Hey, folks! We’re back with our third and final block of games for the Week 5 NFL slate. We have all of the late-afternoon games here, plus Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football!
We’ve compiled the groupings of games here to make it easier to find the games you want:
- Block 1: TB-DAL, PHI-JAC, HOU-TEN, CIN-MIA, LV-NE
- Block 2: MIN-NO, CLE-NYJ, IND-PIT, NYG-WAS, CHI-GB
- Block 3: DEN-LAC, DET-ARI, SF-SEA, BAL-ATL, BUF-LAR
“The Outlook” will give you details, stats, angles, recommendations and everything else you need to know to help you make your fantasy football decisions. Every fantasy-relevant player on each team playing will be profiled in this article. We want everybody reading this to bring home championships in your fantasy leagues!
I’m incredibly excited to bring this article to all of you this season and hope you all enjoy the ride. If you have any questions, feel free to find me
on Bluesky (@ktompkinsii.bsky.social), tag me in a post to ask me any lineup questions you have and I’ll do my best to get them answered for you.
Let’s get into it!
All game and implied point totals listed were compiled via DraftKings Sportsbook on Thursday evening for DEN-LAC, DET-ARI, SF-SEA, BAL-ATL and BUF-LAR.
Teams on bye in Week 5: Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs
Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers
- Favorite: Broncos −3.5
- Game Total: 41.5
- Implied Point Total: Broncos 22.5, Chargers 19
Broncos Fantasy Notes
Must-Start Players: None
QB Bo Nix
Denver scored three points through three quarters, and Nix was not sacked or intercepted but averaged only 5.1 yards per attempt on 25-of-42 passing for 214 yards. It’s been a struggle for Nix and this Broncos offense to get the ball downfield. It’s been such a concern that, reportedly, Sean Payton will be calling plays again starting this week, so maybe that’ll change some of the general malaise the Broncos’ offense has been experiencing.
Fantasy Advice: Nix is a fringe QB1/QB2 option in fantasy regardless of who calls the plays, but a matchup against the Chargers without Derwin James or Donte Jackson, plus Payton calling the plays, could be the cure for what ails the Broncos in Week 5.
Broncos RBs
R.J. Harvey went 10-for-10 as a receiver for 68 yards in Week 4, working as Nix’s primary checkdown option, and also added seven carries for 25 yards. Fantasy managers playing in PPR formats ate GOOD, with Harvey finishing as RB12 on the strength of his receiving prowess. Harvey had a 50% TPRR on the day, which is just insane. J.K. Dobbins handled 11 carries for 40 yards (3.6 per carry) and caught two passes for 12 yards, but Dobbins took a lot of the empty-calorie carries on the first two downs while Harvey (and Tyler Badie, to a lesser extent) racked up the high-value touches. Both Harvey and Dobbins will have their days depending on game script, but on a day when Nix couldn’t throw downfield too much, there was a lot of compiling in the short area and picking up yards after the catch.
Fantasy Advice: Dobbins is merely a low-end flex, but Harvey is a more dynamic player and should get high-end flex treatment, with low-end RB2 potential in leagues where you need a running back.
WR Jaylen Waddle
Denver and Nix really tried to get Waddle the ball early with a screen on the first offensive play, but Nix’s passing game (or Webb’s playcalling) stalled out all game. Waddle caught five of six targets for 35 yards and a 13-yard fourth-quarter touchdown to get the Broncos back into the game. Getting Sean Payton back as the playcaller should at least help get the passing game going with much more depth, and that’ll be good for Waddle’s overall production. Besides his Week 2 8-138 blowup against the Jaguars, Waddle has been stuck in neutral, with a combined 8-47 line in every other game.
Fantasy Advice: Waddle isn’t coming out of fantasy lineups anytime soon, but we’ve got to see more production, and quickly. Hopefully, this change back to Payton’s playcalling will help matters. Waddle is a high-end WR3 right now with plenty of room to maneuver.
Broncos WRs
Pat Bryant was supposed to be a beacon of light for some non-Waddle dynamism in this offense, but with an ankle injury that may cause Bryant to miss “a few weeks,” things are bleak right now. I suppose Courtland Sutton exists if you’re into the WR89 entering Week 5. Evan Engram is being outpaced in fantasy points by such tight end luminaries as Foster Moreau and Jeremy Ruckert. I just cannot recommend anybody here.
