Fantasy Football Week 5 Sleepers at Every Position

We're just one month into the 2018 season, and already some fantasy owners are scrambling to save their seasons.

Maybe injuries have swept through your team—a sad tale that owners of Minnesota Vikings tailback Dalvin Cook and Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette could tell you all about.

Maybe draft picks just aren't panning out. Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals. Robby Anderson of the Jets. Demaryius Thomas of the Broncos. The number of prominent wide receivers who spent September on the side of a milk carton is as long as it is depressing.

However, while the season may not have started out like you planned, there's no giving up in fantasy football. It's not too late to turn things around. It's just a matter of scratching out a win or two. Getting back on track.

So shake off that slow start, and let's get on the comeback trail—with some undervalued, underrated and/or under-the-radar "sleeper" plays for Week 5.

Accountability Time

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Before we move on to the Week 5 sleepers, let's take a look back at how Week 4 unfolded.

I can take my lumps.

For the record, sleepers count as a "win" if they finish inside weekly starter territory in a 12-team point-per-reception fantasy league that starts one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, one defense and the always-popular "flex" play—a fairly standard setup.

Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants (255 passing yards, 5 rushing yards, 1 TD, 2-PT): Manning wasn't awful against the Saints, but even in a gravy matchup he wasn't great, either. He won't be getting recommended again any time soon. LOSS

Baker Mayfield, QB, Cleveland Browns (295 passing yards, 10 rushing yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 2 FL): Had Mayfield not committed those four turnovers, he may have cracked the top 12. But if frogs had wings, they wouldn't bump their butts when they hop. LOSS

Ryan Tannehill, QB, Miami Dolphins (100 passing yards, INT): Yes, you read that right. Tannehill had all of 100 passing yards in a blowout loss to the Patriots. This one sailed right past "loss" into "unmitigated disaster." LOSS

Royce Freeman, RB, Denver Broncos (8 carries, 67 yards, 1 TD): Freeman repeatedly gashed the Kansas City Chiefs on the ground Monday night. Why the Broncos only gave the rookie eight carries is beyond me. WIN

Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers (11 carries, 65 yards, 1 catch, 17 yards, 1 TD): There's little question that Jones is Green Bay's best tailback as a runner. The question now becomes whether he'll get a steady diet of touches. WIN

Antonio Callaway, WR, Cleveland Browns (3 catches, 54 yards): Callaway is getting targeted with regularity down the field. But until he converts more of those targets into catches, the rookie is going to be a shaky fantasy bet. LOSS

Christian Kirk, WR, Arizona Cardinals (4 catches, 28 yards, 1 carry, 7 yards): There's hope moving forward for Kirk, who dropped a deep pass against the Seahawks. But 35 total yards isn't going to cut it for fantasy owners. LOSS

Albert Wilson, WR, Miami Dolphins (4 catches, 19 yards, 1 carry, 2 yards): So much for Mr. Big Play. Don't give up totally on Wilson in deeper leagues, though—the entire Miami offense was hot garbage against the Patriots. LOSS

Ben Watson, TE, New Orleans Saints (1 catch, 23 yards): The tight end position is a steaming quagmire of confusion and disappointment right now. There's been a whole lot of swinging and missing by yours truly at that spot. LOSS

Green Bay Packers Defense/Special Teams (145 yards allowed, 7 sacks, 2 INT, 1 FR): I'd love to take credit for picking the No. 1 fantasy defense of Week 4. But in all honesty, the Bills get the credit here. That offense is patently offensive. WIN

WEEK 1: 3-7 (.300)

SEASON: 15-25 (.375)

Week 4 was ugly at every position but running back, but as has been the case more than once this year, a near-miss or two was sprinkled in.

When the horse knocks you off, you just have to climb back into the saddle.

Sleeper of the Week

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T.J. Yeldon, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars (at KC)

There are no doubt those who will dispute the "sleeper" status of Jacksonville Jaguars tailback T.J. Yeldon after he piled up 100 total yards and two touchdowns in last week's trouncing of the New York Jets.

But given the percentage of leagues in which Yeldon remains on the waiver wire, there's an alarming number of fantasy owners who are still snoozing on the 25-year-old.

Not owned at all in 15 percent of leagues? Wake up, people!

With bruising tailback Leonard Fournette still on the shelf, Yeldon has been asked to shoulder a much larger load on offense for the Jags—including 21 touches last week. As he told Phillip Heilman of the Florida Times-Union, he's perfectly happy doing just that.

