Fantasy Football Week 5: Flex Rankings, Waiver-Wire Targets and Projections

If you're looking to grab a few Chicago Bears off the fantasy football waiver wire after they crushed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 48-10 on Sunday, you'll have to wait a week as the team enters the bye.

However, the Bears are still fantasy relevant, and a few of them can help your team down the road. We'll take a look at two of them in addition to another player who had a big week.

Otherwise, you can view some top-50 flex rankings for Week 5 alongside some projections (point-per-reception scoring).

Week 5 Flex Rankings and Point Projections: Top 50

1. New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara (vs. Washington Redskins): 30 points

2. Los Angeles Rams RB Todd Gurley (at Seattle Seahawks): 30 points

3. Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown (vs. Atlanta Falcons): 28 points

4. New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas (vs. Washington Redskins): 28 points

5. Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones (at Pittsburgh Steelers): 28 points

6. Los Angeles Chargers RB Melvin Gordon (vs. Oakland Raiders): 26 points

7. Dallas Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott (at Houston Texans): 26 points

8. Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (vs. New York Giants): 25 points

9. Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins (vs. Dallas Cowboys): 25 points 

10. New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley (at Carolina Panthers): 23 points

11. Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen (vs. Oakland Raiders): 22 points

12. Arizona Cardinals RB David Johnson (at San Francisco 49ers): 22 points

13. Minnesota Vikings WR Stefon Diggs (at Philadelphia Eagles): 22 points

14. Cincinnati Bengals WR A.J. Green (vs. Miami Dolphins): 22 points

15. Green Bay Packers WR Davante Adams (at Detroit Lions): 22 points

16. Minnesota Vikings WR Adam Thielen (at Philadelphia Eagles): 22 points

17. Pittsburgh Steelers RB James Conner (vs. Atlanta Falcons): 20 points

18. Los Angeles Rams WR Brandin Cooks (at Seattle Seahawks): 20 points

19. Los Angeles Rams WR Cooper Kupp (at Seattle Seahawks): 19 points

20. Los Angeles Rams WR Robert Woods (at Seattle Seahawks): 19 points

21. New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski* (vs. Indianapolis Colts): 18 points

22. Detroit Lions WR Golden Tate (vs. Green Bay Packers): 18 points

23. Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce (vs. Jacksonville Jaguars): 18 points

24. New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. (at Carolina Panthers): 18 points

25. Kansas City Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill (vs. Jacksonville Jaguars): 18 points

26. Detroit Lions WR Kenny Golladay (vs. Green Bay Packers): 17 points

27. Philadelphia Eagles TE Zach Ertz (vs. Minnesota Vikings): 17 points

28. Cleveland Browns WR Jarvis Landry (vs. Baltimore Ravens): 17 points

29. New England Patriots RB James White (vs. Indianapolis Colts): 16 points

30. Atlanta Falcons WR Calvin Ridley (at Pittsburgh Steelers): 16 points

31. Denver Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders (at New York Jets): 16 points

32. Jacksonville Jaguars WR Keelan Cole (at Kansas City Chiefs): 14 points

33. Jacksonville Jaguars WR Dede Westbrook (at Kansas City Chiefs): 14 points

34. New York Giants WR Sterling Shepard (at Carolina Panthers): 14 points

35. Buffalo Bills WR LeSean McCoy (vs. Tennessee Titans): 14 points

36. Miami Dolphins RB Kenyan Drake (at Cincinnati Bengals): 14 points

37. Detroit Lions RB Kerryon Johnson (vs. Green Bay Packers): 13 points

38. Washington Redskins RB Chris Thompson (at New Orleans Saints): 13 points

39. Atlanta Falcons RB Tevin Coleman (at Pittsburgh Steelers): 13 points

40. Atlanta Falcons RB Devonta Freeman* (at Pittsburgh Steelers): 13 points

41. Houston Texans RB Lamar Miller (vs. Dallas Cowboys): 12 points

42. Tennessee Titans RB Dion Lewis (at Buffalo Bills): 12 points

43. Cincinnati Bengals WR Tyler Boyd (vs. Miami Dolphins): 12 points

44. Los Angeles Chargers WR Mike Williams (vs. Oakland Raiders): 11 points

45. Oakland Raiders WR Amari Cooper (at Los Angeles Chargers): 11 points

46. Baltimore Ravens RB Buck Allen (at Cleveland Browns): 10 points

47. Kansas City Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt (vs. Jacksonville Jaguars): 10 points

48. Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook (at Philadelphia Eagles): 9 points

49. Houston Texans WR Will Fuller V* (vs. Dallas Cowboys): 9 points

50. Houston Texans WR Keke Coutee (vs. Dallas Cowboys): 9 points

The asterisk represents players who (a) left their games early with injuries in Week 4 or (b) were declared inactive prior to Week 4. Their Week 5 statuses are unknown, but projections have been made here in case they are active for Week 5.

Waiver-Wire Targets

Chicago Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky (Rostered in 15 Percent of Yahoo Leagues)

Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky threw for three times as many touchdowns (six) as he did in his first three regular-season games combined (two). He threw for 354 yards and rushed for 53 more.

Naturally, Trubisky is going to be the hottest player on the waiver wire this week, as any fantasy owner going through quarterback issues will place a bid for the second-year pro.

The question is whether Trubisky is for real.

On one end, the Bucs defense may be one of the worst in the league, having allowed 138 points through four games (34.5 per game).

Then again, it's not every day we see quarterbacks casually toss six touchdowns in the NFL regardless of the opponent or era.

It's definitely worth placing a waiver bid on Trubisky in all formats, but it may be best to keep him on the bench for his Week 6 performance at the Miami Dolphins to see how he follows up against a tougher defense.

Chicago Bears WR Taylor Gabriel (5 Percent)

Bears wide receiver Taylor Gabriel is second on the team in targets with 29 through four weeks. Only No. 1 wideout Allen Robinson (32) ranks ahead of him there. He's a clear offensive focal point after being an afterthought in Atlanta last year, and Gabriel has rewarded the Bears to the tune of 22 catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns.

Much of his damage came Sunday against the Bucs (seven receptions, 104 yards, two scores), but Gabriel's usage is encouraging and makes him viable in point-per-reception leagues.

While he may not have the most yards per reception (through three weeks, his 15 catches translated into just 89 yards), Gabriel can get cheap reception points even if he's only gaining six yards at a time.

Ultimately, it's clear the Bears plan to use Gabriel frequently moving forward, and he's worth a shot if you're looking for some wide receiver depth.

Tennessee Titans QB Marcus Mariota (33 Percent)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota is an interesting case. On one hand, he won't threaten to throw for 300 passing yards on a weekly basis, much like the Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes or the Los Angeles Rams' Jared Goff.

The Titans offense also features two running backs (Dion Lewis and Derrick Henry) who hog much of the team's touches. Mariota obviously can't benefit from their success unless he's throwing the ball to Lewis, who is more of a pass-catcher than Henry.

However, Mariota can run and accrue points on the ground, much like he did when he rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles. In fact, Mariota led his team in rushing on Sunday.

If Mariota's 2018 season resembles something akin to his 2016 campaign where he threw for 26 touchdowns and rushed for 349 yards and two more scores, he's an absolute steal off the waiver wire.

Mariota probably isn't one of the 12 best starting quarterbacks in the league, but he should be a backup and can provide great insurance if you need to start him.