Weekly Rankings: Ranking Each Position for Week 5

With Week 5 behind us, its time to move on to Week 6. I’ll rank each position, including both standard and PPR rankings, each week before Thursday Night Football. Below each set of rankings, I will provide commentary on my more interesting decisions of the week. Best of luck in Week 6!

 

 

• Enjoy this Chiefs vs Texans matchup, as I have both Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson atop my quarterback rankings for the week. This should be an offensive explosion.
• Another matchup I love from a passing perspective is Atlanta versus Arizona. Matt Ryan continues to be a greatly underrated fantasy quarterback, as his defense often puts him into negative game scripts that plays into high passing volume. Kyler Murray finds himself in a similar situation, and though he hasn’t had a breakout game yet, he’s established a high floor and is running more often lately. I think this could be the week Murray “breaks out”.
• With Davante Adams looking doubtful again, I’m knocking Aaron Rodgers down into low-end QB1 status. This should continue to be a run-heavy offense, and the Lions pose a stiff challenge to the Packers’ passing game. Detroit has given up the 13th most points to fantasy quarterbacks, which is actually impressive considering they have played Kyler Murray in a game that went the full overtime period, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, and Patrick Mahomes through four games.

 

 

• Dalvin Cook gets a tough matchup against an Eagles defense that is tough against the run and funnels teams into passing against their subpar secondary. This will be a tough test for Cook and the Vikings’ pass-heavy ways, but I’m not sure even the Eagles can change the Vikings game plan, and Cook is locked into high usage every week that he is healthy.
• Detroit and Green Bay have each had their share of issues defending the run, making this Monday night matchup a game of similar styles. I expect to see a ton of Aaron Jones and Kerryon Johnson in this one and have them ranked fifth and eight respectively. Jamaal Williams is trending towards playing, so it will be interesting to see what happens to Jones’ workload this week.
• David Johnson would be ranked much higher if healthy, but he has missed practice this week due to a back injury. Johnson is an auto-start if he plays, while his backup Chase Edmonds is a near auto-start if Johnson misses. While Atlanta has been better against running backs this year, they have traditionally struggled against running backs catching passes in the past, and have been disappointing as a defense again in 2019.
• Todd Gurley is also looking questionable to play this week, so monitor his status. His absence would likely give Malcolm Brown the Gurley role in this offense, as Darrell Henderson has shown no signs of life thus far.
• I’m at a bit of a loss how long it will take Melvin Gordon to look like his old self, and the injuries keep piling up on the Chargers’ offensive line. I actually like Austin Ekeler‘s pass-catching role more at this point, so it will be interesting to see if and when Gordon eats into that usage.

 

 

• Keep the faith with Julio Jones and DeAndre Hopkins, they are too talented to struggle often and are every year first-round fantasy draft picks for a reason. Both of their matchups provide shootout potential, and they are ranked at the top of the receiver position this week.
• I’m ranking Tyreek Hill as I have a hunch that he plays, while I’m leaving Davante Adams off as I’m guessing that he sits out another week. Both are must starts if on the field, obviously, but are very difficult to set a rank for in the meantime.
• Will Fuller might be ranked a little too high, but I can’t imagine benching him after last week’s blowup. Ride him another week to see if this is another hot streak. It doesn’t hurt that he is playing in what will likely be the highest-scoring game of the week.
• If Sammy Watkins and Hill were to both miss, all of Byron Pringle, Demarcus Robinson, and Mecole Hardman would be playable. If Hill plays and Watkins sit, they all become high-risk high-reward plays. If Both Watkins and Hill play, stay away from all three.
• I’m kind of out on trusting Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Geronimo Allison at this point. Against a tough Lions defense, my expectations are low this week.
• Don’t forget about Christian Kirk. If healthy, he’s the Robin to Larry Fitzgerald‘s Batman and has a chance for a big week against the Atlanta secondary that just got dusted by Will Fuller.

 

 

There’s a clear top five at tight end this week, and then things get shaky. Greg Olsen has fallen off a cliff, but a matchup against a Tampa defense that has struggled against tight ends makes Olsen an above-average play this week.

Gerald Everett has shown signs of life lately but gets a tough draw against the ferocious 49ers defense. Don’t bail on him if he struggles this week.

If you’re like me and trying to decide between the likes of Jason Witten and Noah Fant this week, all I can say is best of luck to you. The tight end position gets ugly fast this week.

(Photo by Gavin Baker/Icon Sportswire)