Fantasy Advice: Even if Bryant misses a few weeks, he has a puncher’s chance to matter later in the season, so he’s still a hold for me on fantasy rosters.
Chargers Fantasy Notes
Must-Start Players: None
Chargers RBs
Here’s the thing: Keaton Mitchell saw the most time on the field, although barely, had the most overall touches (15) and put up the most total yards (63) of all the Chargers running backs.
Kimani Vidal also saw quite a bit of time on the field, co-leading in routes while playing 35% of the snaps, but saw the fewest touches (seven). Vidal also grabbed a receiving touchdown to add to his 36 total yards on the afternoon.
Presumed starter Omarion Hampton saw the fewest routes and had 11 touches. He was a bit more efficient on the ground, averaging 5.0 yards per carry and gaining 45 yards on nine carries with a rushing touchdown, plus two receptions for eight yards.
To summarize, all three backs were almost equally involved and split the roles three ways. This is gross. This is not ideal. But in a way, it’s perfect Chargers football, and I think that’s beautiful.
(Disgusting, actually.)
Fantasy Advice: Hampton and Mitchell are flex options at home against the Broncos, but we can’t keep living like this. This offense has too much talent to have nothing we can use for fantasy.
Chargers WRs
Ladd McConkey’s day ended at halftime after he aggravated his foot injury, and he did not catch either of his two targets before leaving. It’s been gross all the way around for the Chargers’ pass-catchers, and Tre Harris (3-60) looks like their best wide receiver right now, though I know that is an EXTREMELY low bar. If McConkey’s foot keeps him out, Harris looks like the biggest beneficiary of the extra targets, especially after Quentin Johnston was ruled out with a chest injury on Friday.
Fantasy Advice: This is a fluid situation, but if McConkey plays, I’m probably not starting him as anything more than a desperation flex. I’d be OK with starting Harris as a flex, too. This Chargers offense needs a restart or something. Because WOOF.
Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals
- Favorite: Lions −5.5
- Game Total: 54.5 (tied for highest on slate)
- Implied Point Total: Lions 30, Cardinals 24.5 (Lions have the highest implied point total on the slate)
Lions Fantasy Notes
Must-Start Players: RB Jahmyr Gibbs, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
QB Jared Goff
Goff went 32-of-52 for 412 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions while throwing up a Week 4-high 479 air yards and attempting the second-most passes. The Panthers pushed the Lions, and the Lions pushed back. It was an awesome game script for fantasy production, and that’s pretty much what we got out of the main players in the Lions’ offense, plus another strong performance in Isaac TeSlaa’s 4-95 line on six targets. Goff has nine touchdowns and zero interceptions through four games. We know there’s no rushing component here with Goff, but he doesn’t need it when the volume is this rich and his awesome weapons are a concentrated bunch. Oh, and there’s no defense to speak of in Detroit. That’s your perfect storm for a great fantasy football offensive environment.
Fantasy Advice: Goff is nearly a must-start and gets another primo matchup in Arizona against the Cardinals. We could get 90 pass attempts combined between Goff and Jacoby Brissett in this one.
WR Jameson Williams
The switch FINALLY flipped for Williams, who caught four passes for 74 yards in the first half, en route to his first 100-yard game of the season: six catches for 102 yards on eight targets and a team-high 136 air yards with 100% route participation. Williams had been drawing the short straw while everyone got a chance to produce during the first three weeks, but he finally got there for the most part this week. It was only a matter of time!
Fantasy Advice: With the Cardinals up next for the Lions, Williams is a high-end WR3 with massive upside in what could be a shootout between two teams with less-than-stellar defenses.
TE Sam LaPorta
Through three quarters of the Lions’ game on Sunday night against the Panthers, LaPorta had just three receptions for 16 yards on six targets. By the end of the game, however, LaPorta had eight catches for 84 yards and an 8-yard touchdown with 3:38 left. Flying under the radar a little this season behind St. Brown and Gibbs, LaPorta put forth his best game of the season, finishing as TE2 on the week. With this concentrated offense, LaPorta will have a chance to put up TE1-level production each week he plays. We love to see it.
