Week 5 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Play or Bench Tips for Fantasy Football Managers
Weekly snapshots of the NFL world can paint a distorted view for fantasy football managers.
However, the four-week sample provided by the 2022 season so far has put a pretty clear image in front of us.
Jalen Hurts is having a full-fledged breakout. Aaron Rodgers lacks the weaponry to do any real damage. Saquon Barkley is all the way back. Los Angeles Rams running backs can't be trusted.
These could all qualify as hot takes if unloaded after a single contest, but they aren't even lukewarm with four contests in the books.
Each week is teaching us lessons, and the best fantasy players are constantly studying them. We're leaning on our early season education here, too, to help make a round of start-or-sit recommendations for Week 5.
Start: Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals (at Baltimore Ravens)
It's already getting hard to remember this, but Burrow needed a second to find his footing this season. Through his first two outings, he had just three touchdown passes against four interceptions and was sacked a whopping 13 times.
The switch appears fully flipped now, though.
In his last two games—both double-digit Bengals' wins, by the way—he has thrown five scoring strikes without a single pick. He has also been sacked just three times.
Obviously, things are looking up, and a date with Baltimore's defense could keep his statistics soaring. The Ravens have allowed the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks so far, per Yahoo. They were also pulverized by Burrow in two head-to-head meetings last season, as he threw for a combined 941 yards and seven scores.
Sit: Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers (vs. New York Giants)
Care to run through the list of quarterbacks averaging more fantasy points per game than Rodgers this season? On second thought, let's streamline the process, since we can't run through the 25 names on that list, per FantasyPros. Instead, we'll just point out that the group includes: Geno Smith, Daniel Jones, Joe Flacco, Jacoby Brissett and Mac Jones.
Not exactly a group of gridiron juggernauts, right? Yet they're all piling up more production than the two-time MVP.
Making matters more frustrating, it's not entirely clear whether this is tied to any decline from Rodgers, though with his 39th birthday looming in December, that can't be ruled out. The bigger issue seems to be the offseason loss of Davante Adams and the lack of a capable replacement. Fourth-round rookie Romeo Doubs leads the receiver group with 19 catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns. Adams, for context, hasn't fully clicked with the Las Vegas Raiders and still already has 26 receptions for 290 yards and three scores.
Rodgers has yet to throw for 260 yards or three touchdowns in a game. He has just eight rushing attempts for nine yards. Those aren't QB1 numbers, and it's hard to imagine his will qualify this weekend, as the Giants have allowed the ninth-fewest fantasy points to the position.
Start: Josh Jacobs, RB, Las Vegas Raiders (at Kansas City Chiefs)
The Raiders' new coaching staff perhaps needed a minute to warm up to Jacobs, whose fifth-year option was declined during the offseason.
In the season opener, Las Vegas gave him just 10 carries and a single target. His ability to produce with those limited opportunities—he had 73 scrimmage yards on those 11 touches—may have ensured he wouldn't be overlooked again.
The Raiders have been leaning on him ever since, and they essentially crafted the Week 4 game plan around him. He wound up handling 28 carries for 144 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught five of the six passes thrown his way for another 31 yards. His 175 scrimmage yards nearly matched the entire passing game's output (188 yards).
This week, he draws a Kansas City defense allowing the sixth-most fantasy points and most receiving yards (by a wide margin) to running backs. There's a chance he actually betters his Week 4 performance.