Fantasy Football Week 5: Biggest Sleepers at Every Position
Maybe New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh foreshadowed a turnaround for his team when he talked about his stash of receipts. Gang Green has a 2-2 record, and our Week 5 sleepers list features two players from its roster who should get a lot of attention.
That’s right—don’t overlook the Jets offense this week in a game with the Miami Dolphins that may yield a decent number of points. Jets quarterback Zach Wilson still makes some head-scratching mistakes, but he also has the playmaking ability that could benefit a couple of his pass-catchers.
Beyond that, we have some suggestions that will calm the nerves of managers who lost Javonte Williams (torn ACL) for the season and Cordarrelle Patterson (knee) for the short-term future.
Lastly, prepare to take a deep dive for a tight end who’s at the bottom of the free-agent pool.
All eight sleepers are recommended for point-per-reception scoring settings and available in at least 50 percent of Yahoo leagues as of 10 p.m. ET Wednesday.
QB Teddy Bridgewater at New York Jets (11 Percent Rostered)
Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel has already announced that Tua Tagovailoa will miss the team’s upcoming contest with the New York Jets; he’s still in concussion protocol.
In Tagovailoa’s absence, Teddy Bridgewater will continue to take snaps under center as he did in the previous outing against the Cincinnati Bengals. In that matchup, against the 19th-ranked pass defense, the ninth-year signal-caller threw for 193 yards, a touchdown and an interception in about two-and-half quarters of action.
With a full week of first-team reps as the starter, Bridgewater should have a stronger outing against the Jets, who, along with the Atlanta Falcons, allow the 10th-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. Gang Green fields the 15th-ranked pass defense and has surrendered seven touchdowns through the air.
Bridgewater has a pair of speedy wide receivers in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, who can elevate his numbers on big plays downfield. If you need a quarterback with a high floor and the potential to post a 20-plus-point fantasy stat line, the Dolphins quarterback belongs on your list of possible adds this week.
QB Carson Wentz vs. Tennessee Titans (47 Percent Rostered)
This recommendation comes with great risk because Carson Wentz can either throw for 300-plus yards and multiple touchdowns or complete less than 60 percent of his passes and take a handful of sacks in any given game. We’ve seen it happen within the first four weeks of this season.
In his last two outings, Wentz has thrown for just one touchdown and two interceptions while taking 11 sacks behind a shaky offensive line that’s lost center Chase Roullier and right tackle Sam Cosmi over the past three weeks.
Despite the Washington Commanders’ offensive line issues, Wentz has a favorable matchup against the Tennessee Titans, who have surrendered the seventh-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. Furthermore, the AFC South club has allowed the fifth-most yards through the air along with 10 passing touchdowns, which is tied with the Commanders and Kansas City Chiefs for the most leaguewide.
This game could easily become a scoring shootout with two defenses that rank 25th or worse in points allowed. In a high-scoring matchup, Wentz could put up big numbers with wideouts Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel.
If Samuel doesn’t suit up because of a non-COVID illness, look for tight end Logan Thomas and/or running backs Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic to play bigger roles in the passing game. Regardless, Wentz deserves consideration for a spot start this week.
RB Isiah Pacheco vs. Las Vegas Raiders (32 Percent Rostered)
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes deservedly owns the spotlight within the Kansas City Chiefs offense, but the club also runs the ball efficiently.
The Chiefs rank 11th in rushing yards and average 4.5 yards per rush attempt. In the backfield, Isiah Pacheco has carved out a role, particularly when the team has a lead. In contests with the Arizona Cardinals (44-21) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (41-31), he’s logged double-digit carries.
Averaging five yards per rush attempt with 140 yards on the ground, Pacheco could see his role increase as the No. 2 rusher on the roster. He’ll face the Las Vegas Raiders, who have allowed the 12th-most fantasy points to running backs this season.
Though Mahomes has yet to target Pacheco in the passing game, the rookie seventh-rounder scored on a goal-line carry in Week 1. With Kansas City’s second-ranked scoring offense that’s racked up the joint fourth-most yards, he could have an opportunity to punch one in for his second touchdown of the season Monday night.
The Chiefs are favored by seven points (via DraftKings) over the Raiders, so if Kansas City has a comfortable late-game lead, Pacheco could handle a fair number of touches to solidify a win.
RB Caleb Huntley at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12 Percent Rostered)
Perhaps you missed out on the opportunity to add rookie fifth-rounder Tyler Allgeier, who appeared in our Week 3 sleepers list. If so, take a look at a decent secondary option.