Fantasy Advice: LaPorta should be in your lineup each week, but especially this week against the Cardinals, where he’s an upper-echelon TE1 option.
Cardinals Fantasy Notes
Must-Start Players: TE Trey McBride
QB Jacoby Brissett
We’re all chasing the massive volume from 2025 with Brissett, and we got a taste of it in Week 3, when Brissett finished as QB4 with 52 pass attempts, 280 yards and two touchdowns. The Cardinals just haven’t been as “in sync” as they were at the end of last season with mostly the same cast of characters. Perhaps Week 5 against the defensively inept Lions will turn out better than Week 4 did against the Giants? Brissett threw three interceptions and finished with just 166 passing yards and two touchdowns. It’s got to go better … right?
Fantasy Advice: If you’re brave (like me in way too many leagues, admittedly) and want to lean into a 54.5-point game total, Brissett is at least worth a start as a quarterback who can blow up in a great matchup.
Cardinals RBs
Arizona’s run game was the strength of the offense on paper, but the game script didn’t exactly help matters. Jeremiyah Love carried 14 times for 63 yards, while Tyler Allgeier added eight carries for 42 yards and a touchdown run. Allgeier ended up playing more, but Love led the duo in running back touches, 15-10. It’s a bit of a weird dynamic, as Love didn’t take over the backfield, but he’s also talked about being frustrated with having his snaps managed and with other backs being in better shape than him during that Week 4 contest. We’ll see what happens in Week 5, but either way, Love and Allgeier will both be plenty involved.
Fantasy Advice: This backfield has a lot of talent, but it could also be game-scripted out if the Lions pull away. Either way, both Love and Allgeier are high-end flex plays in this great matchup against the Lions.
WR Michael Wilson
The Cardinals’ breakout receiver from the end of 2025 again earned targets en masse. Wilson saw 13 of them and caught seven for 95 yards. Wilson and Trey McBride combined for 25 targets (73% of the team total) on the afternoon, with the two dominating the passing game. No other Cardinal caught more than two balls or earned more than 19 receiving yards. Wilson has 30 targets in his last TWO games, an incredible number, and it looks like he’s getting back into the groove he was in last season. It’s time to fire up your Wilsons, folks.
Fantasy Advice: It really IS time to fire up your Wilsons. He’s a high-end WR2 on a massive heater over the last couple of weeks and now waltzes into a beautiful matchup for volume and high-end fantasy production in Week 5.
San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
- Favorite: Seahawks −3
- Game Total: 45.5
- Implied Point Total: Seahawks 24.25, 49ers 21.25
49ers Fantasy Notes
Must-Start Players: QB Brock Purdy, WR Christian McCaffrey, TE George Kittle
WR Mike Evans
Despite playing with a fractured rib and wearing protective gear, Evans still gutted out a solid game while running routes on 96% of dropbacks. Evans led the 49ers with eight targets and put up a 5-76 line, but the two touchdowns Purdy threw went to George Kittle and Deebo Samuel. Evans did not practice on Thursday after being limited on Wednesday, but he returned for a limited session on Friday. The midweek absence could have been some veteran rest, too, as Thursday’s DNP was his third straight on that day of the week. Even at 33 years old, Evans is a baller.
Fantasy Advice: Evans should play, especially considering he wasn’t even given a questionable tag on Friday’s injury report. Assuming he suits up, Evans is a solid WR2 with upside, even in a tough individual matchup against Devon Witherspoon and the Seattle Seahawks.
WR Deebo Samuel
We got to turn back the clock with Samuel this week, as we saw some utilization from different areas of the field, similar to how he was used during his first stint in San Francisco. As a receiver, he caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Brock Purdy, finishing with a 5-26-1 line. Samuel was also used in the backfield, taking a running back carry for 22 yards, then taking an end-around for 20 yards. It looks like we’re going to see more of this from Samuel, as his 0.4-yard aDOT really spells out what he’ll be in this offense. As long as he compiles both rushing and receiving production, he’ll have fantasy value.
