Fantasy Football Week 5 Rankings: Projections to Love and Matchups to Exploit

Those who enjoy seeking out matchups as a means to start or sit players in NFL fantasy leagues received a mixed bag on the Week 5 edition of Thursday Night Football. 

There, in what should have been another strong performance for New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, he only managed 13.62 points, the second-lowest total of his season so far. Those who took a bigger risk on Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston came out with 18.46 points. 

It goes to show name recognition isn't everything in fantasy, a tone Kareem Hunt set in Week 1. Now the focus shifts to the rest of Week 5, where several notable matchups help shuffle around the rankings and projections. 

Week 5 Schedule

Arizona at Philadelphia 

Buffalo at Cincinnati

Carolina at Detroit 

Jacksonville at Pittsburgh 

L.A. Chargers at N.Y. Giants

N.Y. Jets at Cleveland 

San Francisco at Indianapolis 

Tennessee at Miami 

Baltimore at Oakland

Seattle at L.A. Rams 

Green Bay at Dallas 

Kansas City at Houston

Minnesota at Chicago 

Quarterbacks

Player	Projected Points
Aaron Rodgers	25
Matthew Stafford	24
Deshaun Watson	21
Dak Prescott	19
Russell Wilson	18
Andy Dalton	18
Cam Newton	17
Carson Palmer	17
Eli Manning	16
Jared Goff	14
Philip Rivers	14
Alex Smith	12
Carson Wentz	12
Tyrod Taylor	12
Ben Roethlisberger	12

Again, names and statuses don't mean everything. 

Look at Houston Texans rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson up there with the rest of the big names. Some will balk at the rookie status, but Watson has been on absolute fire over the past two weeks, scoring 22.14 and 34.72 points. 

At home, Watson might land somewhere between those numbers, if not perhaps higher if a game against the Kansas City Chiefs turns into a shootout. In a showdown of Offensive Rookie of the Year candidates between Watson and Hunt, the versatile former should have a huge day. 

Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Less versatile but no less notable this week is Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. Owners had wondered how he would look under the direction of a new offensive coordinator, but he put on a display in Week 4 with a 28.34-point outburst. 

Dalton next gets the Buffalo Bills, a team that has looked good against quarterbacks so far but had the benefit of playing against Josh McCown and Trevor Siemian, not to mention Cam Newton while he was in a slump. 

With the Bengals' season on the line and Buffalo not having anyone who can run with A.J. Green, fans can expect a big day. 

Running Backs

Player	Projected Points
Le'Veon Bell	23
Kareem Hunt	21
Ezekiel Elliott	20
Todd Gurley	18
Melvin Gordon	17
Marshawn Lynch	16
Carlos Hyde*	15
LeSean McCoy	14
Jay Ajayi	13
Leonard Fournette	12
Jordan Howard	12
DeMarco Murray	12
Bilal Powell	12
Ameer Abdullah	11
Joe Mixon	11
Christian McCaffrey	11
Lamar Miller	10
Frank Gore	10
LeGarrette Blount	10
Duke Johnson	10
Latavius Murray	9
Isaiah Crowell	9
Tarik Cohen	8
Derrick Henry	8
Thomas Rawls	8

It's downright impossible not to rave about Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell this week. 

Bell exploded for 144 yards and two touchdowns, good for 30.6 points, in Week 4. It was an apology to owners after three consecutive dud showings to start the year. 

Next comes a Week 5 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars are still the Jaguars in some ways, permitting the third-most points to opposing backs on average. The unit let Bilal Powell run for 163 yards on the way to 25 points, so Bell should feast for one of his bigger days of the season. 

Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

Then there's Marshawn Lynch. 

The Oakland Raiders' lead back hasn't hit above 10.9 points so far this season, yet he might have one of his best days of the year outright against the Baltimore Ravens. 

With starting quarterback Derek Carr out, Lynch will be the focal point of the attack against a Ravens unit coughing up the fifth-most points to opposing backs. 