With Cordarrelle Patterson on injured reserve (knee), the Atlanta Falcons will likely split the rushing workload between Allgeier and Caleb Huntley, which is what they did last week.
In Week 4, against the Cleveland Browns, Patterson played in a reduced role likely because of his injury, but Allgeier and Huntley adequately filled the void in the ground attack. Both tailbacks logged 10 carries, though the latter reached paydirt on a five-year run.
Against the Browns, Huntley averaged 5.6 yards per rush attempt. He didn’t have a big run comparable to Allgeier’s 42-yard scamper, but the second-year pro handled enough carries to warrant a roster spot at the flex position this week.
Going into Week 5, the Falcons have the fifth-most rush attempts, and they’re going against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who just gave up 189 rushing yards to the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday.
WR Corey Davis vs. Miami Dolphins (43 Percent Rostered)
Somehow, a former first-round pick has landed on the sleepers list. Yes, Corey Davis belongs on your fantasy radar this week for multiple reasons.
For starters, Davis has a rapport with Zach Wilson. In the second-year quarterback’s 2022 season debut, the sixth-year wideout hauled in five of his six targets for 74 yards and a touchdown. Rookie first-round wideout Garrett Wilson converted six targets into two catches for 41 yards while Elijah Moore hauled in three out of four targets for 53 yards.
Secondly, this season, Davis has racked up at least 74 receiving yards in three out of four games and scored in two of those outings. On top of that, he’s made big plays, averaging 17.4 yards per catch.
What more can a fantasy manager ask for?
Davis has the volume, recent production and chunk-play potential to post a strong stat line against the Miami Dolphins, who allow the eighth-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season. Miami has also given up the second-most passing yards leaguewide.
Davis has WR2 appeal until the young wideouts, Moore and Wilson, garner bigger target shares.
WR Zay Jones vs. Houston Texans (26 Percent Rostered)
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said that the team held Zay Jones out of last Thursday’s practice to make sure he operated at 100 percent. The wideout went through a limited practice last Friday.
Several hours before early kickoffs in Week 4, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Jaguars expected Zay Jones to play against the Philadelphia Eagles, but the team opted to sideline him for the contest.
Because of how last week played out with Jones, managers should check in on him up until kickoff at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, but he’s worth the energy.
Jones has solidified himself as the No. 2 wide receiver in Jacksonville’s aerial attack with the second-most targets (24), receptions (19) and receiving yards (173) on the team. He also has a far better catch rate (79.2 percent) than lead Jaguars receiver Christian Kirk (55.6 percent).
If Jones suits up, he would get a decent matchup against the Houston Texans’ middling defense that ranks 18th in passing yards allowed and 19th in net yards permitted per pass attempt.
TE Tyler Conklin vs. Miami Dolphins (39 Percent Rostered)
As promised, Tyler Conklin made this week’s sleeper list after a decent outing with second-year quarterback Zach Wilson under center.
Regardless of who’s throwing the ball, Conklin has a solid pass-catching role in play-caller Mike LaFleur’s offense. He leads the New York Jets in receptions (21) and lists second on the team in targets (29) with a 72.4 percent catch rate.
Between Joe Flacco and Wilson, Conklin has seen at least five targets in every game this season. Last week, he converted five targets into three catches for 52 yards while on the field for 81 percent of the offensive snaps with fellow tight end C.J. Uzomah active on 44 percent of the plays.
In the upcoming matchup, the Jets face the Miami Dolphins, who have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to tight ends this season. With Miami’s soft coverage in the middle of the field, Conklin can continue to produce as a pass-catcher. If he’s on your waiver wire, pick him up for the remainder of the 2022 season.
TE Juwan Johnson vs. Seattle Seahawks (1 Percent Rostered)
Here’s a super sleeper for managers who desperately need production at tight end. Whether Andy Dalton or Jameis Winston starts against the Seattle Seahawks, consider Juwan Johnson, who’s seen at least four targets with both quarterbacks under center.
Johnson ranks fourth in targets (17) on the team behind wide receivers Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry and rookie first-rounder Chris Olave. He’s hauled in nine of those targets for 116 yards.
Though managers may want more efficiency out of Johnson, he’s going against a Seahawks defense that’s vulnerable to tight ends, giving up the most fantasy points to players at the position.
In Week 4, Detroit Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson caught eight passes for a career-high 179 receiving yards, two touchdowns and scored on a two-point conversion against Seattle’s defense.
After Hockenson ravaged that unit, Johnson at least deserves consideration among waiver-wire adds, especially with dual-threat running back Alvin Kamara (ribs) and Thomas (toe) banged up.
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Fantasy points scored against statistics are provided by FantasyPros.
Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.