Fantasy Football WR Rankings: Several Sleepers to Lead Your Team to a Victory

Week 5 Wide Receiver Player Rankings

30. David Nelson (vs. Phi)

Nelson is looking pretty good as a big 6’5” receiver and could easily slot in as your WR3/flex this week. He’s being targeted quite a bit, averaging seven-and-a-half per game, so he’ll at least have a shot at putting up some good numbers.

29. Nate Washington (@ Pit)

Nate didn’t show much in his debut as a WR1, catching just two passes for 62 yards. However, every player deserves a second chance to prove himself, though it won’t be any easier against the Steelers' No. 1-ranked pass D.

I expect that he’ll do better than last week, but not by much.

28. Jacoby Jones (vs. Oak)

Jacoby will get his chance to shine this weekend with Andre Johnson out of the lineup…if he’s healthy, of course. His bum knee has been bothering him for a few weeks now, but I expect him to shake it off and get in there.

In the final two weeks of 2010 when Andre was on the bench, Jacoby was targeted 14 times and caught 10 balls for 185 yards. I don’t expect the Texans to throw all that much this weekend with the Raiders being so porous against the rush, but Jones should be able to put up WR3-type numbers with a little upside if Houston happens to fall behind. 

27. Plaxico Burress (@ NE)

Plaxico has grabbed a couple of touchdown passes thus far, but that’s about it. He can be used as a low-end WR3 or a flex from week to week, but you really shouldn’t expect too much.

Rex Ryan claims he wants to return to the “ground-and-pound” approach, but I don’t think that philosophy starts until Week 6 as the Jets will have to pass the ball to keep up with the high-flying Patriots. Burress will have some pretty decent potential this week because of it.

26. Denarius Moore (@ Hou)

Houston will be concentrating on trying to stop Darren McFadden this weekend (which they won’t), so I expect Denarius to be open quite a bit on Sunday. Rookie or not, Moore has the heart and will of a champion out there and makes the most of every ball thrown to him.

If Campbell targets him eight or more times this game, expect huge numbers. If not, he’ll end up with mere WR3 stats for your team.

25. Mike Williams—TB (@ SF)

Ugh! Will Mike Williams ever get going this season? Maybe not, as opposing defenses know that he’s the Buccaneers' only real threat as a receiver at this point and have no problem throwing double-coverage on him all game long. That being said, Josh Freeman is still trying to get him the ball and will continue to do so until Williams breaks out.

Tampa won’t be able to run on the ‘Niners top-ranked rush D, but against this terrible San Francisco pass D, this could be the week Big Mike finally makes good on his hype.

24. Sidney Rice (@ NYG)

After putting up 100 yards in his first game as a Seahawk, Rice came back the next week to put up 79 yards and a touchdown. Basically, the guy is really,  really good if he can make Tarvaris Jackson look like a starting QB.

It will be tougher to do so against this Giants defense than it was against the likes of Arizona and Atlanta, but he’ll definitely get enough targets to have a shot at some good numbers. He’s a good WR3 this week, but don’t expect too much.

23. Lance Moore (@ Car)

Carolina’s pass D is ranked near the top for one reason—their rush D is awful! The Saints will look to exploit that this weekend but will need to pass at least a little bit to keep the Panthers on their toes.

I can definitely see a bunch of play-action slants coming to Moore over the middle this Sunday with the likelihood he makes at least one big play at some point.

22. Deion Branch (vs. NYJ)

Branch has just one catch over the past two weeks, but he made it count,  pulling it down in the end zone against Oakland last weekend. In the two games he played against the Jets last year, Branch was targeted 17 times but only caught eight of them for 123 yards. The bonus is, he caught a touchdown in each of those games.

With as well as Welker and the New England tight ends have been playing this year, New York might forget about Branch a bit and you can bet your bottom dollar, Tom Brady will notice and take full advantage.

21. Percy Harvin (vs. Ari)

The Vikings finally got Harvin more touches this past weekend, but they need to do even better with it if they ever want to win a game. It doesn’t matter if he’s running the ball or catching it; Harvin should get at least 10 touches in this one and might even get as many as 15 or so against an Arizona team that's been giving up the world to opposing receivers.

If he does, the fantasy stats will finally be there this week and legitimize the draft pick you used on him.

20. Victor Cruz (vs. Sea)

Manningham is still the lead dog for the WR2 spot in the Giants lineup, but Cruz is playing too well right now not to play him a bunch. The guy is gold every time he touches the ball and is a threat to take it to the house on any given play.

