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

Whether your fantasy football team is cruising at 4-0 or facing an uphill battle at 0-4, it's never a bad time to do some research, scour the waiver wire and consider some sleepers.

Fantasy football teams always need depth to overcome potential injuries to star players or unexpected ineffectiveness, or to just find a way to get better. That's often the key to winning a fantasy football championship rather than coming up short.

With Week 5 of the NFL season coming up, here's a look at the positional rankings for this week's games, along with some sleepers to consider playing. Each of the sleepers is available in at least 50 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues. 

Quarterbacks

1. Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes vs. Indianapolis Colts

2. Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson at Pittsburgh Steelers

3. Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson vs. Atlanta Falcons

4. Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson vs. Los Angeles Rams

5. Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott vs. Green Bay Packers

6. Indianapolis Colts QB Jacoby Brissett at Kansas City Chiefs

7. Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray at Cincinnati Bengals

8. Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan at Houston Texans

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston at New Orleans Saints

10. Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers at Dallas Cowboys

11. New England Patriots QB Tom Brady at Washington Redskins

12. Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz vs. New York Jets

Sleeper: Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals QB

Don Wright/Associated Press

Sure, Dalton is the starting quarterback of an 0-4 team that just scored three points on Monday night, but this play would be more about the opponent he is going up against.

On Sunday, the Bengals host the Cardinals, who have struggled defensively while starting 0-3-1. Arizona has allowed at least 23 points in each of its first four games, which includes 38 to Carolina and 27 to Seattle in home contests the past two weeks.

Dalton may be coming off his worst performance of the season, but that can partially be attributed to the Bengals' offensive line getting handled by the Steelers' pass rush.

The 31-year-old had some solid showings earlier in the year, including when he passed for 418 yards and two touchdowns in Cincinnati's season opener at Seattle.

Dalton may not be the top fantasy QB this week, but he should put up some decent points, making him a solid streaming option if your starter is on a bye.

Running Backs

1. Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

2. Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook at New York Giants

3. New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

4. Dallas Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott vs. Green Bay Packers

5. Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb at San Francisco 49ers

6. Arizona Cardinals RB David Johnson at Cincinnati Bengals

7. New York Jets RB Le'Veon Bell at Philadelphia Eagles

8. Los Angeles Rams RB Todd Gurley at Seattle Seahawks

9. Jacksonville Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette at Carolina Panthers

10. Pittsburgh Steelers RB James Conner vs. Baltimore Ravens

11. Tennessee Titans RB Derrick Henry vs. Buffalo Bills

12. New York Giants RB Wayne Gallman vs. Minnesota Vikings

13. Los Angeles Chargers RB Austin Ekeler vs. Denver Broncos

14. Chicago Bears RB David Montgomery at Oakland Raiders

15. Cincinnati Bengals RB Joe Mixon vs. Arizona Cardinals

16. Baltimore Ravens RB Mark Ingram at Pittsburgh Steelers

17. Denver Broncos RB Phillip Lindsay at Los Angeles Chargers

18. Seattle Seahawks RB Chris Carson vs. Los Angeles Rams

19. Indianapolis Colts RB Marlon Mack at Kansas City Chiefs

20. Kansas City Chiefs RB Damien Williams vs. Indianapolis Colts

Sleeper: Ronald Jones, Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Jones has been splitting carries with Peyton Barber in the Buccaneers' backfield, but the past two weeks have shown he may be the Tampa Bay running back to rely on moving forward.

In the Buccaneers' 55-point showing against the Rams this past Sunday, the 22-year-old had his best fantasy day of the season so far, rushing for 70 yards and a touchdown while adding a 12-yard reception. It was the first time he has found the end zone this year.

Jones had more carries in Week 4 (19) than he did the first two weeks of the season combined (17), and he's proved he should continue to get a decent workload. Plus, Barber has been unimpressive, averaging 3.4 yards over 53 carries.

