Slate Overview- Week 5 Thoughts

Week 5 is interesting this week, as there have been several injuries that have popped up over the week. We have another week where Jordan Mason is expected to be near 50% rostered which is going to determine roster strategy. At $7,400, the price is a fair one for Mason who has scored between 20 and 27 in three of his four games this season. For Mason, despite his high rostered percentage each week, he has not been on a winning Millionaire Maker lineup all year. At 50% rostered, he seems to be a clear way to get differentiation for the rest of your lineup.

So, how should you approach the rest of your lineup? This is a week where most people are going to pay up at running back, down at quarterback, and down at wide receiver. Players such as Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Deebo Samuel Sr., and DK Metcalf are all going to be lower rostered than they probably should be.

Key Injuries for Week 5

• The Panthers linebacker situation is abysmal. Shaq Thompson who is the team’s leading tackler is out for the season, while Josey Jewell is also out this week. This was already one of the worst run defenses in the NFL. These injuries should set up extremely well for the Bears’ rushing offense, but the question is whether we believe in the emergence of D’Andre Swift after just one great week and three poor performances.
• Davante Adams is once again out this week with a hamstring injury and desire to be traded. At $4,100, Tre Tucker is one of the best value plays on this slate. Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers also should see an increase in volume this week, but there's very few options on the low-end at wide receiver. 
• Zamir White is also out for the Raiders. At $5,200, Alexander Mattison should be a solid value play this week. We’ve gone down this path before with Mattison and there is always risk associated with it dating back to the Minnesota days, but the matchup is looking like a difficult one after they completely shut down Breece Hall last week, but Mattison should see enough volume to be cash game relevant.
• Malik Nabers will miss this week with a concussion. Wan’Dale Robinson will likely be the top target. Robinson is not likely to be cash game viable this week given the lack of touchdown upside that the 5’7’’ receiver has this week.
• The Giants are also likely going to be without Devin Singletary. With no Singletary, Tyrone Tracy Jr. appears the most likely to get the majority of the carries. At $4,300 he’s a decent value play, as the Giants have no other players to threaten carries. However, he’s a player who could become more popular than he should be as currently he’s tracking to be about 25% rostered.
• Jonathan Taylor is out this week with an ankle injury. Trey Sermon at $5,700 will get the start. The matchup is difficult for the Colts against a good Jaguars run defense. Sermon has just one start in his career when he had 88 yards on 17 carries. The issue for Sermon is that he’s shown an inability to catch the ball throughout his career. This could open up doors for more of a pass-heavy approach to Michael Pittman Jr or Josh Downs.
• Rhamondre Stevenson is not going to start this week but will play according to Jerod Mayo. For Antonio Gibson, he’s the better pass catcher of the two and at just $5,100 he could be going under the radar at just 6% rostered.
• Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson are both doubtful this week. This should consolidate a lot of the work for Green Bay to Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, and Tucker Kraft. Of the three, Jayden Reed is the guy to target as at $6,500 should project to be one of the top wide receivers this week.  
• Joe Flacco is likely going to start for the Colts as Anthony Richardson is doubtful. This is a significant upgrade for Michael Pittman Jr and Josh Downs this week as the passing game should be much improved with Flacco compared to Richardson.

Stacks

Joe Flacco, Michael Pittman Jr, Brian Thomas Jr.

With Joe Flacco starting, this should be an ideal matchup for the gunslinger to put up a massive day. This is a defense that is a good run-stopping unit but has struggled stopping the pass as they have allowed Tua Tagovailoa, C.J. Stroud, and Josh Allen to have huge days. For Flacco, he threw for over 300 yards in five of his six games last season. In the partial game last week, we saw Michael Pittman Jr have 6 receptions for 113 yards against Pittsburgh. This has all the makings of a massive game for Flacco and the Colts offense especially with Jonathan Taylor out this week.

For Brian Thomas Jr., he’s quickly establishing himself as the top receiver in Jacksonville. He is tied with the team lead in receptions with Christian Kirk, but Kirk is more of a possession receiver while having almost 100 more yards than Kirk as Thomas is the downfield threat in this offense. The Colts have allowed over 100 yards to George Pickens and Rome Odunze both of whom are big-play threats albeit neither has the speed that Thomas has. This is a game in which the Jaguars need to settle and establish the passing attack after Trevor Lawrence has struggled losing his last eight games in a row.

Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Derrick Henry

A lot of people are going to look at the Baltimore matchup as well as the price of Burrow and Chase and simply look elsewhere. However, this is not the traditional Baltimore defense. This is a defense that is allowing the third-most passing yards per game in the 2024 season. They were simply torched by Dallas as Dak Prescott threw for 379 yards and 2 touchdowns, while both Gardner Minshew II and Patrick Mahomes II both topped 275 yards. Chase started slow the first two weeks after there was some uncertainty whether he would sit out this offseason, but he has bounced back quickly over the last two weeks. Over the last two games, Chase has 118 yards and 2 touchdowns against Washington and 85 yards and a touchdown against a good Carolina pass defense. With Tee Higgins starting to get healthier, this has alleviated some attention that Chase has had to deal with.

Derrick Henry is in an ideal matchup this week as Cincinnati has been one of the worst run-stopping teams in the NFL. The Bengals have allowed 90 rushing yards or more to three of the four running backs that they’ve faced this season and defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins will miss this week once again. It’s not a normal stack to take a quarterback and the opposing running back, but if this game is going to shoot out, it’s likely because Henry has multiple touchdowns.

Kyler Murray, Marvin Harrison Jr., Jordan Mason