It's the last week before byes start affecting our fantasy football lineups. While there are a few mismatches this week, I'm interested in some intriguing games like Giants-Packers, Chargers-Browns, Eagles-Cardinals, Cowboys-Rams and Bengals-Ravens, to name a few. But as always, every game has interesting fantasy matchups. If you're looking for help deciding which players to start and sit this week, look at my Week 5 Fantasy Football rankings here. Here's a look at five things you should pay attention to heading into Week 5.
1. Have a bye-week plan ready to enact as soon as the week ends.
As I mentioned, not every team will play in Week 6. Hopefully, you've had a plan for the bye weeks, but if not, make sure you have backups capable of at least giving you a chance after Week 5 ends. Week 6 isn't terrible for quarterbacks as Jared Goff, Derek Carr, Davis Mills and Ryan Tannehill are all off. It's Week 7 that you need to be ready for as Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Matthew Stafford and Kirk Cousins will miss that week. Gatosclub.com contributor Sam Bissett mentioned a few players you should take seriously in his most recent article and some could help you navigate the upcoming weeks off.
2. Zach Wilson could lead to big numbers for skill players, or mediocre numbers for all.
While Wilson's return seemed great for the Jets, with the team getting the win and Wilson playing a very solid game, it's undetermined how his teammates will be affected by his return. He completed passes to seven different teammates, with Corey Davis having the best day (5-74-1). Davis, Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson tied for the team lead with six targets. Who rises to the top of the food chain will be hard to predict. You could envision Garrett Wilson, Corey Davis or Hall turning in high-level fantasy scores if they were the focus of the offense. But that just might not happen. On the plus side for Hall is that he seems to be taking the biggest share of rushing attempts now.
3. Nick Chubb, James Robinson and Dalvin Cook should turn in elite scores.
Chubb has been amazing this season and is taking a big share of the rushing attempts, nearly doubling Kareem Hunt's opportunities in that area. He faces a Chargers team that let Texans rookie Dameon Pierce run wild. Robinson gets to face Houston this week as he looks to bounce back after facing a tough Eagles defense. The Texans let running backs score big in fantasy. Cook has just one TD on the season, but he's set up well to produce against a Bears defense that's allowed at least 80 rushing yards to one running back in three out of four games, including 146 yards to Saquon Barkley last weekend.
4. Note how well Michael Gallup performs against the Rams.
I think he could be a decent flex play in Week 5, but I'd like to see how he does before inserting him into my lineup. He had just two receptions last weekend, but he scored on one of them and didn't appear to be limited. His workload could increase, especially when Dak Prescott returns. Cooper Rush still targets Noah Brown a good amount, but I see an upside to Gallup. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.
5. The Eagles defense vs. Kyler Murray.
The Eagles haven't let a QB throw for more than 221 yards or two touchdown passes in a game this season. They held Trevor Lawrence to 174 yards but gave up two touchdowns through the air last weekend. Lawrence is the only signal caller they've faced who's pretty mobile. How Murray does against the Eagles will signal whether or not you should expect the Eagles to shut down all QBs or not. Murray threw for just 207 yards last time out, but he also threw two TD passes and rushed for 26 yards on 12 attempts and scored.
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