Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 5: Lineup Advice, Stars to Exploit and Sleeper Options

In the near future, a new wrinkle will be thrown into the mix for fantasy football managers in the 2022 season. That's because NFL teams will start having byes in Week 6, and they'll continue to be a factor all the way through Week 14. So, not every player will be available.

But that's not a concern for this week. All 32 NFL teams will again be on the field in Week 5, giving fantasy managers plenty of options to fill their lineups. That can also create some difficult decisions, though.

So, here's some early start/sit advice to help with those choices for the upcoming week.

There's no reason to be concerned about James Robinson's Week 4 performance. Even though the Jaguars running back had only 29 yards on eight carries, that was more a circumstance of going up against a tough Eagles defense in a game in which Jacksonville rarely possessed the ball.

Robinson should bounce back in Week 5, so fantasy managers should keep putting him in their lineups. He had four touchdowns over the first three weeks of the season while putting up solid yardage totals, and he should get back on track against the Houston Texans.

The Texans are allowing 172 rushing yards per game—the second most in the NFL. With the Jags in a favorable matchup at home, they should keep the ball on the ground and lean on their rushing attack to have success.

So, keep Robinson in the lineup this week and enjoy what should be a bounce-back performance for the talented RB.

Ezekiel Elliott may be splitting the workload out of the Cowboys' backfield with Tony Pollard, but he's still been getting plenty of touches early in the season. He's had 10 or more carries in each of Dallas' four games, including 15 or more in each of the past three.

However, Elliott hasn't been too effective with his opportunities. That was especially the case in Week 4, when he averaged a season-low 2.6 yards per attempt (a season-high 19 carries for 49 yards) in a win over the struggling Washington Commanders.

Elliott isn't too involved in the passing game, so if he's not productive in the run game, then his fantasy value takes a major hit. And it seems unlikely he's going to have a breakout performance against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5.

The Rams rank seventh in the NFL in run defense (92.3 rushing yards allowed per game). So it's best to leave Elliott on the bench for this less-than-ideal matchup.

It took a little while for Robert Woods to make an impact in his first season with the Titans. He had only one catch in their season opener, and he had only 52 receiving yards through two weeks. But he's started to get going of late.

Woods had four catches for 85 yards (while getting targeted nine times) in a Week 3 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Then, he scored his first touchdown of the year in a Week 4 victory against the Indianapolis Colts, a game in which he had four catches for 30 yards.

Although Woods still isn't putting up huge numbers, that could change in Week 5. Tennessee is going on the road to face Washington, which is giving up the third-most fantasy points to wide receivers in the league, per NFL.com.

The Titans should have plenty of success in the air, and Woods has a good chance of getting into the end zone again. And if he doesn't, it wouldn't be surprising if he sets a new season high in receiving yards. So, he's a strong option for fantasy lineups this week.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Steelers plan to stick with rookie Kenny Pickett as their starting quarterback moving forward after they benched Mitchell Trubisky in a Week 4 loss to the New York Jets. That's good news for Pittsburgh's offense in the long term, but it could have an impact on some playmakers (such as Diontae Johnson) for now.

Johnson already wasn't having a great start to the season, but he was even less involved this past Sunday. He had season lows in catches (two), targets (four) and receiving yards (11), and he still couldn't record his first touchdown of the year.

There will be some growing pains for Pickett, and it will take time for him to develop connections with the Steelers' wide receivers. And based on his Week 4 showing, he may not get the ball in Johnson's hands a ton right away.

With a difficult Week 5 road matchup against the Buffalo Bills, this isn't the time to hope for a breakout showing by Johnson. Find better WR options to start over him, and wait for Pickett and Johnson to get into a rhythm before putting the playmaker back in fantasy lineups.