The Buccaneers are playing the Saints, which means they could be in another game with a lot of points being put on the board. So feel confident about plugging in Jones, who should have another solid day.

Wide Receivers

1. Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones at Houston Texans

2. Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen vs. Denver Broncos

3. New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

4. Cleveland Browns WR Odell Beckham Jr. at San Francisco 49ers

5. Los Angeles Rams WR Cooper Kupp at Seattle Seahawks

6. Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins vs. Atlanta Falcons

7. Indianapolis Colts WR T.Y. Hilton at Kansas City Chiefs

8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans at New Orleans Saints

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin at New Orleans Saints

10. Seattle Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett vs. Los Angeles Rams

11. Dallas Cowboys WR Amari Cooper vs. Green Bay Packers

12. Kansas City Chiefs WR Sammy Watkins vs. Indianapolis Colts

13. Cincinnati Bengals WR Tyler Boyd vs. Arizona Cardinals

14. New England Patriots WR Julian Edelman at Washington Redskins

15. Los Angeles Rams WR Robert Woods at Seattle Seahawks

16. Cleveland Browns WR Jarvis Landry at San Francisco 49ers

17. Los Angeles Rams WR Brandin Cooks at Seattle Seahawks

18. Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald at Cincinnati Bengals

19. Minnesota Vikings WR Adam Thielen at New York Giants

20. Green Bay Packers WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling at Dallas Cowboys

Sleeper: Phillip Dorsett, New England Patriots WR

Ron Schwane/Associated Press

There should be plenty of targets to go around for the Patriots this Sunday when they travel to Washington for a favorable matchup against the struggling Redskins.

New England is 4-0 and Washington is 0-4, but that's not the only reason Dorsett seems like a solid play this week.

The Redskins have been bad defensively, allowing 118 points through four games, which is second-worst in the NFL behind only the Dolphins. That's translated to fantasy, too, as only the Eagles have allowed more fantasy points to wide receivers than Washington.

Dorsett, 26, has been inconsistent, but it's encouraging he received nine targets and was on the field for 40 of 65 snaps against the Bills last weekend. He may have only had two receptions for 10 yards, but he should better capitalize on those opportunities against the Redskins.

Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon may have solid games, but expect Dorsett to also be heavily in the mix.

Tight Ends

1. Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce vs. Indianapolis Colts

2. Baltimore Ravens TE Mark Andrews at Pittsburgh Steelers

3. New York Giants TE Evan Engram vs. Minnesota Vikings

4. Oakland Raiders TE Darren Waller vs. Chicago Bears

5. San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle vs. Cleveland Browns

6. Philadelphia Eagles TE Zach Ertz vs. New York Jets

7. Atlanta Falcons TE Austin Hooper at Houston Texans

8. Carolina Panthers TE Greg Olsen vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

9. Tennessee Titans TE Delanie Walker vs. Buffalo Bills

10. Green Bay Packers TE Jimmy Graham at Dallas Cowboys

11. Seattle Seahawks TE Will Dissly vs. Los Angeles Rams

12. Dallas Cowboys TE Jason Witten vs. Green Bay Packers

Sleeper: Jimmy Graham, Green Bay Packers TE

Graham had only three receptions for 30 yards through three games, and all of those came in the season opener. He didn't record a catch in Weeks 2 and 3, as he played through a groin injury in the latter contest.

However, the 32-year-old bounced back against the Eagles last Thursday, nabbing six receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown. And with not a ton of great tight ends available in most fantasy leagues, that's a great week for a lower-tier player at the position.

Graham had nine targets last week, which was behind only Davante Adams for Green Bay. And Adams is dealing with turf toe, so that could lead to even more action for the Miami product this weekend.

It's also a solid matchup for Packers players, as their game against the Cowboys could feature a lot of points and be a competitive back-and-forth contest. Aaron Rodgers will likely have to pass a lot to keep up with Dallas, which is good for Graham's value this week.