Ten Things We Learned From Week 5 (Fantasy Football)
Week 5 gave us two 45-point offenses, a disgusting tie, some huge fantasy performances, and plenty of surprises. We still have a potential shootout Monday night.
Before we get there, let’s take a look at ten things we learned from Week 5.
George Pickens Was Due
He finally broke out. Through four weeks, it was hard to remember he was last season’s WR5. CeeDee Lamb had dominated the targets (46 to George’s 28). A solid fantasy game was secured already, but when Lamb went out late, Dak Prescott peppered Pickens with targets. He finished with 13 to Lamb’s five, including an 18-yard TD in the fourth quarter. It was a stark contrast to last week, when Lamb had 21 targets to Pickens’ three. George is inconsistent with Lamb on the field, but he is a fantasy monster as the No. 1 option in Dallas. Keep an eye on Lamb’s status this week.
Bucky Balls Out
Bucky Irving was fast, shifty, sure-handed, and decisive against the Cowboys, scoring on a one-yard run and a five-yard catch. He has had a slow start to the year, but this could be the breakout game he needed. Fantasy managers should get a solid return on his fourth-round ADP. However, the bigger story might be how bad Dallas’ defense remains. Tampa Bay ran for 241 yards (6.2 per carry) and piled up 419 total. Through five weeks plus last season, we know to target the Cowboys at every position.
Parker Washington Might Still Be Underrated
After a down week, Washington bounced back in a big way. He caught both of Trevor Lawrence’s TD passes, from 51 and 27 yards, the latter being the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter of Jacksonville’s 19-17 win over Philadelphia. He is clearly Lawrence’s go-to guy in key situations. He’s not only reliable but makes spectacular plays. He is now the WR7 on the year, and the offseason hype was warranted.
Green Bay’s Offense Shows its Explosive Side
Christian Watson and Matthew Golden are both top-ten WRs on the week, with Watson the WR1. Jordan Love is the QB6, and even Marshawn Lloyd finally scored on the ground, twice (7 and 4 yards). The Packers were averaging 307 yards per game coming into Sunday. They put up 437 against the Bears, including six explosive plays of 20-plus yards. Two of them were Watson’s TDs from 42 and 53 yards.
The Cardinals Are Done With Marvin Harrison Jr.
The fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft never lived up to the hype in Arizona. The Cardinals are trading Marv and a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Texans in exchange for 2027 second- and sixth-round picks. Things cannot get much worse for the young WR, who only had five catches in the first four weeks. A change of scenery and a reunion with his college QB, C.J. Stroud, could be exactly what he needs. Depending on your belief in his talent, a trade-for or trade-away window has opened.
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Jaylen Warren Leads The Steelers in Receiving
Remember who led the Steelers in receiving last year? Yep. Kenneth Gainwell out of the backfield. Jaylen Warren absolutely smashed in week five, scoring an 80-yard catch-and-run TD and adding a 50-yard TD run, 130 of Pittsburgh’s 352 total yards. Aaron Rodgers loves a checkdown, and Warren is the beneficiary. His 87 receiving yards in week five make him the current leading receiver on the team (230), ahead of DK Metcalf (225), who totaled just 12 on Sunday.
Turnovers Tell the Story in Seattle
The Seahawks and 49ers scored 61 points and gave the ball away seven times between them. San Francisco won 32-29, helped by a fumble returned for a TD in Seattle’s end zone, a 44-yard Eddy Pineiro field goal with two minutes left, and Jason Myers’ five field goals for Seattle that weren’t enough. Sam Darnold threw two picks and took five sacks, and Seattle managed just 251 yards. It was a sloppy game between two of the best teams, mainly due to the elite defenses on both sides.
The Patriots Dominate
After an abysmal start to the season, Drake Maye is the QB1 for the second week in a row, going into Monday night. He built on last week’s success by completing 26 of 34 passes (76.5%) for 374 yards and four TDs, plus another score on the ground. His 11.0 yards per attempt was bested only by Jordan Love, who threw multiple bombs in a blowout win. Maye also spread the rock around, connecting with nine different receivers. Demario Douglas scored twice, while Kyle Williams and Hunter Henry each found the end zone as well. Maye is now a must-start until he proves otherwise, but the pass-catchers will be tough to predict until A.J. Brown returns.
Jayden Daniels Summons His Superpower
Daniels does not need his left arm to be a fantasy stud. While wearing a brace on his non-throwing arm, he was the fifth-leading rusher on the week with 103 yards, plus two TDs (38 and 26 yards). The botched time management at the end of regulation was unfortunate, but that doesn’t matter for fantasy, does it? He is the QB2 behind Maye with only 199 passing yards.
Ballers Best Starts of the Week
Mike: Isaiah Likely led all TEs with 11 receptions for 94 yards and two TDs on 13 targets. It was another massive game for the overall TE2 on the year so far.
Jason: Jared Goff accounted for four TDs in the Lions’ rout of Arizona. He is the QB3 on the week.
Andy: Jameson Williams came through with two TDs (8 and 39 yards), albeit on his only two catches of the game. Hopefully you started him in his biggest game of the year as the WR9.