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Fantasy Football Start Sit Week 5: Bo Nix Boom... Now What?

After four games, we have a pretty good idea of which players we can rely on. However, major injuries continue to cause weekly lineup fluctuations. 

Additionally, Week 5 brings the first bye weeks into play. 

Your Team Intel page is an invaluable weapon, applying our award-winning weekly projections to your custom scoring to help you set your optimal lineup.

Quarterbacks

Bo Nix won't find the going so easy in Philadelphia

Start

Jared Goff, Lions

Goff’s been a roller coaster through four weeks. He dropped a QB1 overall finish in one game and fell outside the top 20 in the other three. Week 5 sets him up for a rebound.

Detroit heads to Cincinnati to face a Bengals squad reeling without Joe Burrow. They’ve been steamrolled 76-10 across the last two games, giving up 432 yards per outing.

Cincinnati bleeds fantasy points to running backs, which means the Lions can pound the rock and then let Goff work off play-action. Vegas pegs them for 29.5 points, second-most this week. The Bengals have also surrendered multiple TD passes in three consecutive games. 

Jake Browning’s inability to sustain drives will  give Goff and the Lions extra possession to attack a vulnerable defense and take shots downfield.

Sit

Bo Nix, Broncos

Nix and the Broncos erupted Monday, piling up 512 yards and crushing the Bengals 28-3. Nix posted his first top-5 fantasy finish, easing concerns after a slow start.

Week 5 brings a tougher test, though. On short rest, Denver travels to Philadelphia to face an Eagles defense ranked 11th in pass defense DVOA. The Eagles have held Dak Prescott, Patrick Mahomes, and Matthew Stafford under 200 passing yards apiece.

Vegas projects Denver for 19.5 points, fourth-lowest this week. Nix looks more like a modest QB2 than a high-upside option.

Running Backs

Start

Quinshon Judkins, Browns

Judkins has easily been the top performer amid a 27th-ranked offense. Since Week 3, he has handled 86% of the team’s rushes, averaged 88 yards per game, and scored in each outing.

Judkins hasn’t done much as a receiver, running routes on just 37% of his snaps. But he did catch all four of his targets in Detroit, leading the team in receptions.

The Browns should especially lean on Judkins in QB Dillon Gabriel’s first start. The matchup helps: Minnesota is allowing 130.3 rushing yards per game and just got gashed by Kenneth Gainwell in Ireland.

Woody Marks, Texans

Marks officially took over Houston’s backfield last week, handling 58% of the snaps and turning that into 27.9 PPR points. His timing couldn’t be better, with Baltimore down multiple starters on defense and bleeding 34.4 PPR points per game to running backs, the worst mark in the NFL.

The Ravens are also expected to roll out Cooper Rush in place of Lamar Jackson against a Texans defense that allows just 12.8 points per game. That sets up a positive game script for Houston’s ground game, with Marks squarely in control.

Last week, Marks out-snapped Chubb 40-30, had a 19% target share, and played all but one of Houston’s long-down and distance snaps. This week’s game sets up perfectly for Marks to have an impact on the ground and through the air against a defense that is reeling.

Sit

Jordan Mason, Vikings

Minnesota hoped to spark its ground game against Pittsburgh’s leaky run defense last week. Instead, Mason finished with just 57 yards on 16 carries against a unit that had already surrendered two 100-yard rushers.

The challenge only escalates in Week 5. Cleveland ranks first in run defense, holding teams to 70.3 yards per game and 2.91 yards per carry. That’s as tough as it gets.

To make matters worse, Mason has lost passing-down snaps to Zavier Scott. Last week, Scott out-targeted Mason 7-3 and played 13 third-down snaps to Mason’s 8. Scott is the preferred back in passing situations. If Cleveland continues to shut down the run, Mason will be challenged to make much of an impact. 

Chase Brown, Bengals

Expectations were high for Chase Brown, but Joe Burrow’s injury has sunk Cincinnati’s offense. The Bengals are falling behind early, leaving Brown with just 10 carries per game in two starts without Burrow.

He has averaged only 2.15 yards per carry behind an offensive line that Pro Football Focus ranks worst in the league. With defenses unafraid of Jake Browning, Brown is being stuffed at the line.

Week 5 brings another tough matchup. Detroit ranks sixth in run defense and second in tackling, per PFF. This is not the spot for Brown or the Bengals to break their slump.

Wide Receivers

Start

Jaylen Waddle, Dolphins

Tyreek Hill’s absence reshapes Miami’s offense, pushing Jaylen Waddle into the No. 1 role. We’ve seen this before: The last time Hill missed a game was Week 15 of the 2023 season. In that contest, Waddle turned 8 catches into 142 yards and a score.

