Fantasy Football Week 5 Rankings: Examining Lineup Options After Injury Reports

Injuries are almost always a factor in every week of the football season, and that is the case once again in NFL Week 5.

However, it's not an issue at the quarterback position, where none of the major injuries are among the game's top signal callers.

Yes, Aaron Rodgers is playing with a balky knee, due to a hit that he absorbed in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears, but he has remained in the lineup and will be there this week when the Packers face the Detroit Lions on the road.

Ben Roethlisberger, the top-ranked quarterback this week as the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare to face the Atlanta Falcons, always takes a slew of hits and is regularly sore and bruised, but that's not the kind of situation that impacts Roethlisberger or his fantasy owners. 

Here's a look at the top-10 players at each fantasy position, with a potential replacement—owned by less than 50 percent of the fantasy players in Yahoo leagues—to target on the waiver wire in case of injuries or performance factors. 

Quarterbacks

1. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT vs. ATL
2. Drew Brees, NO vs. Wash
3. Matt Ryan, ATL at PIT
4. Aaron Rodgers GB at DET
5. Deshaun Watson, HOU vs. DAL
6. Philip Rivers, LAC vs. OAK
7. Jared Goff LAR at SEA
8. Patrick Mahomes, KC vs. JAC
9. Kirk Cousins MIN at PHI
10. Carson Wentz, PHI vs. MIN

Roethlisberger and the Steelers have not come close to playing their best football, but the Atlanta Falcons defense could change that. The Falcons have given up an average of 40 points in each of their last two home games, and now they must face an angry Steelers team on the road.

Drew Brees playing at home on a Monday night is an excellent fantasy proposition as he is completing 75.8 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns and no interceptions. The Redskins rank third on defense and third against the pass, but stopping Brees at home is one of the most difficult assignments in the NFL.

While the Falcons will take a 1-3 mark into their Week 5 game at Pittsburgh, Matt Ryan has been remarkably productive. He is averaging 314.8 yards per game and has already thrown 10 TD passes.

Waiver pickup

There are a number of quality quarterbacks who are owned by fewer than 50 percent of the owners in Yahoo fantasy football leagues, including Derek Carr, Joe Flacco, Marcus Mariota, Dak Prescott and Baker Mayfield.

Our choice is Flacco, who is owned by just 29 percent of the Yahoo owners. The Baltimore Ravens are off to an excellent start, winning three of their first four games. Much of that is on Flacco, who is averaging 303.8 yards per game and has eight TD passes.

The Ravens should be able to move the ball without much of a problem against the Cleveland Browns, and Flacco should be quite productive.

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Running backs

1. Todd Gurley, LAR at SEA
2. Melvin Gordon, LAC vs. OAK
3. Alvin Kamara, NO vs. WAS
4. Saquon Barkley, NYG at CAR
5. Ezekiel Elliott, DAL at HOU
6. Mark Ingram, NO vs. WAS
7. Kareem Hunt, KC vs. JAC
8. Christian McCaffrey, CAR vs. NYG
9. David Johnson, ARI at SF
10. Marshawn Lynch, OAK at LAC

It's no surprise to see Todd Gurley at the top of the running back rankings because he has become the best in the position in the NFL.

He battled Le'Veon Bell for that title last year, but the Steelers running back is still holding out and not in a position to make a case for himself. Gurley excels as a runner and a receiver, and his presence allows quarterback Jared Goff to feel much more relaxed.

Gurley should be able to exert his will against a Seattle Seahawks defense that is a shell of what it once was and has lost Earl Thomas to a broken foot.

Melvin Gordon has an excellent matchup against the Oakland Raiders, and he comes into the game with two rushing touchdowns and two more as a receiver.

Alvin Kamara is a brilliant combination of speed and power for the New Orleans Saints. He has rushed for 275 yards and five touchdowns, and he also has 336 receiving yards and another touchdown. He has a bit of a knee injury, but it shouldn't bother him on Monday night.

