Fantasy Football Week 5 Rankings: Final Flex, PPR Predictions for Each Game

For several unfortunate fantasy football managers, their flex position is already a mess entering Week 5.

Anyone who drafted a running back early but outside the top five likely regrets the choice. Wide receivers aren't immune to disappointment, either. Just ask anyone who snagged the injured Dez Bryant, Alshon Jeffery or Mike Evans.

Lineup management only gets tougher as more teams take their mandatory bye. Fake squads must trek into the weekend without Adrian Peterson, Jarvis Landry and an assortment of surprisingly useful New York Jets. Locating enough high-quality players to rank suddenly becomes a chore.

With 13 more NFL games on the horizon, here's a look at Week 5's flex rankings for standard and point-per-reception (PPR) scoring.

Rank	Standard	PPR
1	Le'Veon Bell, RB, PIT	Le'Veon Bell, RB, PIT
2	Jamaal Charles, RB, KC	Julio Jones, WR, ATL
3	Julio Jones, WR, ATL	Jamaal Charles, RB, KC
4	Matt Forte, RB, CHI	Demaryius Thomas, WR, DEN
5	Rob Gronkowski, TE, NE	Odell Beckham Jr., WR, NYG
6	Odell Beckham Jr., WR, NYG	Matt Forte, RB, CHI
7	Eddie Lacy, RB, GB	Randall Cobb, WR, GB
8	Demaryius Thomas, WR, DEN	Julian Edelman, WR, NE
9	Devonta Freeman, RB, ATL	Devonta Freeman, RB, ATL
10	Justin Forsett, RB, BAL	Rob Gronkowski, TE, NE
11	Randall Cobb, WR, GB	Larry Fitzgerald, WR, ARI
12	Mark Ingram, RB, NO	Keenan Allen, WR, SD
13	Todd Gurley, RB, STL	Antonio Brown, WR, PIT
14	Larry Fitzgerald, WR, ARI	Eddie Lacy, RB, GB
15	Keenan Allen, WR, SD	Justin Forsett, RB, BAL
16	A.J. Green, WR, CIN	Mark Ingram, RB, NO
17	Joseph Randle, RB, DAL	Dion Lewis, RB, NE
18	Latavius Murray, RB, OAK	A.J. Green, WR, CIN
19	Julian Edelman, WR, NE	Emmanuel Sanders, WR, DEN
20	Antonio Brown, WR, PIT	Joseph Randle, RB, DAL
21	T.J. Yeldon, RB, JAC	Calvin Johnson, WR, DET
22	Dion Lewis, RB, NE	Jordan Matthews, WR, PHI
23	Emmanuel Sanders, WR, DEN	Todd Gurley, RB, STL
24	Jeremy Hill, RB, CIN	Amari Cooper, WR, OAK
25	Calvin Johnson, WR, DET	Latavius Murray, RB, OAK
26	Doug Martin, RB, TB	Jeremy Maclin, WR, KC
27	Jordan Matthews, WR, PHI	Danny Woodhead, RB, SD
28	Amari Cooper, WR, OAK	James Jones, WR, GB
29	Jeremy Maclin, WR, KC	Mike Evans, WR, TB
30	DeMarco Murray, RB, PHI	Allen Robinson, WR, JAC
31	Chris Johnson, RB, ARI	T.J. Yeldon, RB, JAC
32	Mike Evans, WR, TB	DeMarco Murray, RB, PHI
33	James Jones, WR, GB	Kendall Wright, WR, TEN
34	Ronnie Hillman, RB, DEN	Doug Martin, RB, TB
35	Carlos Hyde, RB, SF	Vincent Jackson, WR, TB
36	Allen Robinson, WR, JAC	Pierre Garcon, WR, WAS
37	Alfred Morris, RB, WAS	Giovani Bernard, RB, CIN
38	LeGarrette Blount, RB, NE	Brandin Cooks, WR, NO
39	Vincent Jackson, WR, TB	Travis Kelce, TE, KC
40	Giovani Bernard, RB, CIN	Jeremy Hill, RB, CIN
41	Melvin Gordon, RB, SD	John Brown, WR, ARI
42	Kendall Wright, WR, TEN	Martellus Bennett, TE, CHO=I
43	Danny Woodhead, RB, SD	Duke Johnson Jr., RB, CLE
44	Travis Kelce, TE, KC	Leonard Hankerson, WR, ATL
45	Rashad Jennings, RB, NYG	Chris Johnson, RB, ARI
46	Pierre Garcon, WR, WAS	Ronnie Hillman, RB, DEN
47	Martellus Bennett, TE, CHI	C.J. Spiller, RB, NO
48	John Brown, WR, ARI	Carlos Hyde, RB, SF
49	Brandin Cooks, WR, NO	Golden Tate, WR, DET
50	Matt Jones, RB, WAS	Allen Hurns, WR, JAC