Fantasy Advice: Deebo’s combined workload equates to a solid WR3 with some upside if he gets into the end zone. Seattle’s defense will limit what he can do, but there should be enough touches and opportunities for him to be viable in Week 5.
Seahawks Fantasy Notes
Must-Start Players: WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
RB Emanuel Wilson
With Jadarian Price on IR and Zach Charbonnet just returning to practice during his return-to-practice window, Wilson drove the bus for the Seahawks’ offense in Week 4. He carried 21 times for 81 yards and scored twice: once on an 8-yard touchdown run and again on a 23-yard screen pass. Wilson finished his day by catching three of four targets for 39 receiving yards. On a day when the Seattle passing game wasn’t up to snuff and Jaxon Smith-Njigba was merely mortal with a 5-76 line, Seattle’s backfield, led mostly by Wilson, ruled the day in Week 4. Wilson will get another crack at the starting job against the 49ers in Week 5.
Fantasy Advice: Against the 49ers, who have lost quite a few defensive linemen to injuries, Wilson has a shot to repeat his Week 4 performance with little resistance from George Holani behind him. Wilson is a solid RB2 with upside in Week 5 against San Francisco.
Baltimore Ravens at Atlanta Falcons
- Favorite: Ravens −3
- Game Total: 43.5
- Implied Point Total: Ravens 23.25, Falcons 20.25
Ravens Fantasy Notes
Must-Start Players: RB Derrick Henry, WR Zay Flowers
TE Mark Andrews
Lamar Jackson’s mysterious ankle injury overshadowed the rest of this game for Baltimore, as the game was out of reach despite a late rally by the Titans to get within six points. Mark Andrews was the only non-Flowers Raven to have more than two targets, finishing with a 5-27 line and a touchdown. That said, Andrews doesn’t feel like he matters in most weeks. It feels like that will be even more the case with Jackson ruled out for this game.
Fantasy Advice: Averaging six targets per game over the four games this season, Andrews is really at the bottom of the barrel for starts, but he offers the illusion of safety when it comes down to it. If you have to start him, godspeed. At this stage of his career, however, he’s a touchdown-dependent TE2.
Falcons Fantasy Notes
Must-Start Players: RB Bijan Robinson, WR Drake London
RB Brian Robinson
While providing some of the best contingent value in fantasy football, Robinson also has a little standalone value in the vein of Tyler Allgeier during his multiple seasons as a Falcon. Robinson had 14 carries for 62 yards and THREE touchdowns. The Falcons have the lowest PROE by a country mile in the NFL, so their entire identity is running the ball in most situations. And why wouldn’t they? No NFL team has finished above a 51% raw run rate since 2019, when the Baltimore Ravens ran the ball 51% of the time. Since 2016, only six teams out of 352 have finished a season with a run rate of 50% or higher, so the Falcons would be in some pretty historic company if this holds through their next 13 games.
Fantasy Advice: All of that illustrates that Robinson could be plenty useful to fantasy managers as a standalone option. He’s not going to score three touchdowns each week with Bijan Robinson thriving, but Brian could carve out a nice high-end RB3 or flex role for fantasy managers in a pinch.
Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Rams
- Favorite: Rams −3
- Game Total: 54.5 (tied for highest on slate)
- Implied Point Total: Rams 28.75, Bills 25.75
Bills Fantasy Notes
Must-Start Players: QB Josh Allen, RB James Cook III
Bills WRs
Buffalo’s passing game ran through Keon Coleman (6-116-1) and Khalil Shakir (7-82), as DJ Moore did little before leaving with a shoulder injury, catching one of two targets for 11 yards. He was questionable to return in the first half but did not return after injuring the same shoulder that forced him to miss more than half of Week 2. If Moore is out, look for Coleman to take over Moore’s workload in Week 5 against the Rams. Shortening the target distribution by one step if Moore is out would immediately make Shakir and Coleman relevant for fantasy managers. They’re both still flex plays even if Moore plays, as his routes could be managed a bit because of the shoulder injury.