If Seattle rolls their coverage to Nicks’ side of the field, Cruz could be in for a monster game. 

19. Eric Decker (vs. SD)

Decker has risen up the rankings rather quickly as he’s performed quite well as the Donkeys' WR2. He’s averaging nine targets per game thus far and should easily see that many again this week, so play him as a low-end WR2 or as a WR3 with potential to bring back nice returns.

18. Brandon Lloyd (vs. SD)

Despite WR Eric Decker getting a ton of Kyle Orton’s attention lately, Brandon Lloyd is still clearly the most talented guy for him to throw to, and he will against the Chargers. My guess is that Denver will try to run the ball early, but if they end up going down by a score or two, Orton will have to chuck up another 40 passes to have a shot at winning the game.

Either way, Lloyd should get around 10 targets and could come up with his first touchdown of the year seeing that he had a touchdown in each game against the Broncos last season.

17. A.J. Green (@ Jax)

A.J. is starting to look as good as everyone thought he would before the season began. He comes down with balls that most couldn’t even get to and seems to gain separation at will. Being a rookie and having another rookie tossing him the ball, he’ll likely be inconsistent throughout the season, but against a low-level team like the Jaguars, I’m betting on the better half of that inconsistency.

When Dalton gets him 10-plus targets, like he should this weekend, Green goes over 100 yards. It’s that simple.

16. DeSean Jackson (@ Buf)

DeSean went ballistic last week against a real bad 49ers secondary, catching six balls for 171 yards, but don’t start to expect numbers like that each week. He’s as frustrating and inconsistent top fantasy WR as there is in the game, but against another low-level defense like Buffalo’s, it’s certainly possible we'll see a repeat of last week.

Play him as a WR2 with the potential to put up either the best numbers in the league or nothing at all.

15. Santonio Holmes (@ NE)

Santonio can be an extremely frustrating fantasy player to own as you never really know when he’ll bust out for a big game. His 100-yard games are few and far between, but he does seem to catch the big touchdown whenever it’s needed.

Last week he was targeted a massive 12 times by Sanchez but was only able to come up with three catches for 33 yards. Crazy! In the two games he faced New England last year (playoffs included), he totaled 10 catches on 17 targets for 92 yards and a touchdown.

This year, however, New England has given up the most fantasy points in the league to opposing receivers, so I expect Holmes to have himself a nice game.

14. Julio Jones (vs. GB)

Welcome to the NFL, Mr. Jones! Julio followed up his 115-yard coming out party in Week 3 with an even better game of 11 catches for 127 yards last week against Seattle. It seems the only thing this ultra-talented receiver needed to bust out of his shell was a little confidence, which he certainly has now after two straight 100-yard games.

With the Packers'  pass D ranking near the bottom of the barrel and undoubtedly leaving him in single coverage because of Roddy, I expect another nice showing and possibly a third straight 100-yard week.

13. Jordy Nelson (@ Atl)

The Packers' offense is pretty unstoppable at this point and Nelson seems to have carved out a nice niche as its WR2. My guess is that Rodgers tries to pick apart this Atlanta pass D like he did last season, so Nelson could be in line for a good seven-to-10 targets, from which he’ll be able to put up some real nice fantasy numbers.

The only downside is if Rodgers happens to use weapons other than Nelson, but I just don’t see that happening.

Jordy had a touchdown in each of their matchups last season and with this game looking like it could be a shootout, he should be able to grab another one.

12. Dwayne Bowe (@ Ind)

Without a running game to speak of, I expect Bowe to see a large quantity of targets from Matt Cassel this week against this Indy defense. He’s easily the most talented player on the team at this point and needs to be used as such if the Chiefs want a chance to win this game against the 0-4 Colts.

Their pass D gives up plenty of yards through the air, so if Bowe can get a good 10 targets in this one, he should be able to put up close to WR1 numbers.

11. Jeremy Maclin (@ Buf)

Maclin looked just fine catching seven balls for 74 yards last game after a week-long scare that he wouldn’t play because of his hamstring. He’s fine now and will be ready to roll against a pretty bad Bills pass D this weekend.

Vick knows that the Eagles need Jeremy’s consistency out there if they want to win the game, so look for him to be targeted in the double-digits and make close to 10 catches with the love. Big-time potential here.

10. Roddy White (vs. GB)

Hold onto your hats, people—this game could get a little bit wild. Both the Packers' and the Falcons' pass defenses are full of holes that I’m sure both Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers will want to exploit, so it wouldn’t shock me to see FOUR different receivers with around 100 yards by the end of the game.

