Weekly Rankings: Ranking Each Position For Week 5

Welcome to QB List’s weekly rankings! Each week, I’ll be taking a look at the upcoming matchups and ranking each position, as well as flex positions.

Note: rankings will be updated throughout the week, so continue checking back here as the week goes on.

Week 5 Notes:

• My ranking of Marcus Mariota is assuming that he’s playing. As of this writing, that’s not a guaranteed thing, as he’s day-to-day with a hamstring strain and could be a game-time decision. Plan accordingly.

• I’m honestly surprised that Tyrod Taylor isn’t owned in more leagues. While he hasn’t been amazing through the air, he’s been useful with his feet, and as long as he scores you fantasy points, you’re happy. He plays the Cincinnati Bengals this week and I think he could be in for a nice game. He makes for a useful streamer for those who’ve lost Kirk Cousins and Drew Brees this week.
• Another good streamer option this week is Carson Palmer, who gets to face a porous Eagles secondary. They’ve allowed at least 250 yards and a touchdown to four out of the five quarterbacks they’ve faced this year. Now, the Cardinal’s offensive line is awful, and the Eagles have a good front seven, which means that Palmer might be under pressure a good bit, which is something to take into account. That might actually make for a nice game for Andre Ellington though, as Palmer will likely need to dump the ball off frequently.
• The Chargers have been fairly decent against the pass, giving up the 17th-most points to quarterbacks so far this year, and they’ve faced Carson Wentz, Alex Smith, Trevor Siemian, and Jay Cutler. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Eli Manning is a worse fantasy quarterback than just about all of those guys (except maybe Cutler), which is why I’m down on him this week.
• Similar to my rating of Mariota, my ranking of Ty Montgomery is based on the idea that he plays. If he doesn’t, Aaron Jones becomes an interesting RB2.
• The last time the Oakland Raiders faced a running back in a pure receiving role like Javorius Allen is, it was Week 3 against Chris Thompson and he caught six balls for 150 yards and a touchdown. I’m not suggesting that Allen’s going to do that this week, but he could be successful against a middle-of-the-pack Raiders run defense.
• Despite having an exceptionally-talented front seven, the Los Angeles Rams have given up the most fantasy points to running backs so far this year. Now, part of that has to do with the fact that they’ve faced Ezekiel Elliott, and Carlos Hyde, but that still bodes well for Eddie Lacy, who will likely be the main back for the Seattle Seahawks this week. He looked solid last week, hopefully, he will again this week. Also, J.D. McKissic makes for an interesting PPR play assuming C.J. Prosise is out.
• Once more, my ranking of Davante Adams assumes that he plays, however that’s not a guarantee and concussions are finicky at best. Keep an eye on his progress.
• I’ve loved Zay Jones for a while now, but he’s looked pretty lost out there so far this year. Still, Jordan Matthews is out, which leaves Jones as the guy for the Bills’ receiving corps. Cincinnati has done relatively well against receivers this year, but they’ve also not faced any particularly threatening receivers outside of Jordy Nelson (who had a good game against them). Just based on his situation, Jones makes for an interesting flex play, however, I think the main beneficiary of Matthews’ absence will be Charles Clay, who’s locked in as a TE1 this week.