NFL WEEK 5 PLAYS - SUGGESTED PLAYS IN FANTASY FOOTBALL
Are you ready for Week 5 of Fantasy Football? If you only play in your regular season leagues it's time to give weekly leagues a try. Leagues start at 1PM EST on Sunday's and payouts take place after Monday Night Football.
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Here are Matt Delima's suggested plays for Week 5.
QUARTERBACKS
ELITE
Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles at Denver - $145,700
Denver has allowed the third-most passing yards in a bend, but don’t break effort through three games. Despite his up-and-down performance last week against Kansas City, Vick remains a Top 3 QB option.
Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys at San Diego - $168,100
Romo typically plays better at home. Luckily for him, the Chargers are giving up the most fantasy points to quarterbacks, even allowing Jake Locker to tee off statistically.
MID-TIER
Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers at St. Louis - $133,100
There is a little more elbow room on the 49ers bandwagon after two tough losses. Let’s not discount them so quickly. Kaepernick faces an average at best pass defense that has allowed opposing quarterbacks to throw for at least two TDs per game.
Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo - $118,300
The Bills allowed Geno Smith to account for three touchdowns and more than 300 passing yards last week. Flacco shouldn’t have any trouble here; he just needs his receivers to step it up already.
BARGAIN
Mike Glennon, Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Arizona - $50,000
Feeling lucky? Tampa recently announced that the Josh Freeman era has come to an end, for now anyway. Glennon is the starter against Arizona’s defense, which ranks 29th (near the bottom) in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks (FPAQB).
Terrelle Pryor, Oakland Raiders vs Washington - $115,000
Assuming the NFL, the Players Association and the Raiders allow him to play given all the controversy about not checking on Pryor after his concussion, then he is a nice start against Washington. The Redskins are just miserable on defense, ranking 31st in FPAQB.
RUNNING BACKS
ELITE
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings vs Pittsburgh - $165,100
I know, really going out on a limb by recommending Peterson; however the value is right. Pittsburgh has let running backs score five TDs already and had few answers for Matt Forte last week.
Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs vs New York Giants - $145,800
In case you hadn’t noticed, the Chiefs look like a brand new team while Giants’ fans might want a new team after this game. Charles isn’t far off the pace for 1,000 yards in rushing and receiving. Start him any time you can.
Note: Matt Forte (at DET, $141,100) & LeSean McCoy (at DEN, $144,200) also have excellent matchups.
MID-TIER
Darren Sproles, New Orleans Saints vs Miami - $104,000
Fantasy Feud only offers a half-point per reception and that should be enough for Sproles. The key for him is that he needs to find the end zone. He only has 228 combined yards and no touchdowns. Drew Brees will connect with him sooner or later for a big day.
Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders vs Washington - $99,400
It is disconcerting that McFadden was shut down (12 carries for nine yards and a TD) last week against Denver, thankfully Washington is coming to town. The Redskins are allowing an absurd 4.8 yards per carry and that is a good thing since, knock on wood, McFadden is still healthy and active.
BARGAIN
Bernard Pierce, Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo - $86,100
Ray Rice thinks he’s going to play on Sunday and maybe he will. Either way, Buffalo presents an easy matchup for the hard-running and aptly-named Pierce.
Bilal Powell, New York Jets at Tennessee - $86,000
Powell finally came around in Week 3, posting his first-ever 100-yard game (149 yards on 27 carries, to be exact). The Titans rank around the middle of the pack in rushing defense, although Powell does contribute enough as a receiver to offset that.
WIDE RECEIVERS
ELITE
Brandon Marshall, Chicago Bears at Detroit - $128,000
Any time Marshall is not in the Top 5 of WR salaries, he’s certainly worth a look. The Lions have not yet allowed a WR find the end zone and that can’t last much longer.
Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos vs Philadelphia - $150,100
Thomas hasn’t scored since Week 1. Since that two-TD performance, he has caught 15 passes for 146 yards, so it’s not like he has been shut down either. The Eagles are one of 10 teams to already allow five TD passes to WRs, making Thomas a great pick in Week 4.
MID-TIER
Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts - $94,200
Wayne’s numbers have been a little underwhelming over the last two weeks. In his career, he has made mince meat out of Jacksonville. Last season, he caught 16 balls for 184 yards in two games against them. Since teams can run the ball well against the Jags, Wayne might need some garbage time catches to have a big game.
Josh Gordon, Cleveland Browns vs Cincinnati - $118,900
Gordon is difficult to read after one week. The Browns obviously wanted to feature him more since he’s trade bait in order to remind the league of his talents. That said, after such a huge game, his salary still feels a bit low. The Bengals have a good defense, but they rank 16th in fantasy points allowed to WRs.
BARGAIN
Torrey Smith, Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo - $85,000
The Ravens passing game has been hit or miss this season. Last week, Smith went for five receptions and 92 yards and the rest of Baltimore’s WR corps only caught three passes for 15 yards. Smith is the lone reliable talent at Joe Flacco’s disposal and he will be treated as such against a lowly Buffalo pass defense.
Emmanuel Sanders, Pittsburgh Steelers at Minnesota - $59,900
Antonio Brown had his moment in the sun last week; however at this price, Sanders shouldn’t be ignored. With no run game to speak of, all the offense will flow through Ben Roethlisberger and his arm. Sanders is a high-risk/high-reward play that gives you a lot of flexibility with your salary cap.
TIGHT ENDS
ELITE
Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys at San Diego - $115,700
It’s been a little too quiet for Witten in his last two games. His combined stats from those contests are just eight receptions for 79 yards. The Chargers rank 26th with 11.2 FPATE.
MID-TIER
Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons vs New England - $69,200
It looks like Gonzo may have stuck around one year too long, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that he mostly skipped training camp given his age. He’ll get it going sooner or later, especially in the red zone.
BARGAIN
Coby Fleener, Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville - $44,100
With Dwayne Allen out, Fleener should really see his targets and production increase dramatically. That has not yet been the case but it’s not entirely him. Andrew Luck has only targeted him 11 times in three games. He’s a bargain at such a low price; however that’s how it should be since his fantasy point production depends so heavily on touchdowns.
TEAM DEFENSES
ELITE
Kansas City Chiefs DST vs New York Giants - $84,200
The Chiefs’ defense hasn’t missed a beat this season and they drew a turnover-prone, winless offense. They are a slight value since this is a home game and Kansas City still has a great home-field advantage.
MID-TIER
Tampa Bay Buccaneers DST vs Arizona - $68,000
No, I’m not recommending Arizona’s defense against Mike Glennon and the Bucs. I’m thinking outside the box here. Tampa Bay’s excellent secondary should shut down Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald with ease. The Cards can’t run the ball and Tampa’s elite run defense will force a lot of second/third and long.
BARGAIN
Pittsburgh Steelers DST at Minnesota - $40,000
So admittedly, the Steelers defense has been really bad. Probably the worst in the league, if not close to it. That said, this is a Christian Ponder-led Minnesota offense we’re talking about. For the salary minimum, Pittsburgh is worth a roll of the dice if you want more money at other spots.
Best of luck on Sunday!
FF-Justin