Time (ET)	Away	Home
1 p.m.	Seattle Seahawks	Cincinnnati Bengals
1 p.m.	Chicago Bears	Kansas City Chiefs
1 p.m.	Washington Redskins	Atlanta Falcons
1 p.m.	Jacksonville Jaguars	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1 p.m.	New Orleans Saints	Philadelphia Eagles
1 p.m.	Cleveland Browns	Baltimore Ravens
1 p.m.	St. Louis Rams	Green Bay Packers
1 p.m.	Buffalo Bills	Tennessee Titans
4:05 p.m.	Arizona Cardinals	Detroit Lions
4:25 p.m.	New England Patriots	Dallas Cowboys
4:25 p.m.	Denver Broncos	Oakland Raiders
8:30 p.m.	San Francisco 49ers	New York Giants
Monday, 8:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh Steelers	San Diego Chargers

Jeremy Hill, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

From a fantasy perspective, Jeremy Hill cleaned up last Sunday. The struggling running back took three of his nine touches to his house, giving him five touchdowns through four otherwise underwhelming games.

Before celebrating, look at the "nine touches" part of that equation. That's not a lot for a supposed stud, especially one averaging 3.3 yards per carry this season. For the third straight week, Giovani Bernard received more handoffs.

Player	ATT	RUSH YDs	YPC	TD	REC	REC YDS
Hill	50	164	3.3	5	1	2
Bernard	54	297	5.5	1	12	75

After stomping the Kansas City Chiefs, the Cincinnati Bengals face another difficult adversary in the Seattle Seahawks. Despite their uneven start, the Seahawks have limited opponents to 3.5 yards per carry and zero rushing scores.

Given his lack of touches and efficiency, Hill is entirely touchdown-dependent, which is concerning against a stingy defense. When it works, as it did in Weeks 1 and 4, great. When he doesn't score—see Weeks 2 and 3—his owners leave the weekend grumpy.

This isn't exactly the year of the running back, so many standard-scoring gamers will have to take those chances. In PPR formats, he's more of a low-end No. 2 back or flex option.

Duke Johnson Jr., RB, Cleveland Browns

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

Through two weeks, Duke Johnson Jr. didn't record a single reception. In the Cleveland Browns' last pair of bouts, however, the rookie running back delivered on his preseason PPR hype.

In Weeks 3 and 4, Johnson collected 15 combined catches for 117 and a touchdown. Most of the damage came last Sunday, when he spotted a 9-85-1 line on the San Diego Chargers in addition to amassing 31 rushing yards.

Both Johnson and Isaiah Crowell exceeded 100 total yards against San Diego, but the newcomer saw more playing time. NFL Fantasy Football broke down Cleveland's backfield workload:

Per the Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot, offensive coordinator John DeFilippo credited the rookie's progress to time, both healing an injured hamstring and acclimating to the NFL:

Before labeling Johnson a must-start, consider that San Diego has allowed the second-most ESPN.com fantasy points to running backs this season. On the other hand, the Baltimore Ravens have relinquished the sixth-fewest, but they've also allowed 19 receptions on 25 targets.

In standard leagues, Johnson remains a borderline flex play with a high ceiling but low floor. Given his recent activity in the passing game, PPR owners can feel more confident sliding him into the starting lineup.

Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Amari Cooper owners must grapple with a tough question this weekend: Is the rookie wide receiver already matchup-proof?

Behind the prolific cornerback tandem of Aqib Talib and Chris Harris, the Denver Broncos have surrendered an NFL-low 185.3 passing yards per game. Opponents have mustered two touchdowns through the air while averaging a paltry 6.0 yards per pass attempt.

While Harris complemented Cooper to ESPN's Josina Anderson, he also warned fantasy players not to expect a huge performance:

It's a terrible matchup for the Oakland Raiders wideout. Bad enough to bench him? Anyone doing so had better be stacked with depth.

The neophyte is averaging 10 targets per game, receiving at least nine looks every contest. He also leads all wide receivers with 178 yards after the catch, so he's capable of rattling off a big play to forsake anyone sitting the premier talent.

Although Cooper isn't a recommended Week 5 daily fantasy play, seasonal managers should roll with the rising star.