Fantasy football rankings Week 5: Sleepers, projections, starts, DeVonta Smith, Darren Waller and more

Maybe the cool October weather will help our steaming anger from what went down in Week 4. Well, now we have byes adding to our frustration in the Week 5 rankings. Okay, but let’s turn this positive with some notes and stats to help you find some sleepers or needed starts. Plus, of course, we have more smiles coming in the fun ranks… unless you hate my takes.

#CheckTheLink-age

Week 5 Waiver Wire
Week 5 SOS Ranks (coming soon)
Fantasy 101 (weather, start/sit, trading, more)
🎙️All In Speed Run Podcast🎙️

WEEK 5 FANTASY FOOTBALL NOTES

Running Backs

• Top 5 running backs in Yards Per Touch (YPT): Bijan Robinson 7.1; Rhamondre Stevenson 6.3; Derrick Henry, Travis Etienne and Woody Marks tied at 6.0 (min. 25 touches). Marks jumps to 6.4 if you take out Week 1, and Stevenson jumps to the lead at 7.2.
• Both Ashton Jeanty and Chase Brown climbed out from the negative YBC marks, with only Dylan Sampson below 0.19 (Jeanty) now, at -0.17.
• Meanwhile, Sampson’s teammate, Quinshon Judkins, not only saw bell-cow work in a blowout, but he’s third in YAC at 4.18.
• Top 5 (well, six, because of a tie) in percentage of team’s rushes: Tony Pollard 77.3%, Chase Brown 76.0%, Christian McCaffrey and Josh Jacobs 69.0%, Kyren Williams and Ashton Jeanty 67.3%. Pollard is only RB28 in FPPG despite all that volume, and Tyjae Spears could be returning.
• If Miles Sanders is out, Jaydon Blue would rank as an RB4 given the reluctance of the Cowboys to have him active.
• If Trey Benson is out, Michael Carter and Emari Demercado would both rank as RB3s. There has been talk that the Cardinals could use Carter as the lead, which makes both risky.
• If Bucky Irving is out, Rachaad White would be an RB2 and Sean Tucker an RB3. On the off chance all three happen, I’d go White, Tucker, Carter, Demercado, Blue in order… as of today (without more practice reports and news).
• Christian McCaffrey, only the receiver…

Christian McCaffrey, ONLY the receiver, would rank as WR9 with 58.0 half-PPR points

His current pace (last year ranks at WR)
183 targets (1st)
132 receptions (1st)
1,296 yards (3rd)
8.5 touchdowns (12th-ish)
246.6 points (4th)

— Jake Ciely (@allinkid) September 30, 2025

Wide Receivers

• There are only two wideouts with at least 8 red zone and 8 end zone targets: Davante Adams (9 each) and George Pickens (8 and 9 — thank you, Packers game).
• Alec Pierce has the third-highest EPA vs zone for wideouts (2.91), and only the Cowboys use zone more than the Raiders do (85.6% to 84.6%). If Pierce is back, he’s a nice boom/bust play but, if Pierce is out, Adonai Mitchell has actually struggled against zone.
• As seen with Jameson Williams last week, even though a receiver is known for excelling against certain coverages, it’s not a guarantee  (C’mon, JaMo, hold on to the ball, man!). However, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are significantly better versus man than zone with positive EPAs against man and negative against zone. Well, guess which teams use man the third-most? Broncos run man 40.0% of the time, and yeah, it’s the Broncos and Patrick Surtain, but I wouldn’t bench either Eagles wideout.
• Travis Hunter hit a season-high in receiving yards last week at… 42. Bad news. Hunter has the 17th-toughest matchup grade (per Fantasy Points) at -8.0%. Meanwhile, Brian Thomas has the 18th-best (+9.2%), so there’s hope.
• If Ricky Pearsall suits up for TNF, he’d rank behind Jauan Jennings in the WR3 range, given the injury risk. Jennings would slide back a few spots, and if both are out, Kendrick Bourne is a desperation start.
• This is about a quarterback, but wideout related: if the Browns turn to Dillon Gabriel, Jerry Jeudy and Isaiah Bond — heck, the tight ends too — would slide back about a half tier or so given the potential for a muted passing game… not that Joe Flacco was going off.
• Only one wideout has topped 68 yards against the Lions this year: Rome Odunze.
• Assuming Terry McLaurin is out (he’d be in the 20s if playing), Deebo Samuel is the only Commanders wideout to trust. Luke McCaffrey scored last week but was a distant third in the Commanders’ receiver hierarchy, with Chris Moore running as the No. 2.

