Booms and Busts - Surprise Starts and Sits for Week 5 Lineups

We are a quarter of the way through the NFL season and the major storyline continues to be the mounting injuries across the league. It seems as though each week there are several new injuries to vital producers in fantasy football. This is causing managers to traverse the waiver wire and reconstruct their rosters much sooner than they have in years previous. This has opened the door for some under the radar players to move of the rankings on the season. Players like James Robinson, Jerrick McKinnon, and Robby Anderson all find themselves ranked inside the top-12 at their respective positions. Something that we are seeing quite a bit of as the voids left by injuries must be filled by someone.

As you can imagine, the void left from injuries to studs in fantasy football leaves managers with tougher decisions to be made with start/sits each week. Instead of "sitting and forgetting" the starters, now more forethought must be put into decisions. This means paying closer attention to matchups that can affect a player's potential output. A player could be deemed a no-brainer start most weeks, but with a certain matchup, his value could be diminished, opening the door for a player on your bench. With how frustrating the 2020 season has been thus far, every avenue should be exhausted for fantasy managers to put forth their most optimal lineups.

That is what we are doing here as I bring to you my Woos and Boos for Week 5. Some players that you may not view as typical starters, but have advantageous matchups and should be plugged into lineups. While our Boos are players that are weekly starters with tough matchups and could be destined for letdowns this week.

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Week 5 Woos

Teddy Bridgewater @ Atlanta Falcons

Yes, that's right. Coming off of his best game of the season (QB4), Teddy "Two Gloves" is primed for another solid effort in Week 5. Facing a Falcons Defense that is currently the worst in the league in points allowed to opposing quarterbacks (33.0 FPPG), Bridgewater should be viewed as a potential QB1 this week. The Falcons have allowed at least three touchdowns in each game played and with the Panthers playing sound football at the moment, I expect to see another multi-touchdown game here. If you are missing Aaron Rodgers this week with the bye, Bridgewater is the perfect candidate as a bye-week fill-in.

Chase Edmonds @ New York Jets

This may perhaps be the most sneaky play of the week. With Kenyan Drake continuing to disappoint, Edmonds is seeing an increased role in the offense. He finished at RB21 in Week 4, and now faces a Jets Defense that is among the worst in points allowed to the position (24.3 FPPG). Edmonds has had multiple receptions in each game and may be a solid Flex option in PPR formats regardless of Drake's performance in this matchup. If the Cardinals get out to a big lead, it is even better for Edmonds value as he will see more snaps late in the game to drive the team to victory.

Golden Tate @ Dallas Cowboys

Although Tate has been the face of mediocrity to begin the 2020 season (14 catches for 103 yards in three games). But Week 5 will be a get-right game for not only Tate but the Giants' offense as a whole. Facing the atrocious Cowboys secondary (36.4 FPPG allowed to the position), Tate should find plenty of open space to operate in all day. He is the perfect option to slide in as a low-end WR3 in PPR formats this week as a five-catch game should be viewed as the floor. Look for him to find the end-zone as well, making him a solid option to start for those managers currently dealing with the injury bug.

Mo Alie-Cox @ Cleveland Browns

In what was viewed as a prime matchup in Week 4, Alie-Cox was somewhat of a disappointment. The one catch performance was bailed out by a trip to the end-zone at the end of the day. He finds himself with another plus matchup in Week 5 as the Colts face a Browns Defense that is bottom five in points allowed to opposing tight ends (12.9 FPPG). The Browns have allowed a touchdown in three of four matchups, meaning good news for managers looking to start Alie-Cox this week. He should be viewed as a solid streaming option this week and should return low-end TE1 numbers in this matchup.

Week 5 Boos

Matt Ryan vs. Carolina Panthers

Ryan has been the epitome of Jekyll and Hyde over the first quarter of the season. Over the first two games, he was one of the top tier QBs in fantasy. But since Julio Jones got banged up, Ryan's performances have dropped dramatically (QB27 and QB25 over the last two games). Now he faces a surprisingly tough Panthers Defense in points allowed to the position (30th, 15.5 FPPG). With Jones likely to miss this week's game, Ryan should be viewed as a QB2 in fantasy. Putting most managers in a position to stream at the position for the week.

Miles Sanders @ Pittsburgh Steelers

The workload has been there, but the production has dropped in each of the last two games for Sanders as he has finished as no better than RB22. He may not fare any better in Week 5 as the struggling Eagles offense travels to face the stout Steelers Defense. The Steelers currently rank 31st (11.9 FPPG) in points allowed to the position and with the way the Eagles offensive line has struggled, Sanders could be in for a long day.

A.J. Green @ Baltimore Ravens

The time has come where we no longer view A.J. Green as a consistent starter in fantasy. The targets have been consistent (33 in four games) but the production has been less than stellar (14 receptions for 119 yards). He has yet to find the end-zone and is the third option in the passing game for the Bengals behind Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins. Add that to the tough matchup against a Ravens secondary that is allowing only 20.6 FPPG to opposing wideouts and it equals a sit for Green in Week 5.

Hunter Henry @ New Orleans Saints

Call this one a gut feeling but Henry is primed to disappoint in Week 5. The matchup is a good one against a Saints Defense that is currently one of the worst in points allowed to the position (16.3 FPPG). But without Mike Williams in the starting lineup, the passing attack has been funneled through Keenan Allen as Henry has been somewhat forgotten (just 10 targets over the last two games). Look for the Saints defense to try and stifle Herbert and the passing game with Austin Ekeler out for this game, meaning less operating space for Henry in this matchup.