Top 3 Fantasy Football Storylines of Week 5 (2025)

The top storylines for Week 5 are quarterback-centric, with two of the questions revolving around signal-callers. The other eye-catching storyline involves a seemingly disgruntled wide receiver.

• Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Advice
• Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
• Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
• Fantasy Football Trade Tools

Fantasy Football Storylines

Who Starts at Quarterback for the Vikings?

Carson Wentz was solid, if unspectacular, in his first start for the Vikings, completing 14-of-20 passes for 173 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions against the Bengals in Week 3. Cincinnati’s defense is lousy, but they still got to Wentz for three sacks, which should have probably foreshadowed potential struggles against a more competent defense.

Wentz completed 30-of-46 passes for 350 yards and two touchdowns against the Steelers on Sunday morning in Ireland. However, he also threw two interceptions, fumbled and took six sacks.

The Vikings are abroad again this week, facing the Browns in London. It’s beneficial for the Vikings that they’ll already be acclimated to changing time zones and playing abroad. Unfortunately, the Browns have a talented defense, and Minnesota’s offensive line is ravaged by injuries.

Donovan Jackson had wrist surgery last week, and Kevin O’Connell mentioned using Minnesota’s Week 6 bye as part of the “timeline” to get Jackson back without putting him on short-term injured reserve (IR). In Week 4, starting right tackle Brian O’Neill injured his knee, and starting center Ryan Kelly suffered his second concussion in the last 15 days.

The cluster of injuries along the offensive line and a matchup against Myles Garrett and Co. will likely cause problems for whoever starts at quarterback. Furthermore, Cleveland’s been stout against the run, and backup offensive linemen are unlikely to enjoy success paving rushing lanes for Jordan Mason.

As noted when discussing Jackson’s recovery from wrist surgery, the Vikings have their bye in Week 6. I suspect Minnesota will exercise caution with J.J. McCarthy and start Wentz again this week. A sideline report from Sunday’s contest adds fuel to the fire for the Vikings holding McCarthy out through the club’s Week 6 bye.

Justin Jefferson is the only must-use player from the Vikings this week. Jefferson had season highs in targets (11), receptions (10) and receiving yards (126) against the Steelers. Mason is an acceptable low-end RB2 or Flex start this week since the Vikings are favored, but his lack of passing-game utility creates a low floor. T.J. Hockenson is a viable option, but he’s not a must-start at tight end, depending on the alternatives gamers have. Hockenson has 11 targets, nine receptions, 88 receiving yards and a touchdown in Wentz’s two starts.

Will the Squeaky Wheel in Philadelphia Get the Grease?

Wide receivers and cryptic tweets go together like peanut butter and jelly, and A.J. Brown posted an eye-catching tweet after tallying only two receptions for seven scoreless yards on nine targets in Sunday’s victory against the Buccaneers.

Philadelphia is the NFC’s only undefeated team, and they’re the defending Super Bowl champion. Yet, Brown might not be content. Will they look for more opportunities to get him the ball in Week 5? Maybe.

Unfortunately, the timing for a squeaky wheel isn’t optimal. The Eagles host the Broncos in Week 5, meaning they’ll face Patrick Surtain II. Still, according to RotoViz’s pace app, the Broncos faced a 58% situation-neutral pass rate (tied for the seventh-highest mark) through Week 3.

Will the Eagles ask more of Jalen Hurts this week? Will Denver’s offense push Philadelphia, as the Rams did in Week 3? Brown is a volatile player, but that’s who he is as long as the Eagles continue to be content leaning on their running game, taking care of the football and relying on their defense.

Nevertheless, Brown’s six receptions, 109 receiving yards and one touchdown on 10 targets in Week 3 illustrate he still has a fantasy-friendly ceiling.

Can C.J. Stroud Overcome His Road Woes in a Mouthwatering Matchup?

C.J. Stroud was outstanding in Week 4. He had his best showing of the year, completing 22-of-28 passes (78.6%) for 233 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also took just two sacks for the second consecutive week after taking three in each of the first two games.

According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Stroud had two big-time throws, zero turnover-worthy plays and a season-low 2.56 seconds to throw against the lowly Titans last week. Stroud has one big-time throw in the first three games of the season, and he had a turnover-worthy play in each of those games.

Last week’s showing was encouraging. Still, Stroud was at home. Can he build on his Week 4 showing in a road tilt? According to Pro-Football-Reference, Stroud has averaged an underwhelming 206.9 passing yards per game with 17 passing touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 18 career road games.

Stroud’s outdoor numbers are even more alarming. In 12 games outdoors, Stroud has completed only 59.61% of his 359 passes for 193.2 passing yards per game, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. Stroud is outdoors in Baltimore this week.

Fortunately, the Ravens have an unserious and injured defense. Baltimore has coughed up 271 passing yards and 2.25 passing touchdowns per game to quarterbacks this season. This is the first week of byes in the NFL, and gamers who’ve used Jordan Love or Caleb Williams might be searching for a bye-week fill-in. Despite Stroud’s career road woes, he’s an intriguing streamer in a mouthwatering matchup.

Nico Collins is a no-brainer starter every week. Woody Marks is an intriguing RB2 or Flex option. However, gamers searching for another streamer in half-PPR and full PPR formats could consider Christian Kirk. According to the data suite at Fantasy Points, Kirk has a 65.3% route participation rate, 20.7% air yards share, 18.2% target share, 0.24 targets per route run, 12 targets, six receptions and 45 receiving yards in two healthy contests. Kirk could conceivably run more routes if the game is close and he’s healthier.

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