Tight Ends

• Darren Waller would rank only behind Puka Nacua for targets per route run — if qualified — with 0.40. Nevertheless, I would still consider Waller as the Dolphins’ version of Mark Andrews. He’ll be touchdown reliant and volatile, but so are 90% of the tight ends. Oh, and arguing for his being worth the risk? Well, the Panthers have the worst defensive EPA against tight ends (as in, good for Waller).
• David Njoku and Harold Fannin continue to cannibalize each other, and while Fannin looked to pull ahead a bit in Week 4, no team has a tougher EPA than the Vikings for opposing tight ends (and I know, they haven’t faced a gauntlet).
• Looking for deeper tight ends sleepers? Rookies Mason Taylor and Theo Johnson saw targets on 26.9% and 26.3% of their routes run, respectively — both Top 10 (min. 10 routes).

Quarterbacks

• Justin Fields (15.7%) and Jalen Hurts (12.6%) were the top two in designed rush rate for quarterbacks. The new leader? Jaxson Dart at 20.0%. Also, the Saints have the second-most favorable EPA for QBs (-51.45).
• Trevor Lawrence has the eighth-worst EPA per dropback when pressured (38 qualified QBs) with the third-lowest Comp% (37.0) and fourth-highest OffTGT% (22.2%). The Chiefs have the highest pressure rate with only four rushers (53.5%) — okay, about that BT7 hope…
• Concerning for Carson Wentz… well, more for everyone else we care about in fantasy on the Vikings: they’re likely down three offensive linemen, and the Browns get pressure 43.9% of the time with four rushers (sixth) and have the second-highest Stuff% on runs (29.6%).

FUN WITH RANKS

Before the comments turn into ripping me to shreds, let me give a few notes…

• I haven’t seen every movie ever (heck, I might even be forgetting some)
• I limited the list to just movies from 1990 on (90s kid)
• Yes, movies like E.T. and The Princess Bride would make the list otherwise
• See: #1, and more than any fun rankings before, open to the discussion — love movies, so would definitely love suggestions for movies I (and Nicole) haven’t seen

Best Original — No Sequels — Movies… according only to me

1. “Braveheart” — “They may take our lives…” and all that
2. “The Shawshank Redemption” — Brutally gripping
3. “The Rock” – “Con Air” – “Face/Off” — Cheating with these, but call it the Holy Cage Trinity, or whatever other glorious name you wish, because this is one of the all-time movie “trinities” (also cheating a bit calling it that)
4. “Inception” — Yes, the top was wobbling — plus Miles meets him at the airport and at home
5. “Saving Private Ryan” — One of the greatest war movies ever
6. “District 9” — I’d give this movie a 9 — deserves more respect
7. “True Lies” — Can’t believe they never made a sequel — dance scene still iconic
8. “Goodfellas” — “Funny how? I mean, funny like I’m a clown? I amuse you?” — my favorite “mob” movie
9. “Fight Club” — Tyler Durden ftw
10. “Fugitive” — “I don’t care!” But yet, I do, because this is terrific
11. “Heat” — Best heist movie ever?
12. “Rounders” — “I don’t have the spades!”
13. “Event Horizon” — Made Nicole watch it, and it still rattled me the fourth time I saw it
14. “Memento” — Before Christopher Nolan was so well known, and such a good movie
15. “Edge of Tomorrow” — Hate me if you want on this one, but for a sci-fi alien flick, a lot of fun and original — another I’m surprised doesn’t have a sequel

WEEK 5 FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS

🚨 HEADS UP 🚨

• There is no perfect widget out there, sadly, still. I know many view this on your phone, but 1) use the rankings widget on a PC/laptop/etc. if possible or 2) open in your phone’s browser, especially for Android users, to get the scrolling to work (or Android people can try a two-finger scroll).
• ECR = “Expert” Consensus Ranking (which isn’t updated by everyone consistently, so take with a grain of salt).
• Updated regularly, so check up to lineups locking.

WEEK 5 FANTASY FOOTBALL PROJECTIONS

🚨 HEADS UP 🚨 These can differ from my rankings, and MY RANKS are the order I’d start players outside of added context, such as, “Need highest upside, even if risky.” Also, based on 4-point TDs for QB, 6-point rest, and Half-PPR

Download Link Added Thursday

(Photo of Darren Waller: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)