NFL DFS Week 5 Guide: Stacks, value plays and everything to know while constructing your lineups

Frank Stampfl explains how he's constructing his DFS lineups in Week 5.

By Frank Stampfl

Oct 8, 2021 at 12:29 pm ET • 5 min read

I'd like to consider myself a pretty good athlete and, before you question what this has to do with Week 5 NFL DFS lineups, stick with me. Growing up I played nearly every sport you can think of: basketball, baseball, football, soccer, tennis. Even when I tried more obscure sports like European handball and Ultimate Frisbee, it wouldn't take long to catch on. Just recently I started playing golf and let me tell you, it's a very humbling sport. There's so much running through my mind for each swing. Keep your front arm straight. Head down. Knees slightly bent.

Anyway, it got me thinking. Golf is a lot like NFL DFS. There are so many different things to consider and it can be extremely humbling at times. Through four weeks of the NFL season, that's where I find myself. Humbled. It's time to get back on track, trust the process and good things will happen.

Week 5 is very unique in that the main slate only consists of 12 games due to the Jets and Falcons playing in London early Sunday morning. Not only that, we have a main slate that will be without the Seahawks, Rams, Chiefs, Bills, and Ravens. As a result, we have lower game totals than we're used to seeing on the main slate. Many start their DFS lineups with the quarterback position so why don't we do the same this week.

Stacks: To Lance or not to Lance

Jimmy Garoppolo has been ruled out for Week 5, which means exciting rookie Trey Lance is in line for his first career start. Lance is just $5,700 on DraftKings in a divisional matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. Just last week he put up 20.38 Fantasy points in only one half of work, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for 41 yards. Lance's final line is undoubtedly misleading as one of those touchdowns went for 76 yards to Deebo Samuel on a blown defensive assignment. Still, he has rushing upside, formidable weapons and a fantastic coaching staff, something we can't say for Justin Fields.

So what do we do with Lance? Sia Nejad had a pretty good answer on Fantasy Football Today DFS.

"Trey Lance is not ready to be a starting NFL quarterback. That doesn't mean he can't be a good Fantasy option. It sounds like I'm saying don't play him but I do like him. I just don't think he's a lock button guy in all your cash games or GPP lineups."

Basically, it makes sense to have Lance exposure this week. Just don't go overboard. Lance is currently in my cash game lineup as he makes it easier to get up to Derrick Henry, Davante Adams, and D.J. Moore.

What if you're not playing Lance at quarterback? Again, this week is weird without those big names on the slate. I think Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts are options to play by themselves or even with a pass catcher on the opposing team. If you're looking for options to stack, these are my favorites in Week 5:

Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams with Ja'Marr Chase or Tee Higgins on the other side
Kirk Cousins to Justin Jefferson with D'Andre Swift on the other side
Joe Burrow to Chase and/or Higgins with Adams on the other side
Trevor Lawrence to Laviska Shenault and/or Marvin Jones with Derrick Henry on the other side
Lance to Deebo Samuel with Maxx Williams on the other side

Value plays: Pick your favorite value RBs

Many people are going to have Derrick Henry or Davante Adams in their lineups this week. We need to find value somewhere. Luckily, there are options at running back in James Robinson, Damien Williams, Leonard Fournette, and the Bengals backs. As things stand right now, Fournette is my favorite. He's only $5,200 as a huge favorite at home against the Dolphins. Fournette is coming off a game with 23 touches and going up against a defense that's allowed the third most rushing yards per game to running backs. We're always at risk of the GOAT Tom Brady taking over and throwing 40+ times simply because he wants to, but even if Brady builds that lead, Fournette is in a good spot to score here.

The other wild card here is Alexander Mattison, or Dalvin Cook for that matter. Cook did not practice again on Thursday due to an ankle injury, and considering the Vikings are around 10-point favorites at home against the Lions, they don't exactly need him. If Cook is ruled out, Mattison is a free square at $5,500 on DraftKings and $6,500 on FanDuel. Just last week David Montgomery and Damien Williams combined for 161 rushing yards and three touchdowns. If Cook is active, however, Mattison is nothing more than a leverage play in GPPs.

Here are my favorite value running backs this week:

Leonard Fournette, $5,200
James Robinson, $6,000
Damien Williams, $5,600
Alexander Mattison, $5,500*
Samaje Perine, $4,000

*Mattison vaults to number one on this list if Cook is ruled out

Value plays: What to do at wide receiver

If you ask Mike McClure from Fantasy Football Today DFS, he'll tell you to pay all the way up; given the value at running back, why not? The highest point-per-dollar values I'm seeing are Davante Adams, D.J. