Fantasy Football Week 5 Rankings: Guide for Top Players and Sleepers

Another week in the NFL means another week of upsets and exciting finishes. NFL Week 4 saw many high-scoring games, including the Houston Texans earning their first win of the season in a 37-34 finish against the Indianapolis Colts.

Fantasy owners of Derek Carr saw a nice surprise in his 400-plus yard and four-touchdown performance in the Oakland Raiders' 45-42 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

With the Washington Redskins and Carolina Panthers back in action, it looks set to be another week with favorable matchups and a few high-scoring games.

Take a look at the top 10 fantasy players for each position and some key sleepers.

Quarterbacks

1. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

2. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

3. Tom Brady, New England Patriots

4. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

4. Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers

5. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

6. Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

7. Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans

8. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

10. Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams

Sleeper: Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins

My apologies go out to anyone who started Ryan Tannehill last week against a New England Patriots team that finally took off. Tannehill left the field in the fourth quarter with 100 yards, an interception, a fumble and losing 38-0 to the Patriots.

Elise Amendola/Associated Press

After starting off the season with at least two touchdowns in each of the three games, Tannehill walked off the field to allow backup Brock Osweiler to come in and put points on the board for the Dolphins.

However, this week Tannehill will be going up against a team that has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to a quarterback. In Week 4, the Bengals gave up more than 400 yards and three touchdowns to Atlanta's Matt Ryan, whose team was 1-2 on the season at the time. This bodes well for a Dolphins team that desperately needs a win after the 38-7 loss to the Patriots, shaking them up after a 3-0 start to the season. 

While Tannehill is still not a QB1, he may be a decent QB2 choice this week—with the potential for a high-scoring game.

Running Backs

1. Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams

2. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints

3. Melvin Gordon, Las Angeles Chargers

4. Ezekiel Elliot, Dallas Cowboys

5. James Conner, Pittsburgh Steelers

6. Saquon Barkley, New York Giants

7. Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers

8. David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals

9. Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs

10. Marshawn Lynch, Oakland Raiders

Sleeper: T.J. Yeldon, Jacksonville Jaguars

Before last week's matchup versus the New York Jets, T.J. Yeldon had one touchdown on the season. He then exploded to combine for 100 yards rushing and receiving, as well as two touchdowns—one receiving and one rushing.

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

While this week he will be matching up against an undefeated Kansas City Chiefs team, Yeldon will likely have another opportunity for a breakout game. The Chiefs defense has given up at least 23 points in each of its four games so far this season and has only one fumble recovery. The Chiefs also give up the third-most fantasy points to running backs, which will work in Yeldon's favor as he comes off a successful Week 4 game.

The 3-1 Jaguars may be up against one of the only two undefeated teams left in the league, but they are not to be overlooked. Led by Blake Bortles—who is also coming off a monster week of 388 yards and two touchdowns—the Jaguars have a shot at the Chiefs if Bortles and Yeldon perform as they did last week.

Wide Receivers

1. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons

2. Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints

3. Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers

4. A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals

5. DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans

6. Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings

7. Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers

8. Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants

9. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers

10. Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers

Sleeper: Brandin Cooks, Los Angeles Rams

Brandin Cooks broke through in Week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings to score his first touchdown in a Rams uniform, adding 100-plus receiving yards along the way.

The Los Angeles Rams—the only other 4-0 team besides the Kansas City Chiefs—are looking to the former Patriot for a lot of targets and are seeing this pay off.

Harry How/Getty Images

Cooks has the most receiving yards on the team and has had at least 87 yards in each of his four contests—with two games over 100 yards. The Seattle Seahawks defense he is matching up against has been inconsistent against wide receivers, giving up 243 yards and two touchdowns to Denver receivers but only 108 yards to Dallas'.

However, with the Rams looking to continue their undefeated streak and Cooks coming off a hot performance against Minnesota, Cooks has the potential to find holes in the Seattle secondary and rack up yards and points again this week.

Tight Ends

1. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots

2. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

3. Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles

4. Jimmy Graham, Green Bay Packers

5. Jared Cook, Oakland Raiders

6. Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings

7. Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins

8. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

9. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns

10. Vance McDonald, Pittsburgh Steelers

Sleeper: Austin Hooper, Atlanta Falcons

David Goldman/Associated Press/Associated Press

The Atlanta Falcons just have one win so far on the season, and in that win they targeted Austin Hooper five times for 59 yards and a touchdown. Since then, they've gone on to lose in overtime to the New Orleans Saints and by one point to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Falcons aren't having trouble putting points on the board; they just can't keep the other team from scoring. Hooper has caught 80 percent of his targets but has only been targeted 15 times.

Hooper will be facing a Pittsburgh Steelers defense that has given up as many as 42 points and as little as 21. They have also given up the second-most points to tight ends—allowing two weeks of 100 plus yards and at least one touchdown. If Ryan targets Hooper in Sunday's matchup, the latter may see himself as a top performer alongside teammate Julio Jones.

All fantasy stats and rankings courtesy of ESPN Fantasy.