Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 5: Identifying Top Fantasy Football Studs and Duds

The biggest key each week for fantasy football owners is finding the studs and duds on your roster whom you must start or sit. With a hefty dosage of marquee matchups in Week 5, it’s more important than ever to start the optimal lineup.

With only Oakland and Miami on bye this week, there will be plenty of choices that must be made at the WR3 and flex positions. The key to a big win is finding the players with the right combination of workload and a favorable matchup.

Here are the top starts, top sits and the names you can’t forget heading into Week 5.

Start ‘Em

Position	Player	Team	Week 5 Opponent
QB	Russell Wilson	Seahawks	Washington
RB	Le'Veon Bell	Steelers	Jacksonville
WR	Steve Smith	Ravens	Indianapolis
TE	Rob Gronkowski	Patriots	Cincinnati
D/ST	Eagles	--	St. Louis
K	Cody Parkey	Eagles	St. Louis

The two players you must get into your fantasy lineup this week are wide receiver Steve Smith of the Baltimore Ravens and running back Le’Veon Bell of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

After being cut by the Carolina Panthers, Smith has regained the hunger he possessed throughout his career. Through the first four weeks of the season, Smith has racked up 25 receptions for 429 yards and three touchdowns.

Smith will likely be going head-to-head with Indianapolis Colts cornerback Vontae Davis, but he is coming off an incredible game against Carolina that saw him catch seven passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns.

After his best game of the season, Smith told Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star about how much effort it takes to be elite at 35 years old:

"

When you get older and you get injuries, I think, it requires a lot more energy, a lot more effort mentally as well as physically. You doubt yourself. The newspapers that would say something, you read those more intently because you have that self-doubt a little bit.

"

Owners who start Smith should expect at least six receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown.

On the other hand, Bell is a younger player who will use his youthful exuberance to run all over the Jaguars defense. Jacksonville has allowed at least 33 points in each of the four games thus far in 2014, and Pittsburgh has been clicking offensively and defensively.

With the Steelers likely taking an early lead, Bell should expect a hefty workload. With 378 yards on the ground and 192 yards receiving, he has been a crucial part of both the rushing attack and the passing attack.

The Jaguars are dead-last in passing yards allowed per game and 25th against the rush. Once Pittsburgh mounts the early lead, owners should expect 25 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown, plus four receptions for 30 yards.

Sit ‘Em

Position	Player	Team	Week 5 Opponent
QB	Tom Brady	Patriots	Cincinnati
RB	Montee Ball	Broncos	Arizona
WR	Andre Johnson	Texans	Dallas
TE	Jason Witten	Cowboys	Houston
D/ST	Arizona	--	Denver
K	Kai Forbath	Redskins	Seattle

The biggest star on the sit ‘em side of the rankings is New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Through four weeks, Brady has only amassed 791 yards and four touchdowns. For fantasy owners, those numbers are simply not acceptable.

Owners aren’t the only people tired of the offensive issues for New England, as Brady himself blasted his team, via NFL on ESPN’s official Twitter account:

Add in a tough matchup against a Cincinnati Bengals defense giving up just 239.3 passing yards per game, and this is the week to sit Brady on the bench and look to your backup or even the waiver wire.

Another player worth sitting this week is Denver Broncos running back Montee Ball when the team goes up against the stout defense of the Cardinals. Arizona has given up just 71.7 yards rushing per game to start the season and is going to be fresh after a bye week.

Ball has tallied only 165 rushing yards on 49 carries and has just one touchdown all season. The combination of recent struggles and a terrible matchup is bad news for fantasy owners. Expect 15 carries for 40 yards and zero touchdowns for Ball.

*Stats via NFL.com.

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