Mike McDaniel isn’t blinking. “We’ve looked at him as a WR1,” he said Wednesday. “It’s not necessarily a change from the way we approach it. He’s very much ready for the moment.”

Carolina’s defense has held up against receivers, but the schedule has helped. Stefon Diggs broke through last week. With Tyreek Hill out, Jaylen Waddle is Tua Tagovailoa’s top read and a near must-start in fantasy.

Stefon Diggs, Patriots

Week 4 showed Diggs is past his ramp-up. He played 72.1% of New England’s snaps, up from 48.6% across the first three weeks.

The added time produced seven targets, 6 catches, and 101 yards against a Carolina defense that has allowed the second-fewest PPR points to WRs.

Week 5 looks more favorable. New England is an 8.5-point underdog in Buffalo, setting up a pass-heavy script for QB Drake Maye. Diggs led the team in targets last week (7) and will see a favorable game script against a Buffalo defense that has allowed an opposing WR to eclipse 11 PPR points three times in their last two contests.

Sit

Jerry Jeudy, Browns

No shock here: Cleveland is making a change at quarterback. The Browns rank 31st in scoring (14 points per game), with just 3 TD passes and 6 interceptions. Joe Flacco has been abysmal, ranking last in completion rate (58.1%), QB rating (60.3), and yards per attempt (5.1) -- all while throwing 160 passes, second-most in the league.

Enter rookie Dillon Gabriel. He gets his first NFL start behind a shaky line and a banged-up receiver corps. Cedric Tillman’s on IR, which keeps Jerry Jeudy as the default WR1. He’s seen 30 targets (22nd in the league) but turned them into only 13 catches.

Defenses know it, and this week’s opponent is brutal. The Browns cross the Atlantic to face Minnesota, which allows the fewest fantasy points to wideouts. With a rookie QB under center and a terrible matchup, Jeudy’s best left on your bench.

Wan’Dale Robinson, Giants

Things are looking up for the Giants after a QB change delivered their first win of the season against the previously undefeated Chargers. But it came at a heavy cost: WR Malik Nabers tore his ACL.

Without Nabers, New York’s passing game looks like a bottom-5 unit. Jaxson Dart managed just 111 yards in his debut — and that was with Nabers on the field. Wan’Dale Robinson caught only 3 passes for 14 yards. In the two games Naber missed last season, Robinson posted a solid 22% target share. But, he averaged just 7.8 yards per catch with no end-zone targets.

With defenses shifting more attention his way, Robinson will find it even harder to earn targets. His patented short-area receptions won’t be there with Dart, who is more likely to scramble than dump it off behind the line of scrimmage.

In Dart’s first start, New York called twice as many run plays (42) as passes (21). Expect a similar approach this week against a New Orleans defense that is allowing 7.5 more rushing yards per game than the Chargers. 

Tight Ends

Start

Brenton Strange, Jaguars 

Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter have drawn the headlines for slow starts, but TE Brenton Strange has been the steady fantasy option in Jacksonville. He ranks ninth among TEs in targets (23), 10th in yards (182), and tied for fifth in receptions (19).

Consistent usage drives that production. Strange is second on the Jaguars in snap rate (82%), route rate (76%), and target share (17%). He has delivered back-to-back games of seven targets, 6 catches, and double-digit PPR points.

On Monday night, the Jaguars play a Kansas City defense that has allowed the ninth-fewest fantasy points to WRs. The only quality TE Kasas City has faced (Mark Andrews) caught 7-of-8 targets. Expect Strange to see a heavy dose of passes on Monday night.

Sit 

Mark Andrews, Ravens

Mark Andrews caught those 7 passes versus Kansas City last week, but managed only 30 yards. He has failed to top 30 yards in three of Baltimore’s four games, and the slump looks set to continue in Week 5.

The Ravens are expected to be without Lamar Jackson, leaving Cooper Rush to start. Baltimore carries the fourth-lowest projected total this week at 19.5 points.

Isaiah Likely also returned last week, logging 25 snaps (46%). His role should grow, cutting further into Andrews’ target share. Andrews had a 74% route rate in Baltimore’s first three games, but that dipped to 57% last week, with Likely hitting the 50% mark.

Only one TE has surpassed 25 receiving yards against Houston’s stout defense. Combined with a backup QB who has been under 200 passing yards in three of his last five starts, this is a poor script for Andrews.

Next Up

Week 5 Matchups That Matter: Fireworks From The Jets Offense?!

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Jody Smith, Analyst

Jody Smith has been playing fantasy football for over 30 years, the last 15 as an analyst, writer, and editor. Jody's rankings have been among the most consistent, placing him inside the top-10 in multi-year accuracy.