Fantasy Football Must Starts Week 5

By James Collier

Week 5 means the start of three weeks of London games with the Vikings taking on the Jets at Tottenham Hotspur stadium. But it’s a bit of a bittersweet weekend for Fantasy Football fans in the UK with the announcement that DraftKings will be withdrawing its services from the country. 

Although the news coming midseason with no warning is less than ideal, thankfully it does mean we have plenty of football to take our minds off it this weekend. And as usual we’re bringing you four Must Start players this week.

A reminder of what we are looking for in a “Must Start”. We are trying to find you players that are undervalued in DFS or are being ranked too low by (Expert Consensus Rankings) ECR. So, while there will be some contrarian picks, there will also be some “good chalk”. 

Review of Last Week

Lewis had the best of our picks yet again last week as Xavier Legette (ECR Rank 58) finished as the WR13, scoring just under 20 PPR points.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba could only turn his 12 targets into eight catches for 51 yards and there were similar “what could have been” performances for Greg Dortch and Khalil Shakir. Both had average weeks that could have been much better had they not been tackled inside the five yard line for would-be touchdowns. 

Joe Flacco and Josh Downs @ Jacksonville Jaguars

My Must Start pick this week is more of a Must Stack in the form of Indianapolis Colts duo Joe Flacco and Josh Downs.

Wide Receiver Downs was sidelined for the first two games of the season but since his return no Colt has earned more targets than his 14. He’s turned those targets into 11 catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. But the significant part is that the bulk of those yards came when Flacco stepped in to replace the injured Anthony Richardson last week. 

Flacco looks set be under centre for the Colts again and there’s no doubt that at this stage of their careers he’s a better option for all Colts pass catchers. He came off the bench to finish as the QB15 last week and was never lower than QB13 in his five appearances in 2023. Both Flacco and Richardson have consistently looked to Downs as their first read since his return to the field and there’s no reason for that to change in a great matchup against Jacksonville this week. 

The 0-4 Jaguars have allowed the most fantasy points to both the Quarterback and Wide Receiver position so far this season. All Colts players are likely to popular this week but Michael Pittman and Trey Sermon are likely to be chalkier selections, meaning the Flacco/Downs stack should be a nice pivot. 

ECR Rank (PPR): QB27 & WR40

Erick All vs Baltimore Ravens (Kev White & Lewis Wood)

Kev (@TheDynastyMind) and Lewis (@ff_pancake) are on the same page this week with Bengals rookie Erick All. For Kev it’s about the consistency All has shown (four receptions from four targets in three straight games) at a position that has been impossible to predict thus far. And for Lewis it’s down to the role he’s carved out for himself, alongside what looks set to be a great matchup: 

“Going under the radar with this one, and it really doesn’t feel great to be recommending any tight end right now. But the Ravens are a pass funnel defense who are currently allowing the second most fantasy points to the tight end position. Erick All saw 60% of snaps in week four, the highest of any tight end, and his four targets were double the amount that the other TEs saw combined. He seems to be the clear starter, and in a division game with a high over/under, 68% rostered All could be a sleeper start of the week.”

ECR Rank (PPR): TE27

Jayden Reed @ Los Angeles Rams (Tom Strachan)

Rounding us off is the king of DraftKings related content from the UK, Tom Strachan (@NFL_TStrack) and his pick of Packers receiver, Jayden Reed. 

“Through four games the Rams have given up WR1 overall finishes to Jauan Jennings & Marvin Harrison Jr, as well as a WR5 finish to Jameson Williams. The Rams unsurprisingly have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers and rank 31st in DVOA and have allowed a league-high 8.1 yards per net pass attempt. In the two games Jayden Reed has played with Jordan Love he’s finished as the PPR WR1 and WR2, putting up 312 yards and three touchdowns combined. The Packers might spread the ball around plenty but when Reed has it in his hands he’ll be too much for this weak Rams defense.”

ECR Rank (PPR): WR6

Feature image credit: Christine Tannous/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

JAMES COLLIER

Lead Fantasy Football Analyst

A Washington fan since the early 2010’s, James had no choice but to turn to fantasy football in search of happiness – and it wasn’t long until it became an obsession. You can follow him on Twitter @jamesc294.

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