If you've been waiting since Week 1 for A.J. Brown to come back, you may have to wait at least one more week. In fact, you may have to wait for all of the Bills and Titans due to the fact that the Titans had another positive coronavirus test on Thursday morning. Their Week 5 game against the Bills hasn't been postponed yet, but it looks much less likely they'll play on Sunday. One thing we know for sure is Corey Davis won't be there after he was added to the COVID-19/Reserve list Wednesday.
So what should you do if you're counting on Brown or Stefon Diggs? You should make a backup plan, and fast. The best case scenario would be if you could add someone from Monday's game between the Chargers and Saints, so you have as long as possible to make the decision The top option would presumably be Tre'Quan Smith, but if Michael Thomas is able to return, Smith wouldn't be a very good option at all. Another option could be Mike Williams, but as of Thursday afternoon we still don't have a good idea of his availability due to a hamstring injury.
One thing you could do is try to swap Brown or Diggs into your flex and then add Justin Jackson as a potential late swap. Jackson should see decent volume sharing the running back touches with Joshua Kelley now that Austin Ekeler is expected to miss four-to-six weeks.
Of course, you could just decide to roster a receiver playing on Sunday, and those options are probably better. I'll break them down below.
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Week 5 WR Preview
Who's Out
The following players are not being projected to play Week 5 at this time. Here's what it means:
Numbers to Know
- 5 -- Marquise Brown has one game with more than five catches in his career. It's difficult to be more than a boom-or-bust No. 3 with that type of volume.
- 49.1% -- Adam Thielen is responsible for nearly half of the Vikings air yards.
- 93.75% -- D.J. Chark has caught all but one of his targets this season. Hopefully that means he's treated as a true No. 1 moving forward.
- 208 -- Terry McLaurin leads receivers with 208 yards after catch.
- 38.3% -- Keenan Allen has been targeted on 38.3% of Justin Herbert's pass attempts.
- 9 -- Amari Cooper, DeAndre Hopkins, and Allen Robinson are the only receivers with nine targets every week of the season.
- 0 -- The Bears are the only defense who has not allowed a touchdown to a wide receiver yet.
Matchups that matter
We're going through every matchup on the schedule for Week 5 on the Fantasy Football Today podcast. Subscribe at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts:
Waiver Wire Targets
Shenault was impressive in the first half on Sunday, with five catches for 81 yards. A tweaked hamstring limited him in the second half, but it doesn't limit my excitement for what Shenault could become. He's been very efficient, catching 80% of his targets, averaging 9.6 yards per target, and 5.9 yards per carry. Just a slightly more consistent role in the offense would make Shenault a No. 3 receiver, and he has top-25 upside alongside Chark if everything goes right.
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We expect Mike Evans and Miller to lead this passing attack that should be without Chris Godwin and O.J. Howard. Miller has scored double-digit PPR points in three of four games and should be a solid No. 3 receiver in Week 5.
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Ward isn't exciting, but if DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery miss Week 5 he'll once again be the best Eagles wide receiver. He has easy top-20 upside in PPR due to volume alone, especially if Philadelphia falls behind. He's a PPR add only.
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The way Aiyuk is being used isn't particularly sustainable but he's been so good with the ball in his hands that San Francisco likely gets him more involved. This week he's a boom-or-bust flex but there's hope he grows in to even more as the season goes on.
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I don't want to start Higgins this week against Baltimore, but he should be rostered and it looks more and more like he's the No. 2 receiver in Cincinnati. The past two weeks Higgins has out-targeted Green and he's been far more efficient with the targets he's received.
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DFS Plays
Cooper's history suggests he may be due for a stinker, but his target consistency this season suggests otherwise. He has at least 16 Fantasy points in every game this season despite the fact he's scored just once on 51 targets. His price is rising slowly, but like his quarterback he's still underpriced based on his production this season.
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I would imagine most people will fade McLaurin because of his matchup with Jalen Ramsey. That seems unwise considering he just posted 10-118-1 against Marlon Humphrey and the Baltimore Ravens. This, two weeks after lighting up Patrick Peterson for 7-125-1. McLaurin is a No. 1 receiver and it doesn't matter who is covering him. If the matchup drives down the price and roster rate, all the better.
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Heath's Projections
So who should you start and sit this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 5 rankings for every position, plus see which QB is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that out-performed experts big-time last season.
