Fantasy football owners understandably hate injuries, but when players get hurt, it opens the door for handcuffs and backups to go from benches and waiver wires straight into starting lineups. Our Week 5 fantasy sleepers list features one of those players (Teddy Bridgewater), and we also have bolder pickups/stashes, like Brian Robinson Jr., George Pickens, and Rachaad White.
As always, we remind you that any of the sleeper picks below could bust this week. We're taking some chances here because it doesn't help anyone to list obvious "must-starts." You shouldn't start the players listed below over most consistently solid producers, but if you're loaded with "must-starts," then there's no need to read this article. Even if you're locked and loaded in season-long leagues, our sleeper picks can help you spot potential DFS values, as the prices of these players should be affordable.
Last week was our most successful yet, though we definitely took some low-hanging fruit with Khalil Herbert, Jamaal Williams, and Chris Olave. We did hit on tougher calls like Breece Hall, Geno Smith, Cooper Rush, Isaiah McKenzie, David Njoku, and the Arizona D/ST, though, so hopefully, that helped a few people. We'll look to do even better this week.
Let's get to it with our Week 5 sleeper picks.
WEEK 5 FANTASY PICKS: Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em
Week 5 Fantasy Sleepers: Running backs
Brian Robinson Jr, Commanders at Titans (Vinnie Iyer). Washington has soured as expected on Antonio Gibson, and if Robinson can make his NFL debut, they would primarily roll with the rookie against a run defense that hasn’t been as good as usual.
Rachaad White, Buccaneers vs. Falcons (Nick Musial). Tampa can’t afford to utilize Leonard Fournette at such a high rate, resulting in more run for the first-year Arizona State product. White did have a costly fumble on the opening kickoff last week, but he wound up tying his season high with eight touches (five catches). White has a chance to land in the end zone for a second-straight week, giving him a shot to score double-digit fantasy points in PPR leagues in this favorable matchup.
Travis Etienne Jr., Jaguars vs. Texans (Matt Lutovsky). We know -- you don't want to start Etienne. We don't blame you. But he played a few more snaps than James Robinson last week, and a matchup against a Houston defense allowing the most fantasy points to RBs screams "breakout." It's going to happen eventually, so don't miss it.
WEEK 5 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Week 5 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Quarterbacks
Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars vs. Texans (Iyer). The young stud should rebound from the rain in Philadelphia to a sunny, bright, and highly productive day back in sunny Jacksonville.
Teddy Bridgewater, Dolphins @ Jets (Musial). The drop-off from Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) to Bridgewater isn’t as big as it may seem. Teddy B still has elite playmakers on the outside, and had he not thrown a costly interception last Thursday night, the Dolphins had a real chance to win outright. Bridgewater now gets to face a Jets defense that allows the 11th-most fantasy points to QBs, and he has a shot to finish as a top-15 QB with over a week to prep for the Jets.
Ryan Tannehill, Titans @ Commanders (Lutovsky). There's no shame in getting roasted by Jalen Hurts as the Commanders did in Week 3, but Jared Goff and Cooper Rush combining for 479 yards and six TDs in Weeks 2 and 4? That's a problem. Even Tannehill can exploit this matchup. We wish Treylon Burks (toe) was healthy, but Robert Woods, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and a solid group of TEs can do enough to lift Tannehill to a low-end QB1 finish.
WEEK 5 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Week 5 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Wide receivers
George Pickens, Steelers at Bills (Iyer). Look for some real garbage production going forward with Kenny Pickett locking into him for big targets against a banged-up defense.
Robert Woods, Titans @ Commanders (Musial). Woods gets a juicy matchup against a reeling Commanders defense and could garner a high target share with fellow WR Treylon Burks (toe) getting banged up last week. Tennessee’s other receiving options, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Kyle Phillips are deep sleepers, but it’s more likely Woods leads the team in receiving this week.
Mack Hollins, Raiders @ Chiefs (Lutovsky). Hollins came back to Earth last week, but he was about a foot away from another TD. He's carved out an important role in the Raiders' offense, and even if Hunter Renfrow (concussion) is back, Hollins has a chance to catch a deep ball or two against Kansas City's 27th-ranked pass defense.
WEEK 5 DFS LINEUPS: FanDuel | DraftKings
Week 5 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Tight ends
Robert Tonyan, Packers vs. Giants (Musial). The Giants' defense has been effective against tight ends, but that’s mainly a result of facing a weak TE schedule (Titans, Panthers, Cowboys without Dalton Schultz, Bears). Tonyan can either see a good amount of targets as he did in Week 3 (7) or reach paydirt for a second-straight week, resulting in a top-10 TE in both standard and PPR formats.
Hayden Hurst, Bengals @ Ravens (Lutovsky). Hurst scored his first TD of the season last week, and he's had five catches in two other games. The Ravens sport the league-worst pass defense, so expect the ball to be in the air a lot on Sunday night.
WEEK 5 DFS: Best stacks | Best values
Week 5 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Defense
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Raiders (Iyer). Give them the ol’ emotional home prime-time bump to force sacks and takeaways of Derek Carr.
New England Patriots vs. Lions (Musial). Detroit’s offense leads the league in points per game (35 ppg) but will likely fall back to Earth this week. While this version of the Patriots' defense isn’t nearly as stout as seasons past, New England’s offense can actually help out its defense by dominating the time of possession and keeping their defense off the field. Jared Goff is also always a pick-six candidate, as he showed in Weeks 1 and 4.
Tennessee Titans @ Commanders (Lutovsky). In two favorable matchups (vs. Giants in Week 1, at Colts in Week 4), the Titans posted eight sacks and five takeaways. They can exploit quarterbacks like Carson Wentz, who's taken a league-leading 17 sacks and tossed a league-leading five INTs.