Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 5: Flex, PPR Advice for Fringe Fantasy Football Stars

Every fantasy draft pick is important, and the fourth week of the NFL season provided some great examples of why. Some of the week's top performers—like Jameis Winston, Jarvis Landry and Jordan Howard—were players who likely didn't get picked early in your fantasy draft.

Some of them may have even been sitting on your bench, which can spark one of the worst feelings in fantasy. Anyone who has played fantasy for long has started the wrong fringe player en route to a loss at least once.

A strong performance can be hard to predict—no one saw Howard getting three touchdowns against the Green Bay Packers—but often, the clues are there.

Landry, for example, faced a Baltimore Ravens team that was giving up an average of 290.3 passing yards per game—and had Odell Beckham Jr. drawing No. 1 corner Marlon Humphrey. The result was an eight-catch, 167-yard outing.

Here, we'll examine the fringe starters who have favorable matchups and situations in Week 5 and those who do not.

Start 'Em: Jacoby Brissett, QB, Indianapolis Colts

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Believe it or not, but Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett has been a fairly reliable fantasy starter this season. He's thrown three touchdowns in two of his four outings and only has two interceptions on the year.

The yards haven't always been there for Brissett, though—he's averaging 227 per game—but that should change in Week 5. Why? Because the Colts are going up against Patrick Mahomes and the high-octane Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs are averaging 33.8 points per game, which means Brissett will likely have to pass early and often to keep pace on the scoreboard. Fortunately, Kansas City is also giving up an average of 258.8 passing yards and 23.5 points, so he should have at least some success doing so.

Sit 'Em: Daniel Jones, QB, New York Giants

Rookie quarterback Daniel Jones has played well enough to draw some fantasy attention. In fact, he's owned in 66 percent of Yahoo leagues, according to FantasyPros. He hasn't been particularly consistent, though, and he's had two turnovers in each of his two starts.

Last week, Jones passed for just 225 yards with a touchdown and two picks.

This week, Jones will face a Minnesota Vikings team that has been fairly strong defensively. Minnesota has allowed just 218.5 passing yards per game and has 11 sacks and three interceptions on the season.

Scoring on the Vikings has also proved difficult, as they've allowed just 15.2 points per game.

Start 'Em: Jordan Howard, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

Don't expect Howard to equal his three-touchdown performance from last week, but he should have a strong outing against the New York Jets.

The Jets have actually been good against the run this season, allowing just 88.7 yards per game on the ground. However, they've also been terrible on offense, averaging a mere 11 points. They don't appear likely to have starting quarterback Sam Darnold back in the lineup either.

"There are a lot of boxes we have to check before we can say, 'Hey, we're rolling on Sunday.'" head coach Adam Gase said, per ESPN's Rich Cimini.

The powerful Howard gives Philadelphia its best chance to grind this game out on the ground and get out with a win. Expect him to see plenty of carries in the second half.

Sit 'Em: Wayne Gallman, RB, New York Giants

The Giants were able to survive without Saquon Barkley last week, thanks to some nifty running by backup Wayne Gallman. He finished with six receptions, 108 combined rushing and receiving yards and two touchdowns.

However, Gallman was going against a Washington defense that ranks 28th against the run (147.5 yards allowed) and 31st in scoring defense (29.5 points). He'll face a whole different class of defense in Week 5.

Minnesota has allowed an average of just 94.2 rushing yards per game and 3.7 yards per carry.

Gallman still has some PPR value—he could see a half-dozen catches once again—but don't expect him to shine.

Start 'Em: Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland Browns

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Landry was a PPR stud in Week 4, and he should be again in Week 5, provided he clears concussion protocol.

According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Landry was recently overheard telling a teammate that he "feels great, 100 percent."

The Cleveland Browns will face a better defense against the San Francisco 49ers than they faced in Baltimore. Once again, however, Landry will benefit from having Beckham draw a lot of the defensive focus. This is the position Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Diontae Johnson was in two weeks ago, and he caught three passes for 52 yards and a score.

Landry is a bigger PPR threat than Johnson.

There's some risk with Landry, as he won't play until Monday night. If he hasn't been cleared by Sunday morning, go a different route.

Sit 'Em: A.J. Brown, WR, Tennessee Titans

Tennessee Titans wideout A.J. Brown showed in Week 4 just why he was a highly coveted player in the draft. He is a legitimate downfield playmaker, and he finished with 94 yards and two touchdowns on just three receptions.

The problem with Brown is he's been wildly inconsistent, as has Tennessee's passing attack overall. Brown produced another 100 yards in Week 1, but he had just four catches for 29 yards in Weeks 2 and 3 combined.

Therefore, Brown should be considered a boom-or-bust player for the time being, and Week 5 is a bust-worthy matchup. The Buffalo Bills are allowing an average of just 196.5 passing yards per game and 5.1 yards per attempt.

Brown's fantasy value is dependent on the big play, and those have been hard to find against Buffalo this season.

Start 'Em: Will Dissly, TE, Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks tight end Will Dissly is quickly becoming a fantasy standout and a high-profile player.

"I'm hoping he continues where he's heading because he's going to be a star tight end for a long time in this league," quarterback Russell Wilson said of Dissly, per Curtis Crabtree of ProFootballTalk.com.

Dissly has found the end zone in each of his last three games, and he's caught at least five passes in those games as well. He's going up against a Los Angeles Rams team that just gave up 55 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he's a must-start in PPR formats.

Sit 'Em: Delanie Walker, TE, Tennessee Titans

Titans tight end Delanie Walker will have more PPR value this week than he showed in Week 4. He had just one reception against the Atlanta Falcons, which goes against his normal trend.

Over the first three weeks of the season, Walker averaged just over five receptions per game.  

If you have other options for the tight end or flex spot, however, Walker is a player you can safely bench. Everything that was previously mentioned about the Buffalo pass defense pertains to Walker's situation as well. He may get you four or five points based on receptions, but he's likely to provide little more than that.