Week 5 Flex Rankings for Fantasy Football

For those who have not been privy to this piece in prior weeks, my Week 5 Flex rankings feature the top-250 overall options. These rankings are based on half-PPR scoring, so adjust them to your league settings as needed. A lot is yet to be determined between now and game time based on injuries and what have you. I have added some notes below, but obviously, I cannot cover everybody. At least that’s what my editor and my wife keep telling me. I will update these rankings on Sunday, usually about an hour or so before the early games begin. In the meantime, feel free to comment below or on Twitter with any specific questions you have regarding your lineups.

Week 5 is the last week we will see all 32 NFL teams in action until December. It will also feature the first of this year’s two games overseas when the New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons play in London on Sunday. Weird, I thought the NFL is trying to promote the sport internationally. Don’t worry – I’m allowed to say that because I’m a Jets fan. At least the good people of England will be treated with the presence of the biggest post-hype sleeper in history.

Cordarrelle Patterson has more offensive touchdowns through four games of the 2021 season than he has in any year since his 2013 rookie campaign. Talk about playing the long game. The crazy thing is I don’t think this is a complete fluke, either. People will point to snap counts as a mark against Patterson’s viability going forward. But I think Arthur Smith wants to ensure Patterson doesn’t wear himself out playing 50 or 60 offensive snaps. Patterson obviously will not finish the year as a top-five fantasy running back. Opposing teams will gameplan for him more and focus more defensive attention on him. And Calvin Ridley and Kyle Pitts will get theirs eventually, which will cut into his efficiency metrics. However, I do think Patterson is in the mix as a weekly Flex play until further notice.

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Running Back Notes

Injuries are at the forefront of the news and notes for my Week 5 Flex Rankings. Unfortunately, I do not expect that to change anytime soon. Teams are not going to run players through the wringer in practice if they are banged up considering the elongated season. It will probably be a frustrating dance for fantasy managers to navigate, but few players will be exempt from this as the season wears on. I believe this is especially true at the running back position. Running backs take a pounding every week, and teams may choose to rest them more than usual leading up to games. 

Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliott, and Joe Mixon were among the players whose teams held them out of practice on Wednesday. I expect all three to play this week and receive close to their normal workloads. Mixon gives me the most pause of the three, and I ranked him lower than I normally would. Samaje Perine would be in line to start if Mixon sits out Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers. Perine is cheap enough to be considered a DFS option if Mixon is inactive. However, I would not rush to jam him into redraft lineups. Christian McCaffrey returned to a limited practice on Wednesday. I listed him near the bottom of this week’s Flex rankings on the off chance he is active. Either way, the window on Chuba Hubbard’s fantasy relevance is closing fast.

Chris Carson is a dicey play for me this week. The Seahawks running back has been hampered by a neck injury. The good news is that since Seattle plays on Thursday, we will know whether he will be active before any roster spots lock. This is a divisional matchup featuring two teams playing in the best division in football. That may be enough for Carson to attempt to tough it out. Even if Carson is active on Thursday, I would try to avoid starting him if I could. Neck injuries are always tricky, and one big hit or awkward landing could render Carson a spectator for the remainder of the night. I worry more about the risk of aggravating the injury than I do about the matchup. The Rams are in the middle of the pack against the run so far this season.

One needs to look no further than the running backs in the NFC East to see what a difference a few weeks can make. After Week 1, people were panicking over Ezekiel Elliott and Saquon Barkley. They both enter Week 5 as RB1s through four games with little sign of slowing down. Kudos to those who grabbed them at discounted costs. Miles Sanders, meanwhile, has just 16 total opportunities (touches plus targets) over his last two games. That seems suboptimal. I do not have a ton of confidence in things getting better in the immediate future. Sanders faces the Carolina Panthers in Week 5 and Tampa Bay next week. Both teams are among the leaders in limiting running back production. I may be willing to buy back in after Week 6, but Sanders is not a recommended Flex option this week.

