Last week, running backs dominated the fantasy football landscape, as Derrick Henry, Kenneth Walker III, and D’Andre Swift all pushed past the 30-point barrier. Who will climb atop the leaderboards in week five? Beginning this week, our experts are putting together a consensus ranking with starts and sits to help you out!

Contributing Authors:

• Nic Cunningham
• C.J. Brighton

Week 5 PPR Rankings

Quarterback

Start of the Week (C.J. Brighton): Josh Allen

So far this season, Allen has finished as the QB1, QB 28, QB 1, and QB28. If this trend holds, then he is a lock for QB1 again this week, right? In all seriousness, Allen may actually be posed for a nice bounce-back week in Week 5. The Texans allow 17.86 fantasy points per game to the quarterback position, good for the 7th highest mark in the league. They have also surrendered 8 passing touchdowns through 4 weeks, which is tied for the third-highest in the league. Allen may also benefit from what could be a high-scoring game (the over/under of 47.5 is the 3rd highest for any game in Week 5). While it’s not as if you really needed any extra encouragement to do so, fire up Josh Allen with confidence in Week 5.

Fade of the Week (C.J. Brighton): Patrick Mahomes

It almost feels a bit sacrilegious to have Patrick Mahomes ranked so low, but it may be time to face reality. Mahomes has yet to finish higher than QB14 in any week so far this season. To his credit, he has also yet to finish below QB17, so at least his range of outcomes has been relatively consistent. I have him ranked at the bottom of that range this week. Mahomes and the Chiefs host a Saints defense that is allowing the 4th fewest points per game to the quarterback position, boasting 6 interceptions to only 1 passing touchdown allowed. Kansas City may very well win this week, but sich an outcome likely won’t come on the back of any sort of heroics from Mahomes and the passing game (especially not after losing Rashee Rice for what may be the rest of the season). Of course, if you drafted Mahomes this year (ADP of #31 overall, QB2 overall), you likely don’t have better options to start over him. Maybe test your luck and see if either Justin Fields (QB6, 62% rostered on Sleeper) or Geno Smith (QB8 on the year, 56% rostered on SLeeper) are somehow still floating around on your league’s waiver wire. If not, I would just temper expectations for Mahomes this week a bit.

Running Backs

Start of the Week (C.J. Brighton): Jordan Mason

If I had told you during the pre-season that a San Francisco 49ers running back was in the top 5 for total fantasy points scored by running backs in PPR leagues heading into Week 5, you likely wouldn’t have batted an eye. Well, a 49ers RB is in fact the RB5 on the year after 4 weeks, but it isn’t Christian McCaffrey. Jordan Mason has been a revelation for the 49ers and fantasy managers alike, and he gets a fantastic matchup this week. The Arizona Cardinals are allowing the 4^th most fantasy points per game to the running back position. They surrender 146.5 yards per game on the ground, good for the 5^th worst rush defense in the league in terms of yardage allowed. What’s more, Arizona’s opponents have rushed the ball 33.3 times per game (tied for 3^rd highest in the league), called rushing plays 54.29% of the time (second highest), gained 4.4 yards per rushing attempt (17^th highest), and scored 8 touchdowns on the ground (tied for the most in the league). Jordan Mason has been the workhorse for San Francisco in the absence of CMC, having yet to see his snap percentage fall below 75% in any game this year. He will be the primary beneficiary of this matchup, and you should fire him up with confidence in Week 5.

