Fantasy Football Week 5 Rankings: Each Position's Flex and PPR Projections

Often viewed as a throwaway spot, flex decisions win fantasy football owners matchups with a high frequency.

Just ask owners in standard leagues who threw Doug Martin (19 points), Duke Johnson Jr. (17) or Tavon Austin (23) into lineups last week.

Week 5 won't be any different. A smart flex play based on numerous factors won't always see owners nail down the top scorer at a position like Austin did last week, but it's clearly not an impossible feat.

Below, let's rank each of the flex positions and take a look at some names worth highlighting.

Week 5 Schedule 

Sunday, Oct. 11	Time (ET)
Monday, Oct. 12	Time (ET)
Cleveland at Baltimore	1:00 pm
St. Louis at Green Bay	1:00 pm
Buffalo at Tennessee	1:00 pm
New Orleans at Philadelphia	1:00 pm
Washington at Atlanta	1:00 pm
Seattle at Cincinnati	1:00 pm
Chicago at Kansas City	1:00 pm
Jacksonville at Tampa Bay	1:00 pm
Arizona at Detroit	4:05 pm
New England at Dallas	4:25 pm
Denver at Oakland	4:25 pm
San Francisco at N.Y. Giants	8:30 pm
Pittsburgh at San Diego	8:30 pm

Running Backs 

Rank	Player
1	Jamaal Charles
2	Le'Veon Bell
3	Matt Forte
4	Devonta Freeman
5	Ronnie Hillman
6	Eddie Lacy
7	Dion Lewis
8	Karlos Williams*
9	Danny Woodhead
10	Marshawn Lynch*
11	Justin Forsett
12	Darren Sproles
13	Chris Thompson
14	Duke Johnson Jr.
15	Todd Gurley
16	T.J. Yeldon
17	Latavius Murray
18	Joseph Randle
19	Melvin Gordon
20	DeMarco Murray
21	Carlos Hyde
22	Jeremy Hill
23	Doug Martin
24	Mark Ingram
25	Rashad Jennings
26	Alfred Morris
27	LeGarrette Blount
28	Chris Johnson
29	Giovani Bernard
30	Andre Ellington

There's no doubt big-name receiving backs such as Jamaal Charles, Matt Forte and Le'Veon Bell are in for big weekends. So goes the luxury of being an every-down back.

There's also no doubt the backfield in Denver has frustrated more than a few owners. The Broncos cannot seem to decide who should see what action on the field between the duo of C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman.

Coach Gary Kubiak just shed a little light on the situation when chatting with SiriusXM NFL Radio, though:

Hillman busted off a 72-yard run last week and now has two touchdowns in his last two outings. From a points-per-reception (PPR) standpoint, Hillman figures to explode as he starts to take the majority of the snaps.

It's a similar story for the aforementioned Johnson, who isn't much of a sleeper flex anymore after last weekend's outburst. 

The Cleveland Browns seem to have found a role they love for Johnson. He has 17 targets on the season, second only to Travis Benjamin and Gary Barnidge. He's caught 15 of those. The kicker? He didn't have any catches over the course of the first two games.

Johnson has carved out a niche for himself and it won't go away. He's a volume-based flex start in PPR leagues owners would be foolish to ignore.

Wide Receivers 

Rank	Player
1	Julio Jones
2	Demaryius Thomas
3	Julian Edelman
4	Keenan Allen
5	Antonio Brown
6	Odell Beckham Jr.
7	Jeremy Maclin
8	Randall Cobb
9	Emmanuel Sanders
10	A.J. Green
11	Calvin Johnson
12	Alshon Jeffery*
13	Larry Fitzgerald
14	Mike Evans
15	Jordan Matthews
16	Amari Cooper
17	Michael Crabtree
18	Sammy Watkins*
19	Vincent Jackson
20	Kendall Wright
21	Golden Tate
22	James Jones
23	Brandin Cooks
24	Allen Robinson
25	Tavon Austin
26	Pierre Garcon*
27	Rueben Randle
28	Percy Harvin
29	John Brown
30	Doug Baldwin
31	Travis Benjamin
32	Eddie Royal
33	Michael Floyd
34	Marques Colston
35	Malcom Floyd

It's all about the target hogs at the top of a wideout list in PPR leagues. 

Case in point: Houston Texans wideout DeAndre Hopkins was among league leaders in targets before Thursday Night Football, where he caught 11 passes.

In other words, Julio Jones, Demaryius Thomas, Julian Edelman, Keenan Allen and Jeremy Maclin stand as obvious plays.

So does Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger or not.

Brown only caught five passes for 42 yards last week with Michael Vick under center, but it was more a product of a tough matchup against the Baltimore Ravens on a short turnaround.

Besides, Brown still saw nine targets to lead the team. With a better rapport with Vick and plenty of opportunities, Brown will be back to his usual self this weekend.

Larry Fitzgerald won't move away from his usual self. The Arizona Cardinals star has at least six catches in every game this year. To make things look even better, he has at least nine targets in every game so far this season.

Guaranteed targets, especially against a struggling Detroit Lions defense, Fitzgerald is nothing short of a WR1 in PPR leagues.

Tight Ends 

Rank	Player
1	Rob Gronkowski
2	Owen Daniels
3	Martellus Bennett
4	Jason Witten
5	Charles Clay
6	Travis Kelce
7	Antonio Gates
8	Tyler Eifert
9	Jimmy Graham
10	Delanie Walker
11	Jared Cook
12	Richard Rodgers

Another superstar who hasn't let a change under center ruin his production? 

Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys, of course. 

Witten has at least four catches in every game this season, as well as 65 and 57 yards in his last two outings despite dealing with Brandon Weeden under center. It wasn't the hardest thing to see coming given a quarterback's reliance on a tight end as a safety valve, but it's nice to see the thought come to fruition—owners have nothing to worry about regardless of matchup.

An emerging player fulfilling preseason notions well? Buffalo Bills tight end Charles Clay, who looked like a smart fit but struggled over the team's first two weeks to make an impact.

Since, he's caught 14 passes in two games and scored once. In Week 4, he saw a team-high 13 targets while no other option on the offense tallied more than eight.

Finally showing signs of life in his new home, Clay is a must-start PPR option no matter the matchup.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of October 9. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com. Miami, Minnesota, Carolina and the New York Jets are on bye.