Also check out our Week 5 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | Kickers | D/ST | PPR | Flex

Wide Receiver Notes

More injury news! Amari Cooper, A.J. Brown, Julio Jones, and Tee Higgins are among the wideouts whose statuses require daily monitoring this week. I have the most confidence in Cooper playing this week, though it should be noted he missed Wednesday’s practice. Again, while not ideal, I don’t think I am put as much stock into DNP’s as I have in previous years. Time will tell whether this proves to be a sound strategy or not. I ranked the other three outside the top-100 overall in my Week 5 Flex rankings, but those rankings may be subject to change if we receive good news on the health front in the next 72 hours.

Speaking of Cooper, I believe we should start tempering expectations a bit going forward with him and fellow Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. Dallas is running the ball a lot and doing so quite effectively. The Week 1 explosion we saw from the Cowboys’ passing attack looks like it may have been more matchup-fueled than we thought at the time. Over the last three weeks, neither Cooper nor Lamb ranks among the top-40 wide receivers in fantasy points. They also rank outside the top-40 in air yards, so it is not as if they are missing their chances. Both have immense upside, so I would continue to start them where rostered. But if you can find a manager who still considers either a WR1 moving forward, I would explore that opportunity.

The Tyler Lockett experience is in full swing. He is the overall WR9 in half-PPR scoring through four games, yet has finished outside the top-65(!) in each of the last two weeks. You’ve got to respect his commitment to the bit. Seattle has used Lockett in the slot on just 34 percent of his snaps this season. That seems promising when you consider that Jalen Ramsey has lined up in the slot 72 percent of the time. However, I have a funny feeling that the Rams will match Ramsey up against Lockett more than Freddie Swain, who has been Seattle’s primary slot receiver to this point. Lockett is a WR3 for me in this matchup, but I’d be lying if I told you I had a ton of confidence in the call. He could finish as the overall WR3, or score three fantasy points, and I wouldn’t be surprised.

I have a trio of young receivers from the University of Alabama right in the thick of Flex consideration. Rookies Devonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle have been inconsistent from a pure production standpoint, but the opportunities have been there. Each has at least 30 targets through four games. Smith leads the Eagles in air yards by a wide margin, giving him a high weekly ceiling. Miami has almost exclusively utilized Waddle as an underneath target, but he should get more chances after Miami placed Will Fuller on injured reserve and traded Jakeem Grant. And Henry Ruggs is showing signs of a breakout in his second NFL season. His 17.84 aDOT will lead to weekly volatility but is worth starting in Week 5 against the Chicago Bears. Jaylon Johnson has been the only above-average cornerback for the Bears, but his 4.51 40-time is no match for Ruggs.

Tight End Notes

Dalton Schultz and Dawson Knox are top-six fantasy tight ends through six weeks. I think it is safe to say that both will come back to earth a bit. But I also don’t expect them to just disappear into the abyss. Both have run routes on over 60 percent (Knox 66, Schultz 62) of their team’s dropbacks this season. That is especially good news for Knox, as Buffalo is among the most pass-happy teams in the NFL. Schultz has a 17 percent target share, and a 16 percent first read share. He ranks inside the top-10 among tight ends in both metrics. I do not normally advocate for starting a tight end in the Flex spot, but I could see starting either of these tight ends if you have an elite tight end and have some injury or playing time concerns at running back and wide receiver.

I ranked Rob Gronkowski this week, but I would be shocked to see him in action in Week 5. Tampa Bay is one of the few teams in the NFL who has three viable pass-catching options at tight end, so there is no need for Gronkowski to rush back. Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard each played over 60 percent of the snaps in Tampa’s Week 4 victory in New England. Tom Brady targeted Brate six times including a couple of shots in the end zone. If you are a tight end streamer, you could do a lot worse than Brate this week. The Miami Dolphins have already allowed three receiving touchdowns to opposing tight ends this season, two of which came last week at the hands of Colts’ tight end Mo-Alie Cox.

Week 5 Flex Rankings

Did you enjoy Mick’s Week 5 Flex Rankings? Here’s a little more fantasy football fun for Week 5: Waiver Wire | FAAB Guide | Buy-Low, Sell-High Trade Targets | Start & Sit | Loves & Hates | Stock Watch | Sleepers & Streamers | QB Streamers | D/ST Streamers |

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