming from Lamb. Lazard could lose Jackson by moving into the slot. Lazard has played 36.7% of his snaps from the slot this year. He’s seen 35.3% of his target volume from the slot, with both of his touchdowns this year coming from the slot. In the slot, he’ll match up with Darnay Holmes, who allows a 50% catch rate and 64.3 passer rating. Lazard is a strong WR3 with upside this week if he can make the most of his targets away from Jackson.

Romeo Doubs: Doubs has been a full-time player over the last two games. He’s seen a 22.8% target share while earning a 94.5% route per dropback rate. He’s been the team’s red zone threat (leads the team with five red zone looks) and YAC guy. He has a 6.8 aDOT while ranking 12th in YAC per reception among all wideouts with at least ten targets this year. He’ll run about 83% of his routes on the perimeter. When he doesn’t see Jackson, he’ll get Fabian Moreau in coverage, which is likely most of the game if Jackson is in Lazard’s back pocket. Moreau has only seen eight targets in coverage this year, but last year he was a matchup to target with a 65.8% catch rate (seven touchdowns) and 116.3 passer rating surrendered.

Diontae Johnson: Johnson is still the clear leader of this passing attack. He’s seen elite usage with a 28.8% target share and 31.7% of the team’s air yards. This has amounted to the tenth-most targets among wide receivers. Sadly, all this volume has done nothing for Johnson, the WR43 in fantasy points per game being dragged down by Mitch Trubisky. We’ll see if Pickett can be any better in his rookie season, but he can’t be much worse for Johnson’s outlook. Johnson will run about 92% of his routes against Kaiir Elam and Dane Jackson as a volume-fueled WR3. Elam has allowed a 70% catch rate and 81.3 passer rating. Jackson has been even tougher with a 60% catch rate and 42.9 passer rating.

George Pickens: Yes, Pickens saw a 35.7% target share with Pickett under center last week. I’m not overreacting to a 14-pass attempt sample. Pickens is still likely the third option in this passing attack weekly. He’s handled a 16% target share with 28.1% of the team’s air yards as the field stretcher (17.0 aDOT). This isn’t exactly a role to get giddy over against a Buffalo secondary that’s seventh in DVOA against deep passing. He’ll run about 90% of his routes against Elam and Jackson. Pickens is a dart throw WR5.

Week 5 RB Start/Sit Grades

Notes

Austin Ekeler: At first glance, Ekeler’s Week 4 usage doesn’t appear to be any different from his first three games. In Weeks 1-3, he averaged 17.7 touches, 73 total yards, and 56% of the snaps played. In Week 4, he turned 19 touches into 109 total yards with 59% of the snaps played. Yeah, not much different on the surface. When we dig deeper, we find he owned more of the early down work, ran more routes per drop back, and resecured all of the red zone work. If this trend continues, this is huge moving forward for both his floor and ceiling. Ekeler is locked back in as a top-five running back option against a porous Cleveland defense. The Browns have allowed the sixth-highest rushing success rate, third-highest rush EPA, and 12th-highest explosive run rate. If Ekeler isn’t chewing them up on the ground, he’ll find room to operate through the air against a team that’s 22nd in DVOA against receiving backs.

Khalil Herbert: Last week Herbert operated as the clear lead back with 20 touches, 101 total yards, 77% of the snaps played, and all of the red zone rushing attempts. He finished as the RB26 last week despite not getting into the endzone. He’s still been one of the most explosive runners in the NFL, ranking seventh in yards after contact per attempt and 12th in PFF’s elusive rating (minimum 15 carries). This week’s matchup against the swiss cheese run defense of the Vikings lands Herbert comfortably inside the top 15 RBs (assuming Montgomery is out). If Montgomery plays, Herbert is a low-end RB3. . Minnesota has been unable to stop running backs with the fourth-highest rush success, seventh-highest rush EPA, and sixth-highest explosive run rates allowed.

David Montgomery: Montgomery logged limited practices on Thursday and Friday. He’s been listed as questionable. I consider him closer to doubtful and unlikely to play. If he does suit up, I don’t foresee the Bears giving him the full workload, so he and Herbert would fall into the low-end RB3 range.

Jamaal Williams: While Williams operated as the Lions’ primary back his snap rate only marginally budged from 45% to 50% in Week 4. Over the last two weeks Williams has averaged 21 touches and 108 as the RB3 in fantasy. Williams has been getting it done on the ground as his 5.4% target share this year isn’t likely to save him if he flops on early downs. Luckily for Williams this is another cakewalk matchup on the ground for him to keep motoring along. The Patriots defense has been unable to slow down, stop, or curtail running back production. They have the second-highest rushing success rate, seventh-most rushing yards per game, and the eighth-highest explosive rush rate.

Damien Harris: Harris has led the way on early downs and has been the team’s preferred red zone back over the last two weeks. He’s averaged 16 touches and 65 total yards. While Harris isn’t a homerun hitter, that doesn’t mean he isn’t slippery in between the tackles. He ranks second in evaded tackles and juke rate. His touchdown equity has carried him to RB20 in fantasy with his ten red zone touches (13th). It pays to be the red zone back on a team that’s ninth in red zone rushing rate. If New England gets even average quarterback play, Harris could run wild on the Lions. Detroit walks into Week 5 with the fifth-highest rushing success rate, third-most rushing yards per game surrendered, and the fourth-highest explosive run rate allowed. Harris is a low-end RB2.

