Week 5 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Each Position's Top 10 Players and Stat Predictions

Even though we're reached the quarter pole of the NFL season, the fantasy football landscape could use some more stability.

At quarterback, who predicted Andrew Luck would be No. 23 in fantasy points per game? Running back Devonta Freeman's shocking explosion for the Atlanta Falcons (seven touchdowns in only two starts) has his owners full of glee, while Calvin Johnson somehow has only one receiving touchdown and is averaging fewer than 10 yards per catch through four weeks.

A lot of results have thrown fantasy owners curveballs, but you still want to put yourself in the best position to win your league by doing as much research as possible.

Here we'll give you the top 10 fantasy players at each position for Week 5, according to the consensus projections from Fantasy Pros, which average out fantasy point projections from ESPN, CBS Sports, numberFire and FFToday. Players involved in Thursday night's game between the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans were excluded, which did cause some players outside the top 10 to sneak in for the sake of this article.

After looking at those rankings, we'll take a closer look at two players from each position who stand out as a clear start or sit.

Quarterback

Rank	Player	Opponent	Projection
1	Aaron Rodgers, GB	STL	20.8
2	Tom Brady, NE	at DAL	20.0
3	Matt Ryan, ATL	WAS	19.7
4	Philip Rivers, SD	PIT	18.3
5	Peyton Manning, DEN	at OAK	18.0
6	Eli Manning, NYG	SF	17.4
7	Carson Palmer, ARI	at DET	17.3
8	Russell Wilson, SEA	at CIN	17.2
9	Tyrod Taylor, BUF	at TEN	17.1
10	Alex Smith, KC	CHI	16.9

Start 'Em: Philip Rivers, SD (vs. PIT)

Rivers is, somewhat quietly, well on his way to another excellent fantasy season. He's on pace for a career-high 4,992 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. And that's playing against a solid crop of defenses in the Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns.

Now, against a mediocre Pittsburgh Steelers unit, he's poised for another big performance.

Pittsburgh is a middling 18th in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. When fellow elite signal-caller Tom Brady faced the Steelers in Week 1, he exploded for 288 yards and four touchdowns and had the heads of Pittsburgh's defensive backs spinning.

Don't forget that Rivers' Chargers aren't very good on defense, which means the veteran quarterback may have to sling the ball plenty of times to keep his team competitive.

Sit 'Em: Tyrod Taylor, BUF (at TEN)

Let's get one thing straight: The Tennessee Titans do not have a good defense. On the surface, that seems conducive to a big fantasy performance from Taylor.

However, Tennessee is ranked No. 24 in yards per carry allowed despite playing three below-average running attacks from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts. Since the Titans run defense is so ineffective and Buffalo has a run-first offense led by LeSean McCoy and Karlos Williams, I could see the Bills just establishing the run from the get-go and never abandoning it.

If you don't have another solid quarterback on your roster, feel free to start Taylor. But since Taylor wasn't projected as a good fantasy option this season, you probably grabbed him in the late rounds or off the waiver wire with a No. 1-caliber quarterback on your roster.

Unless he's in a terrible matchup, start your other quarterback.

Running Back

Rank	Player	Opponent	Projection
1	Jamaal Charles, KC	CHI	18.4
2	Le'Veon Bell, PIT	at SD	17.6
3	Matt Forte, CHI	at KC	14.4
4	Devonta Freeman, ATL	WAS	14.2
5	Eddie Lacy, GB	STL	13.6
7	Justin Forsett, BAL	CLE	13.1
8	Marshawn Lynch, SEA	at CIN	11.7
9	Todd Gurley, STL	at GB	11.2
10	Latavius Murray, OAK	DEN	11.2
11	Dion Lewis, NE	at DAL	11.2

Start 'Em: Devonta Freeman, ATL (vs. WAS)

Don't overthink this.

Yes, the Washington Redskins are second in the league in both rushing yards and touchdowns allowed, and Freeman isn't going to keep scoring three touchdowns for you every week. However, you have to ride your hot hand until he cools off.

Also, part of the reason Washington's allowed yardage is so low is because their mediocre offense often causes the opponent to get great field position. The Redskins' average opponent starting field position is the 31-yard line, per Football Outsiders, which ranks sixth-worst in the NFL.

Matt Ryan and Julio Jones lead a top-notch Atlanta Falcons passing attack that should be able to move the ball into the red zone against Washington, and then they'll let Freeman take over. Don't underestimate the young back's impact in the passing game either (133 total receiving yards in the past two games).

Sit 'Em: Latavius Murray, OAK (vs. DEN)

Murray being projected as a top-10 fantasy back this week is a bit perplexing to me. The dominant Denver Broncos defense, while better against the pass than the run, should be able to keep the Oakland Raiders offense under wraps.

Oakland will likely be playing from behind for the majority of this game, which would mean a lot of passing attempts for young quarterback Derek Carr rather than rushing attempts for Murray.

Add in the fact that Murray is banged up with a shoulder injury, according to CSN California's Scott Bair, and he just doesn't look like a good play Sunday.