"I know what type of player I am," Yeldon said. "I know what I can do on the field. No matter the circumstances, I'm always going to have my confidence. I’m just going to keep rocking and riding."

This week, the Jags play in Week 5's biggest matchup—a potential postseason preview in Kansas City against the Chiefs and their high-flying offense.

If any defense in the NFL can slow down Patrick Mahomes, it's the Jaguars'—but Jacksonville will no doubt also look to control the game's tempo by banging away on the ground against a Chiefs defense that was gashed with regularity by the Denver Broncos on Monday.

No team in the National Football League has given up more fantasy points to running backs this year than those Chiefs. If Yeldon is on your bench, he shouldn't be.

And if by some miraculous stroke of luck he's on the waiver wire, for the love of God and spaghetti and meatballs pick him up. There are more than a few big names I'd start Yeldon over in Week 5—including Kareem Hunt. 

Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans (at BUF)

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No one was beating down the door to draft Marcus Mariota of the Tennessee Titans in most fantasy leagues this summer. And even in the leagues where he was taken, Mariota got the gate in a number of them after an elbow injury led to a miserable start to his fourth season.

Heading into last week's matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, Mariota had thrown for all of 203 yards in two games with no touchdowns and two picks.

However, the lightbulb came on against the Eagles. Mariota was equal parts mobile and accurate, torching the defending Super Bowl champions for 344 yards and two scores while adding another 46 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Per Erik Bacharach of the Tennessean, Mariota said he's finally starting to feel like himself again.

"I'm feeling better," he said. "This athletic training staff here has done a great job of finding ways to make it feel better, continuing to work on the strength ... it just comes down to grip strength."

The next test of Mariota's elbow comes Sunday in Buffalo against the reverse-juggernaut that is the Bills. Not a lot has gone right in Buffalo this season.

For one afternoon in Minneapolis it was different, but for the most part the Bills have looked the part of the worst team in football. And while they haven't been terrible at defending quarterbacks, they haven't been good, either—they've allowed the 13th-most fantasy points to the position.

Mariota is probably not going to win AFC Offensive Player of the Week again Sunday, but he is going to take another step toward re-establishing his fantasy relevance.

Alex Smith, QB, Washington Redskins (at NO)

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So far so good for Alex Smith and the Washington Redskins—at least from an NFL perspective.

After trading for Smith and handing the veteran a lucrative contract extension in the offseason, Smith has held up his end of the deal. Heading into Monday night's showdown with the Saints in New Orleans, the 2-1 Redskins are surprisingly in first place in the NFC East.

However, from a fantasy perspective Smith isn't exactly lighting it up. The 34-year-old is completing 68.8 percent of his passes, but with just 767 passing yards and four touchdowns over three games, Smith ranks outside the top 20 quarterbacks in terms of fantasy points per game.

Wise fantasy owners will ignore that slow(ish) start in Week 5. Smith's recent past isn't nearly as important as the present and near future.

The Saints are a legitimate Super Bowl contender with a potent offense, but the defense is another matter. Through four games, the Saints are 30th in the NFL in pass defense, surrendering 311 passing yards per game. New Orleans is also allowing the third-most fantasy points to the quarterback position this season.

With the Redskins coming off their bye, Smith has had two full weeks to prepare for a game in which he's well-aware Washington is going to need to throw the ball to beat Drew Brees. Games in the Superdome aren't won in the 20s.

Smith is going to finish well inside the top 10 among fantasy quarterbacks in Week 5.

He may even crack the top five.

James Conner, RB, PIttsburgh Steelers (vs. ATL)

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Some may dispute the inclusion of James Conner as a "sleeper." But after a huge Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, Conner has been decidedly pedestrian. He has just 97 rushing yards over the last three games combined, and the Steelers rank last in the AFC in rushing.

Conner is averaging fewer than 11 carries a game over that span as well, but according to Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, head coach Mike Tomlin insists that the Steelers haven't lost faith in the young ball-carrier.

"James Conner has been really solid," Tomlin said. "Both with the ball in his hands and without."

If that's the case, then Conner needs a heck of a lot more than 11 carries Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

This game features a pair of teams in full-on desperation mode. A loss by the Steelers at home (again) could put them in a hole that's just too deep to dig out of.