Rhamondre Stevenson: The Patriots’ bulldozing passing down back has finished as the RB42, RB8, and RB22 over the last three games since taking on a larger share of this backfield. Over that three-game span, he has averaged 14.7 touches and 80.3 total yards with a 14.9% target share and a 58.7% route run rate. Stevenson has been one of the best runners in the NFL, ranking fifth in yards after contact per attempt and 13th in PFF’s elusive rating (minimum 15 carries). Outside of the split backfield situation, what’s capping his upside is his lack of involvement when the team gets near paydirt. He’s only seen four touches inside the 20-yard line until that changes or his pass game usage climbs higher; he’s an upside RB3.

Raheem Mostert: Mostert has grabbed the majority of this backfield over the last two weeks. Last week he saw a season-high 15 carries and 72% snap share. He’s dominated the routes while leading in target share over Edmonds since Week 3. Mostert hasn’t shown much juice this year, ranking 49th in true yards per carry, 46th in yards created per touch, and 44th in juke rate. He’s a low-ceiling RB3 this week against an underrated Jets’ run defense. Facing the Browns’ elite run game in Week 2 skews their numbers upon the first pass. Remove that game; this defense would be sporting the fourth-lowest rushing yards per game, seventh-lowest EPA, and second-lowest explosive run rate allowed. Sit Mostert unless you don’t have any better options. I’d rather roll with a matchup-based receiver over him this week.

Chase Edmonds: Edmonds is a touchdown or bust flex. He’s seen his snap share drop each week, down from 63% in Week 1 to 28% last game. His 6.6 touches and 29.3 total yards per game over the last three weeks have been miserable. The only thing that has saved his fantasy value over this stretch has been red zone usage with his three total touchdowns. I’m not chasing hit-or-miss touchdown production from a player on a heater, and neither should you. Sit Edmonds until further notice.

Week 5 TE Start/Sit Grades

Notes

Tyler Conklin: Conklin has been a volume-based TE1. He’s the unspectacular TE8 in fantasy scoring. He’s seen a 14.9% target share (14th) with “just a guy” type of efficiency (23rd in yards per route run). The fuel for his fantasy stock has been snaps and routes where he ranks seventh and second. He’s a strong streamer and could find himself inside the top 12 fantasy tight ends again this week. Miami is 31st in DVOA against tight ends, with the fifth-most receiving yards and tenth-most fantasy points allowed to inline tight ends (Conklin 60.4% inline).

Logan Thomas: Thomas finally crossed the 70% route run rate threshold (73.3%) in Week 4. With his 12.0% target share, he’s only the TE17 in fantasy points per game. After opening the year with encouraging efficiency stats, his yards per route run has dipped to 0.91. He still garnered high-value usage with two deep targets (seventh) and three red zone looks (tenth). This matchup against the Titans is a reason to snag him off the streamer pile and plug him in. Tennessee is dead last in DVOA against tight ends yielding the highest catch rate and fourth-highest receiving yards and yards per reception. If he’s good to go, Thomas is a high-end TE2/low-end TE1. There’s some worry, though, as he popped up with a DNP on Friday (calf).

Evan Engram: Engram is a matchup-based streaming tight end. He’s seen a 12.4% target share (19th) with nauseating efficiency (27th in yards per route run) and a minimal red zone role (one target), but the opponent is giving. Houston is 20th in DVOA, conceding the fifth-highest yards per reception and seventh-most receiving touchdowns to tight ends.

George Kittle: While public outrage is real over Kyle Pitts‘ usage, I sit here and scream into my hands weekly over Kittle’s misuse. Since Kyle Shanahan allows a talent like Kittle to only see 4.5 targets per game since his return, I’ll join in with the masses that say he’s an overrated head coach. Yes, Kittle is an elite blocker. We all get it, but there should be no game plan in existence that doesn’t feature Kittle as a primary piece in the passing attack. It’s criminal. I’ll leave the candle burning for a Kittle breakout game this week because the matchup calls for it. Good outside corners for the Panthers. Check. A defense that’s susceptible to tight ends. Check. Carolina is 26th in DVOA against tight ends allowing the second-highest catch rate and seventh-most receiving touchdowns. They are 31st in targets faced to the tight end position, so they haven’t been tested enough for this to be a screaming must-play Kittle spot. It still is, though. Play Kittle.

Tyler Higbee: As previously noted the Rams passing game is going through Kupp and Tyler Higbee. The Rams tight end ranks third in target share (24%) and first in raw targets (38) at the position this season. And he’s actually due for positive TD regression. Higbee ranks fifth in red-zone targets but has scored zero TDs. Keep starting him as a TE1 until the wheels fall off.

Dalton Schultz: The same cannot be said for Dalton Schultz, who is not startable as long as Cooper Rush is under center. The three-game sample size of Schultz playing with Rush has resulted in an average of fewer than 2 catches and 10 receiving yards per game. He caught zero passes on 3 targets last week. And that came with the Cowboys TE running a route on 79% of dropbacks on a 90% snap share. The Rams have also allowed the fewest catches to TEs this season despite facing Dawson Knox, Kyle Pitts, Zach Ertz and George Kittle the last four weeks.

Week 5 D/ST Start/Sit Grades

Week 5 K Start/Sit Grades