Fade of the Week (C.J. Brighton): Rhamondre Stevenson

This is a bit of an odd “fade” selection, as Stevenson could absolutely have a decent week this week. The Dolphins have shown some susceptibility to the run, surrendering the 5^th most fantasy points per game to the running back position. This game will also likely be an ugly, ball control-focused battle for time of possession, which may favor the rushing game a bit. This fade is due more to narratives surrounding Stevenson and his grip on his role within New England’s offense. He has fumbled in 4 straight games, and reports have circulated that the Patriots may be looking to Antonio Gibson to take over lead-back duties due to Stevenson’s ball security concerns. If Stevenson somehow fumbles for the fifth straight game, you may very well be left with a negative contribution from one of your starting running back positions. To make matters worse, the Patriots offense has looked anemic these past couple of weeks. They are averaging the lowest yards per game in the league (238.8) and the second lowest points per game (13.0, ironically second only to the Dolphins at 11.3). Given the questions surrounding his grip on his role, Stevenson represents a major risk for fantasy this week. Coupled with a relatively low ceiling resulting from his team’s inability to string drives together, these concerns may be reason enough to look elsewhere for Week 5.

Wide Receivers

Start of the Week (C.J. Brighton): Ja’Marr Chase

Due to a poor start, the Bengals have found themselves in “must-win” territory very early this year. This week, they host one of their division rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, who are fresh off of a massive primetime win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 4. Thankfully for Chase and the rest of the Bengals’ passing attack, Baltimore has shown some susceptibility to the pass this year, having surrendered the 3^rd highest yardage total to wide receivers at 1,128 yards. Perhaps more importantly, the Ravens have been prone to giving up big plays. They have allowed the most 20+ yard receptions at 20, and they allow the fifth-highest yards per reception at 11.9. For Chase’s part, he finds himself in the top 20 for yards per catch at 15.8. He has a great shot to break open a big play or two, but, even if he doesn’t, he should see enough volume to make him an elite start this week.

Fade of the Week (C.J. Brighton): Tyreek Hill

Just like with Mahomes for the quarterbacks, it feels odd to put Tyreek Hill as a “fade” for wide receivers. However, his current quarterback situation is severely limiting his upside. The Dolphins have scored the fewest points per game of any team so far this year at 11.3. Last week, Tyler Huntley averaged only 4.4 yards per attempt and finished the game with only 96 yards passing. Hill ended the game with only 4 catches for 23 yards on 7 targets. For someone who averages 14.1 yards per reception in his career, Hill’s average of 5.8 yards per reception on Monday night represents a severe limiting of his ceiling. Since arriving in Miami, Hill has topped 100 yards only once without Tua Tagovailoa as his quarterback, and he has yet to score a receiving touchdown with any other Miami QB. Again, you may not be able to bench Tyreek given the draft capital that you spent to acquire him. There is also a small chance that Week 4’s lackluster performance was somewhat the result of Huntley not being fully acquainted with the playbook, and perhaps we see Mike McDaniel scheme up some clever ways to get Hill the ball in Week 5 (he did have 3 rushing attempts for 19 yards last week). Still, until the Miami QB situation sees some improvement, Hill’s upside is nothing like what we are accustomed to seeing from him. You may want to temper expectations for Hill’s Week 5 production as a result.

Tight Ends

Start of the Week (C.J. Brighton): Dalton Kincaid

It feels a bit paradoxical to call any tight end a “start of the week” right now given the pretty lackluster fantasy output from the position thus far this season. Still, we have to pick somebody, right? I am going with Dalton Kincaid as my selection for this week. He has seen an increase in both targets and yardage in every game so far this season. If Khalil Shakir is unable to go or limited this week, that opens roughly 5 targets that need to be accounted for. Kincaid is as good a bet as any to pick up this slack and help Josh Allen keep the chains moving in what could be a high-scoring affair between two of the AFC’s premier teams.

Fade of the Week (C.J. Brighton): Mark Andrews

Really, you could probably pick almost every single tight end and put them in this category. That’s how frustratingly inconsistent the fantasy production has been from the position this year, even at the top. With that being said, Mark Andrews stands out a bit more from the pack given his production in the past and his draft position this year (ADP of #47 overall, #3 TE). Shockingly, he has been almost a complete nonfactor through 4 weeks, racking up just 65 yards on only 6 catches. To make matters worse, he hasn’t even caught a pass in 2 weeks and was only targeted once in both of those games. Until he proves that he is once again an integral part of this offense (or that he at least commands a respectable target share), I would look elsewhere.

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