Both teams also have all kinds of problems defensively. Pittsburgh heads into a meeting with one of the league's most potent passing attacks and the NFL's 29th-ranked pass defense.

The odds of the Steelers stopping Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley (or even slowing them down) aren't especially good.

However, the Falcons can't march down the field if they don't have the ball.

Atlanta's defense is no better than Pittsburgh's—maybe worse. An injury-ravaged Falcons D is 25th in the league on the ground, giving up 119 yards a game.

If ever there was an afternoon for the Steelers to make a concerted effort to feed Conner the rock, this is it.

Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers (at DET)

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Generally speaking, I've been reluctant to repeat names in this column over the last couple of years. Don't want it to be a weekly rundown of the same players over and over.

But the reality is it was bound to happen at some point—especially at running back. It's nigh impossible to fly under the radar at a position for which fantasy owners are constantly scouring the waiver wire for anyone with a pulse.

Aaron Jones of the Green Bay Packers showed one last week, finishing as a rare "win" for me in a rough week on the heels of 11 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown against the Bills.

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers compared Jones to ex-Packer Ryan Grant while speaking to reporters.

"You kind of forget, when he's out, the kind of dynamic abilities he can bring to a game with his running style," Rodgers said. "He's a different type of runner than we've had here in a while. ... He's probably a little more elusive in the open field than Ryan was, and maybe slightly greater top-end speed. But you've got to find ways to get him the ball."

Jamaal Williams and Ty Montgomery are still going to figure into Green Bay's plans, just as they did against the Bills. But in leading all Green Bay RBs in snaps last week, Jones made something clear to anyone with eyes—he's the most dynamic runner on the roster.

And that should mean good things for a second week in a row when Jones and the Packers travel to face a Detroit run defense allowing 157.8 yards a game on the ground.

Jamison Crowder, WR, Washington Redskins (at NO)

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Consider this a continuation of Alex Smith's inclusion earlier in this column.

Over the first three games of the 2018 season, the Washington passing game hasn't clicked. Jamison Crowder has been especially quiet, managing just nine catches for 79 yards and a touchdown.

However, per Ananth Pandian of Redskins Wire, Washington quarterback Alex Smith insisted that he and his receiving corps are more than capable of getting things turned around.

"I feel really good about it," Smith said. "Those guys all work extremely hard. They're all crazy talented. I think it's one of those things that you just kind of … it's a process that never ends. You're constantly working at that. You don't know when that opportunity is going to present itself. I think all those things, it comes in bunches. You keep working."

It's a safe bet that much of the team's emphasis over the bye week was getting the downfield passing game working. You aren't going into New Orleans and beating the Saints by dumping the ball off to the tailback over and over.

Crowder is not just the best wideout on the Redskins roster—he's the bridge between going deep and checkdowns to the running backs and tight ends. The team's best intermediate receiver over the middle.

No team in the NFL has allowed more fantasy points to wide receivers this year than the Saints, and Crowder's role in the slot will keep him out of the crosshairs of top cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

Shake off Crowder's slow start and get him in lineups in Week 5. This is the game where he wakes up from "sleeper" status to assume the upside WR3 role he was pegged for before the season.

Jordy Nelson, WR, Oakland Raiders (at LAC)

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There was a time when Jordy Nelson was a fantasy WR1—a player worthy of first-round consideration on draft day.

However, those days looked to have long passed the 33-year-old by. Over the first two weeks of the season, Nelson caught just five passes for 43 yards. Coming off a disappointing final year with the Packers, some fantasy owners declared Nelson over the hill and cut him loose.

But as it turns out, reports of Nelson's demise were greatly exaggerated. Over his last two games, Nelson has turned it on with 11 catches for 221 yards and a pair of scores. After exploding in Week 3, Nelson backed that performance up with a 4/48/1 line against the Cleveland Browns.

It's not an earth-shattering day, but fantasy owners hard-up for some points at the wideout spot will take it 10 days out of 10.

So what changed for Nelson?

As Mike Tagliere pointed out for FantasyPros, of late Nelson's been spending a lot more time in the slot.

"It was good to see Nelson used in the slot once again in Week 4, as he ran 49 percent of his routes from there, while Seth Roberts ran just 20 routes all game. On Nelson's nine targets out of the slot, he's caught seven of them for 124 yards and a touchdown, so maybe it's a thing going forward. He'll see a lot of Desmond King this week, which is a good thing, because King has still yet to allow an incomplete pass while covering the slot. 14-of-14 targets have been completed for 116 yards, though no touchdowns just yet."

