The NFL season is starting to feel like that point in your fantasy football league where half the managers are suddenly “too busy” to set lineups, and the other half are still sweating over whether to start their WR3 or bench their pride. Week 5 is where the chaos really sets in—bye weeks, surprise injuries, and that one guy in your league who insists “defenses don’t matter” (until his DST scores 22 points against you). Luckily, you don’t have to sort through the madness alone. Our Featured Pros are here with their expert calls on this week’s starts and duds, so you can look smart without needing to explain why you trusted your gut on that backup tight end.
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Fantasy Football Week 5 Start/Sit Advice
Duds
Which player inside the top 40 in the FantasyPros flex rankings is likely to disappoint fantasy managers this week?
Jordan Mason (RB – MIN)
“Is the Jordan Mason Hype Train off the rails already? Perhaps. I think he’s still a good start, but the matchup with Cleveland (No. 2 against RBs) is bad on paper. He doesn’t catch passes, either, so he absolutely has to find the end-zone or get a ton of volume to pay off.”
– Kevin Roberts (The DFS Build)
“I’m worried about Jordan Mason this week because the Cleveland run defense is no joke. With Minnesota’s offensive line banged up, that only adds to the concern. The Browns are allowing a league-low 70.3 rushing yards per game and just 12.9 half-PPR points per game to running backs. The only back who hasn’t struggled against them is Jahmyr Gibbs (17.7 pts), while Chase Brown, Derrick Henry, and Josh Jacobs were all held under 2.1 yards per carry.”
– Brady Auer (BA Sports Podcast)
Ja’Marr Chase (WR – CIN)
“Unfortunately, fantasy players can’t have any trust in starting Ja’Marr Chase anytime soon. The superstar is the WR18 for the year, averaging 14.3 PPR fantasy points per game. However, he had 45.7% of his targets (16) scored 63.7% of his fantasy production (36.5) in the Week 2 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. By comparison, Chase has averaged 6.3 targets and 6.9 fantasy points per game in the other three contests this season, totaling eight and 8.9 or less in every outing. The former LSU star has 10 receptions on 14 targets for 73 receiving yards and 16.2 fantasy points in the two games Jake Browning has started. More importantly, the Bengals face a Detroit Lions defense in Week 5 that has shut down opposing No. 1 wide receivers this year, surrendering only 5.3 targets and 8.2 fantasy points per game. Therefore, Chase (WR9 and 26th overall) is vastly overvalued in the Week 5 rankings.”
– Mike Fanelli (FantasyPros)
“I mean, we have to mention Ja’Marr Chase as a potential Week 5 disappointment, don’t we? When backup Bengals QB Jake Browning had to make a bunch of starts in place of the injured Joe Burrow down the stretch in 2023, Chase had 15-230-1 in the first two of those games but averaged 3.5 catches and 38.3 receiving yards over his last four games with Browning. In two Browning starts this season, Chase has 10-73-0 receiving. It’s possible Chase could smash this week simply by virtue of being Ja’Marr Freaking Chase. But Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and his staff are having trouble jump-starting the Cincinnati offense with Browning at the helm, and the Bengals have a tough Week 5 matchup against a Detroit defense that’s tied for second in the league in sacks and isn’t going to let Browning feel cozy in the pocket.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros)
“Call me officially worried about Ja’Marr Chase. In the last two weeks, he has 73 receiving yards, TOTAL! The Bengals look lost without Joe Burrow. Chase is still ranked as the WR10 for the week and will surely disappoint owners again as the Bengals are playing the Detroit Lions, who are only allowing 199 passing yards per game this year. If you have Chase, you have to play him, but the woes are bound to continue throughout this year.”
– Adam Dove (The Fantasy Couriers)
Zay Flowers (WR – BAL)
“After exploding to start the season in Week 1, Zay Flowers is now on three-straight weeks without a score. This is the Zay Flowers experience, after all. Flowers gets a solid matchup this week versus the Texans at home, and while he has had seven catches in three of his first four contests, touchdowns are what help fantasy managers out, and Flowers is no lock to get one. Also factor in the major question marks at QB, with Lamar Jackson currently nursing a hamstring injury and his status currently unknown. If Cooper Rush starts for Baltimore, this leaves Flowers in a spot of no floor and a ceiling of who knows. That risk is alarming, which is enough to temper expectations for him this week.”
– Ed Birdsall (Talking Points Sports)
Courtland Sutton (WR – DEN)
“Courtland Sutton is the player most likely to disappoint this week. The main issue is a difficult matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, a game in which he is likely to be shadowed by elite cornerback Darius Slay, which will limit his receiving upside. Sutton’s fantasy value is highly reliant on redzone targets and touchdowns so far, making him vulnerable to a sub-par contribution in fantasy, especially with the low-volume and run-heavy game plan of the Broncos.”
– Luke Renton (The Franchise Tag UK)
Kenneth Walker III (RB – SEA)
“Kenneth Walker III has three straight games with double-digit fantasy points and two of four weeks finishing as a top 10 RB. Although consistent, he is in a 50-50 time share with Charbonnet, who happened to get the goalline score last week. Although committees aren’t terrible, this week they face a Bucs team that is fantastic against the run. Vita Vea is an absolute beast on their line, and the entire unit has held RBs to 54 rushing yards per game this season. Oh, and they have played both Bijan Robinson and Saquon Barkley this year. Unless he gets it done in the receiving game, a split backfield in this matchup is primed to underwhelm.”
– Ellis Johnson (FantasyPros)
“It’s a nightmare matchup for Kenneth Walker III against Tampa Bay, who just held Saquon Barkley to 43 yards on 2.3 YPC. Seattle’s backfield remains cloudy, with Zach Charbonnet holding a marginally higher snap share than Walker through four games. It’s even worse near the goal line, where Charbonnet has outcarried Walker 7-to-3 this season. With limited goal-line work and a tough matchup, Walker is a risky start this week.”
– Kyle Zeigler (Fantasy In Frames)
AJ Brown (WR – PHI)
“AJ Brown has three bust weeks and one solid week. His bad weeks are not just bad; they are finishing as WR82, WR102, and WR106. He is currently ranked as the 40th player in the ECR flex rankings. At this point, he is a boom/bust player and a headache for your lineup. You are probably starting him, but I will be behind ECR’s WR16 ranking.”
– David Heilman (Sports Gambling Podcast Network)
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