Fantasy Advice: Moore stated that he’s going to do what he can to play on Monday Night Football against the Rams, but that decision may not be up to him. If Moore plays, I’m looking at him as a WR3 with a tough individual matchup against Rams cornerback Trent McDuffie, despite the great game environment. Consider Shakir and Coleman flex plays with upside whether Moore plays or not.
TE Dalton Kincaid
After a massive first two weeks, when it looked like he was a rocket ship ready to take off, Kincaid sputtered at the launchpad over the last two weeks, with just five total targets and a combined 3-45 line in two games against the Chargers and Patriots. It honestly just seems like volatility within the Bills’ offense, and I don’t want to give up on Kincaid, but fantasy managers are a fickle “what have you done for me lately?” bunch. (Myself included!) I understand it fully, so this matchup against the Rams is one where the offensive weapons need to shine and capitalize on the opportunity. But Kincaid NEEDS the opportunity to begin with!
Fantasy Advice: I’m happy starting Kincaid in a great offensive environment, but it’s been a bumpy ride over the past couple of weeks. I understand the trepidation, but we’ve got to stay the course with Kincaid as a TE1 for at least one more week.
Rams Fantasy Notes
Must-Start Players: WR Puka Nacua
QB Matthew Stafford
Despite not throwing any touchdown passes, Stafford still finished 32-of-51 for 317 yards and two interceptions. After two top-10 fantasy performances against the Giants and Broncos, his numbers looked good in Week 4 but were hollow without any touchdown production. With Puka Nacua back in the lineup, the passing game got an overall boost in volume, but the Rams relied more on the ground game to close out drives against the Eagles.
Fantasy Advice: We’re going back to the well with Stafford against Buffalo in Week 5, where he’s nearly a must-start QB1 in this particular game with a 54.5-point total.
Rams RBs
The Rams’ backfield bailed them out in comeback mode ... well, Kyren Williams did, as he scored both fourth-quarter touchdowns and finished with 16 carries for 80 yards and a career-high 10 receptions for 67 yards. Blake Corum had just five carries for 14 yards and one catch for seven yards. Corum just wasn’t what the Rams needed from the receiving-deficient back in this split, so Williams was able to soak up all of that receiving work and widen the gap between the two backs against the Eagles. In closer or positive game scripts, Corum will have his opportunities, but in this specific script against the Eagles, it was all Williams and nothing but Williams, with a 26-to-6 touch disparity between the two.
Fantasy Advice: Williams is an every-week starter, and normally he’d be listed above, but I also wanted to make sure we aren’t fully panicking on Corum. This specific game script wasn’t in his favor, but it very likely doesn’t mean the split backfield is over. I’m still fine trotting out Corum as a low-end RB2 or flex play if I need a running back in a good offense who will get touches.
WR Davante Adams
Even with Nacua’s return to the Rams’ lineup, Adams finished with the third-most targets (nine) but was a bit less efficient, catching four passes for 32 yards. Adams’ stint as a lone wide receiver was a fun one, and hopefully some of that efficiency can return now that defensive attention has to go Nacua’s way. While there are some weekly ceiling concerns with Adams now that he’s clearly the second target in this offense again, he’s still got the juice and can put up a WR1 week when called upon.
Fantasy Advice: Against the Bills, with a 54.5-point game total — tied for the highest of Week 5 — Adams should have a ton of looks opposite Nacua, so fire him up as a borderline WR1/WR2 play this week.
Rams TEs
The Rams had to move away from the 13 personnel they’ve been comfortable running because of injuries to Colby Parkinson and Terrance Ferguson, so Tyler Higbee felt like a throwback to a few years ago with a 5-67 line on six targets. Davis Allen saw some utilization (48% of snaps) but had just two targets without a catch. Keep an eye on Parkinson’s status, but Higbee’s involvement while the Rams are down a tight end or two should carry into Week 5 against the Bills.
Fantasy Advice: Consider Higbee a usable streamer. If you’re feeling frisky, maybe he’s a low-end TE1 in a very nice offensive environment against the Bills on Monday Night Football.
This article originally appeared on The Huddle: The Outlook - Week 5 (DEN-LAC, DET-ARI, SF-SEA, BAL-ATL, BUF-LAR)