Partly as a result of King's struggles, the Chargers are sixth in PPR fantasy points given up to wide receivers.

Sometimes you just have to keep riding the hot hand.

Mohamed Sanu, WR, Atlanta Falcons (at PIT)

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While speaking with ESPN's Vaughn McClure, Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian had nothing but good things to say about veteran wideout Mohamed Sanu.

"Mo's 'Steady Eddie.' We know what we're going to get out of him. He's a very, very bright football player. He's got a high football IQ, extremely competitive. Some of the best hands I've ever seen. [He] can make competitive catches, especially at the critical moments."

Sanu isn't the No. 1 receiver for the Falcons—that would be that Jones guy. I think his first name is Julio.

Given the way rookie Calvin Ridley has been tearing it up of late and the confidence Matt Ryan is showing in him, Sanu may not even be the team's No. 2. He has three more targets than Ridley, but momentum has swung the last couple of weeks.

However, Sanu isn't exactly cat food, either. The seventh-year pro has been on a mini streak of his own, with 10 catches for 147 yards and a touchdown over the last two weeks.

On Sunday, the desperate 1-3 Falcons travel to Pittsburgh to face the equally desperate 1-2-1 Steelers. While there are many things the Steelers do well, defending the pass isn't one of them. Pittsburgh ranks 29th in pass defense, and only two teams are allowing more PPR fantasy points to wide receivers.

Jones will get the lion's share of defensive attention. Then the Steelers will likely focus on the red-hot Ridley, who already has six scores this year. They may well all but forget that Sanu is even out there—until he burns them.

Sometimes it's good to be third fiddle.

Ricky Seals-Jones, TE, Arizona Cardinals (at SF)

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Trying to hit on a "sleeper" tight end this year is a bit like attempting to pop a balloon with a cooked egg noodle—which is ironic, given that injuries have chewed a hole in the position you could drive a truck through.

At first glance, Ricky Seals-Jones of the Arizona Cardinals doesn't look like the type who will break my oh-fer in tight end recommendations this season.

In four games this season, the second-year pro has caught just 10 passes for 123 yards with a touchdown. His single-game high in catches is just four, and his yardage apex in a game is just 52.

Those are not inspirational statistics.

However, that yardage high came last week in Josh Rosen's first start at quarterback for the Cardinals, offering a measure of optimism that the young quarterback has confidence in his tight end.

Most of the confidence for fantasy owners in Week 5 though comes from the matchup. Over the first month of the 2018 season, the San Francisco 49ers have allowed the eighth-most PPR fantasy points to tight ends.

More importantly, in each of San Francisco's four games this season, the Niners have surrendered a touchdown pass to a tight end. 

All this isn't to say that I'll be grinning ear to ear when I set my lineups this week in leagues in which I'm starting Seals-Jones.

But I won't be swearing under my breath, either—and sometimes you have to take what you can get.

Tennessee Titans Defense/Special Teams (at BUF)

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A month into the 2018 season, a handy-dandy trend has emerged that all but guarantees success with streaming fantasy defenses.

Find whoever plays the Buffalo Bills that week, and roll them out.

With the exception of a Week 3 aberration in Minnesota that I'm not sure actually happened (it may have been a mass hallucination is all I'm saying), the Bills have been a goldmine for fantasy defenses.

The Bills are last in the AFC in both total offense (220.8 yards per game) and scoring (12.5 points per game). In four games, the Bills have allowed a staggering 21 sacks (most in the league) and have turned the ball over seven times (third-most in the NFL).

Twice in four games, Buffalo has been held out of the end zone.

Given all those stats, it's not a stunner that the Bills are giving up the most fantasy points to team defenses—by a sizable margin.

The Titans have a middle-of-the-pack defense in terms of yards allowed, but they are sixth in the league in scoring defense, surrendering just 18.3 points per game. The Titans are also tied for seventh in sacks with 17 and rank inside the top half of the NFL in takeaways.

It's possible that this play won't pan out—that we'll see another fever dream like the Vikings game.

It's much more likely, however, that Josh Allen and the Bills offense will struggle mightily again and the Titans will feast.

So pull up a chair and eat.

Snap counts via Pro Football Reference.