Roddy, of course, will be one of them and could end up with his finest fantasy numbers of the 2011 season.

Last year the Packers stuck to him like glue, but they won’t be able to do that this year with Julio Jones forcing coverage. Expect a return to WR1 numbers this weekend.

9. Steve Johnson (vs. Phi)

Stevie had his three-game streak of catching a touchdown broken last weekend against the Bengals, but it wouldn’t shock me to see it start up again versus Philly this Sunday.

The Eagles have surprisingly given up the most receiving touchdowns in the league this year, so with Johnson being as good in the red zone as he is, he has as good a shot as any to nail one down.

The Bills will be running a ton in this one but if they go down a couple of scores, they’ll turn to Stevie often to get back in it.

8. Vincent Jackson (@ Den)

V-Jax hasn’t received nearly the amount of attention that he should have from Rivers so far this season, yet he still ranks in the top five in fantasy points thus far. That’s how talented he is. However, there are two problems he’ll be facing this Sunday.

First, his bum hamstring is acting up and has kept him out of practice this week, so watch the news coming out of San Diego to see whether or not you should get him out of your lineup.

Second, Champ Bailey is returning from his injury and might shadow V-Jax all game long.

I still like his chances to put up a nice game, but he’s got to be active first in order to do so.

7. Mike Wallace (vs. Ten)

Wallace put up the first sub-100-yard effort in his last seven regular season games last weekend against the Texans and will be looking to start another streak this Sunday against the Titans.

Tennessee’s defense has improved immensely this season as they currently rank in the top 10 in most defensive categories, but they haven’t faced a receiver of Wallace’s caliber yet either.

I think he succeeds in his quest to begin a new 100-yard streak and adds in a touchdown for good measure.

6. Hakeem Nicks (vs. Sea)

Seattle’s defense has been better than advertised, but I think the Giants manhandle them this weekend. They simply have too many weapons at their disposal, with Nicks being the absolute best of them.

Look for Eli to target him 10 or more times again this weekend with Hakeem possibly equaling the numbers he put up last year against them (six catches for 128 yards and a touchdown).

5. Steve Smith—Car (vs. NO)

Steve Smith is playing like he’s 18 years old again. He’s faster than ever, hitting defenders as hard as he ever has, and he’s getting open pretty much at will.

If the Saints try to double Smitty this weekend, they’ll find out the hard way what Cam Newton can do on his own, but I suspect they’ve already watched enough tape to know they can’t do that.

Smith will beat this weak Saints pass D deep at least once and give fantasy owners WR1 numbers yet again.

4. Greg Jennings (@ Atl)

Greg hasn’t put up fewer than double-digit fantasy points in any week so far this season, and I don’t expect this to be the game that breaks the streak.

In two games against the Falcons last year (playoffs included), Jennings had over 100 yards each time and should be able to do it again this Sunday night.

He and Rodgers are as tight as they’ve ever been at this point, as Jennings has caught 16 of the 17 balls Aaron has thrown to him in the last two games. DAMN these two are good!

3. Wes Welker (vs. NYJ)

After the 16-catch, 217-yard and two-touchdown clinic he put on against the Bills two weeks ago, Welker decided to give his fantasy owners an encore of nine catches for 158 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders. My goodness! Couple that with the way Tom Brady is playing and it doesn’t really matter what kind of pass defense the other team has; Welker will beat them.

That being said, the Jets do own the top-ranked pass D in the league right now, so we might not see another fantasy insanity output in this one. Then again, Welker seems to enjoy bucking the odds, so we probably will.

2. Larry Fitzgerald (@ Min)

Larry finally saw more balls thrown his way last weekend after averaging just eight targets per game over the first three weeks. Count on that happening against the Vikings this Sunday as the Cardinals will have to throw the ball early and often after they realize they can’t run against Minnesota’s front seven.

Fitz just might put up season-high numbers in every category, which could mean close to 150 yards and a couple of touchdowns.

1. Calvin Johnson (vs. Chi)

What can you say about a guy who has put up two touchdowns in four straight games to start the season, a feat never before accomplished? Nothing, except that Megatron is a fantasy warlord!

The last time we saw such an impressive touchdown streak from a receiver was from Dwayne Bowe last season when he put up 13 touchdowns in just seven weeks of action. With the way Johnson and QB Matthew Stafford are dominating right now, another such run looks like it could be in the works.

Oh, and by the way, this also happens to be Calvin’s first career Monday night game, so enjoy.

Complete Week 5 Rankings for QBs, RBs  and TEs

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