Keep your eye on Devonta Freeman of the Falcons and Joe Mixon of the Cincinnati Bengals as far as the injury report is concerned.

Freeman is coming off an MCL sprain but has returned to practice as the Falcons get ready for the Steelers. Mixon is off the injury report, but he is coming off meniscus surgery, and Inside Injuries projects that he is at a high injury risk.

Waiver pickup 

The choice of waiver-wire running backs is not special heading into Week 5, but we will take our chances and gamble on LeGarrette Blount of the Detroit Lions.

Blount is owned by just 12 percent of Yahoo fantasy owners, and he has just 95 rushing yards and a 2.7 yards per carry average.

However, Blount can be a goal-line hammer if the Lions find themselves inside the Green Bay five-yard line, and we will take that all-or-nothing gamble. Blount rushed for 18 touchdowns two years ago, so he is capable of finding the end zone.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Wide receivers

1. Antonio Brown, PIT vs. ATL
2. Julio Jones, ATL at PIT
3. Michael Thomas, NO vs. WAS
4. DeAndre Hopkins, HOU vs. DAL
5. Cooper Kupp, LAR at SEA
6. Keenan Allen, LAC vs. OAK
7. Tyreek Hill, KC vs JAC
8. Odell Beckham Jr., NYG at CAR
9. Adam Thielen, MIN at PHI
10. Randall Cobb, GB at DET 

Antonio Brown should have wide-open spaces against the Falcons, and this could be the week that he has one of his signature games that includes more than 150 receiving yards and two or three touchdowns.

Julio Jones may no longer be the second-best receiver in the NFL, but the thought of competing against Brown should bring out his best effort. Jones has 29 receptions (46 targets) for 502 yards, but he has not been in the end zone once this season.

Michael Thomas is a brilliant receiver who can win the battle with his physical advantages, but he also has the skills to get the best of any defense, including the Redskins'.

As far as injuries are concerned, Green Bay's Davante Adams has a calf injury, and that could be a factor as the Packers go to Detroit Sunday. He was downgraded in the middle of the week, and that's often a difficult situation for a normally productive skill-position player.

Other wide receiver injuries that should concern fantasy owners include Doug Baldwin (knee), Sammy Watkins (hamstring) and Geronimo Allison (concussion).

Waiver pickup

Mohamed Sanu of the Atlanta Falcons should be in a favorable situation this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sanu is owned by 29 percent of Yahoo's fantasy owners, and he has caught 16 passes for 184 yards and one touchdown this season.

Sanu has become the No. 3 receiver on the team as Calvin Ridley has bypassed him, so he should not have to deal with anything other than single coverage against the Steelers.

Kansas City Chiefs Offense Runs Through NFL's Most Dominant TE Travis Kelce

Tight ends

1. Travis Kelce, KC vs. JAC
2. Zach Ertz, PHI vs. MIN
3. Jared Cook, OAK at LAC
4. Jordan Reed, WAS at NO
5. Jimmy Graham, GB at DET
6. George Kittle, SF vs. ARI
7. Vance McDonald, PIT vs. ATL
8. Kyle Rudolph, MIN at PHI
9. Antonio Gates, LAC vs. OAK
10. Benjamin Watson, NO vs. WAS

We see Kelce as the best tight end in the league right now, bypassing Rob Gronkowski. That opinion is not shared by many others, but it is harder for the New England tight end to get off the line of scrimmage and get open.

Zach Ertz has a chance to do a lot of damage against a Minnesota Vikings defense that is not performing at the expected level, while Jared Cook has proved he can make the tough catches in traffic for the Oakland Raiders.

Waiver pickup

Tyler Eifert of the Cincinnati Bengals saw his season come to an end in Week 4 as a result of a gruesome broken ankle, and we are looking at his backup Tyler Kroft as a waiver-wire pickup.

Kroft (3 percent Yahoo ownership) has just four catches to this point in the season, but he caught 42 passes for 404 yards and seven touchdowns a year ago. He should step up in Eifert's absence.