Wide Receiver

Rank	Player	Opponent	Projection
1	Julio Jones, ATL	WAS	16.0
2	Demaryius Thomas, DEN	at OAK	13.9
3	Odell Beckham Jr., NYG	SF	13.7
5	Randall Cobb, GB	STL	12.6
6	Julian Edelman, NE	at DAL	12.1
7	Calvin Johnson, DET	ARI	11.8
8	Keenan Allen, SD	PIT	11.8
9	Antonio Brown, PIT	at SD	11.7
10	A.J. Green, CIN	SEA	11.6
11	Larry Fitzgerald, ARI	at DET	11.0

Start 'Em: Julian Edelman, NE (at DAL)

The Dallas Cowboys have been cursed with bad injury luck so far this season, and now the New England Patriots come into town rested after a bye week.

Sean Lee is a Cowboys player to keep your eye on here. The outside linebacker suffered a concussion against the New Orleans Saints in Week 4, and his status for Sunday is still unclear, per David Helman of the team's official website. His ability to drop into coverage and help the secondary is a big boost to the Dallas defense.

Whether Lee is in there or not, Edelman is Tom Brady's top wide receiver, and that's never a bad position to be in, especially facing a banged-up defense while playing for Bill Belichick coming off a bye.

Sit 'Em: Calvin Johnson, DET (vs. ARI)

The Arizona Cardinals have been stingy against the pass all season. Opposing quarterbacks sport just a 72.3 passer rating against them, and now Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions host them in Week 5.

Arizona does a great job containing receivers after the catch and keeping yardage through the air limited overall. Johnson has been reduced to a possession receiver this year, and the Lions surely want to get some big plays out of him. However, the Cardinals are the wrong team to try that against.

Take into account that Arizona won't respect the Lions' 32nd-ranked running game, and Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu and the Cardinals secondary should keep Megatron contained here.

Tight End

Rank	Player	Opponent	Projection
1	Rob Gronkowski, NE	at DAL	12.4
2	Travis Kelce, KC	CHI	9.1
3	Martellus Bennett, CHI	at KC	8.5
4	Tyler Eifert, CIN	SEA	8.1
5	Charles Clay, BUF	at TEN	7.8
6	Antonio Gates, SD	PIT	7.6
7	Jason Witten, DAL	NE	7.2
8	Jimmy Graham, SEA	at CIN	6.8
9	Delanie Walker, TEN	BUF	6.6
10	Julius Thomas, JAX	at TB	6.0

Start 'Em: Antonio Gates, SD (vs. PIT)

Going along with the Rivers start here, Gates is returning from a four-game suspension and gets to face the Steelers in his first contest. The two should make sweet music in the passing game.

Pittsburgh surrenders the fourth-most fantasy points to tight ends per game this year, and Gates happens to be the position's No. 2 fantasy point-getter from 2014.

We'll see if Gates is rusty, but the adrenaline rush from finally getting back on the field could outweigh that.

Sit 'Em: Heath Miller, PIT (at SD)

Gates' Week 5 counterpart might not be so lucky.

Miller has been known as a trusty safety valve for the Steelers offense seemingly since the beginning of time, but his production has dipped since Week 2. Michael Vick is filling in as Pittsburgh's quarterback, and he's the type of guy who throws for 150 yards in a game, rather than Ben Roethlisberger's 300-plus.

With Le'Veon Bell fully back into the fold and acting as the offense's engine, Miller may not be targeted often.

Kicker

Rank	Player	Opponent	Projection
1	Josh Lambo, SD	PIT	8.9
2	Matt Bryant, ATL	WAS	8.4
3	Cairo Santos, KC	CHI	8.4
4	Stephen Gostkowski, NE	at DAL	8.2
5	Mason Crosby, GB	STL	8.2
6	Josh Brown, NYG	SF	8.1
7	Brandon McManus, DEN	at OAK	8.0
8	Mike Nugent, CIN	SEA	7.9
9	Caleb Sturgis, PHI	NO	7.9
10	Chandler Catanzaro, ARI	at DET	7.7

Start 'Em: Brandon McManus, DEN (at OAK)

Oakland has allowed the most fantasy points to kickers per game so far this season. McManus is nine of nine on field-goal attempts and has been a huge boost to a Denver offense that has often stalled before reaching the end zone. He's even an impressive three of three from 50 yards or further.

There's not much else to say, other than that this has the possibility of being a breakout performance for Denver's offense against Oakland's defense. Even if the Broncos rack up touchdowns, McManus' points from PATs will help you out.

Sit 'Em: Phil Dawson, SF (at NYG)

This sit 'em recommendation isn't really based on matchup, but rather on San Francisco's ineptitude on offense.

Colin Kaepernick is playing like the worst quarterback in football, and despite the team's huge rushing game in Week 1 (230 yards), the team's yardage total on the ground has fallen every week since, including just 77 yards against the Green Bay Packers in Week 4. 

The Giants aren't a great defensive unit (11th in points allowed and 26th in yards allowed), but Dawson needs to be on your bench anyway.