Wide Receivers

Player	Projected Points
Odell Beckham Jr.*	18
Jordy Nelson	18
A.J. Green	16
Antonio Brown	16
Tyreek Hill	15
DeAndre Hopkins	14
Stefon Diggs	14
Larry Fitzgerald	14
Dez Bryant	13
Keenan Allen	13
Doug Baldwin	12
T.Y. Hilton IND	12
Devante Parker	11
Golden Tate	11
Pierre Garcon	11
Randall Cobb	11
Adam Thielen	10
Alshon Jeffery	10
Jarvis Landry	10
Rishard Matthews	10
Kelvin Benjamin*	9
Amari Cooper	9
Devin Funchess	8
Tyrell Williams	8
Sammy Watkins*	8
Martavis Bryant	8
Jeremy Maclin	8
Jaron Brown	8
Marvin Jones	7
Brandon Marshall	7

Few options are as reliable as Green Bay Packers wideout Jordy Nelson each week. 

Nelson has a minimum of 13.9 points in every game and enters Week 5 off his best performance—a two-touchdown offering for 19.5 points—and it doesn't seem like he's done yet. 

Owners can thank a matchup against the Dallas Cowboys this week. It sounds bad on first pass, but Dallas hasn't lived up to expectations this year and the unit coughs up the 11th-most points on average to opposing wideouts with five touchdowns allowed already. Nelson, with Aaron Rodgers slinging him the ball, shouldn't have any problems. 

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Reliable hasn't been a fitting word for Arizona Cardinals wideout Larry Fitzgerald this season, not with a low of 2.1 points and a peak of 20.9. Usage hasn't been reliable either, with him receiving 13 targets over two total games, as well as target games of 13 and 15 looks. 

Still, there is big, big reason for hope with the veteran this week thanks to a game against the Philadelphia Eagles—owners of the defense allowing the fourth-most points to opposing wideouts so far.

The unit has coughed up four receiving touchdowns to the position over the last two games alone, so rest assured Carson Palmer and the coaches are dialing up a big day for Fitzgerald. 

Tight Ends

Player	Projected Points
Travis Kelce	13
Charles Clay	12
Delanie Walker	11
Zach Ertz	10
Hunter Henry	10
Jared Cook	8
Jason Witten	8
Martellus Bennett	8
Kyle Rudolph	7
Jimmy Graham	7
Evan Engram	6

Bills tight end Charles Clay is at it again. 

Clay, after about 11 points in the opener followed by two single-digit outings, went for another 11 in Week 4, setting up nicely for a date against those Bengals. 

Cincinnati is notorious in the fantasy realm for coughing up big points to opposing tight ends. It hasn't happened this year yet, but it wasn't going to against an opponent list of Nick Boyle, Lance Kendricks and Seth DeValve. 

Clay is unlike those other names because he's a big threat on every down, something a Bills team struggling with injuries at wideout will look to exploit. 

Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

Speaking of exploiting, let's keep targeting these soft NFC East defenses by highlighting Hunter Henry against the New York Giants. 

The Los Angeles Chargers tight end scored a touchdown in Week 4 as he continues to emerge as a big threat. He hasn't scored more than eight points in a game so far, but that should change against a Giants defense surrendering the most points to the position on average. 

Defense/Special Teams

Unit	Projected Points
Minnesota Vikings	12
Pittsburgh Steelers	10
Seattle Seahawks	9
Tennessee Titans	9
New York Jets	8
Kansas City Chiefs	7
Buffalo Bills	7
Baltimore Ravens	6
Philadelphia Eagles	6
Cincinnati Bengals	6

Other than the obvious, the Tennessee Titans are one of the best plays of the week thanks to a great matchup against the hapless Miami Dolphins. 

Those Dolphins allow the third-most points to opposing defenses on average, and it isn't hard to see why—a Week 4, 20-0 loss against a beatable New Orleans Saints defense saw Jay Cutler throw for 164 yards and an interception. 

The Titans have eight sacks and three interceptions on the year, numbers set to get a healthy boost as the Dolphins still try to figure out how to run a respectable offense. 

Kickers

Player	Projected Points
Dan Bailey	12
Mason Crosby	10
Jake Elliott	9
Aldrick Rosas	9
Chris Boswell	8
Graham Gano	7
Justin Tucker	7
Greg Zuerlein	6
Matt Prater	6
Adam Vinatieri	6

Aldrick Rosas of the Giants doesn't classify as a household name by any means. 

But he could resonate with owners after Week 5, where he gets an easy matchup against the Chargers—the team allowing the second-most points to opposing kickers so far, including outings of 15 and 19 points. 

Granted, Rosas has yet to hit the double-digit mark this year, but the Giants aren't scoring much, meaning he should see plenty of chances to post one of the week's bigger performances. 

All scoring info, points-against info and ownership stats courtesy of Yahoo standard leagues.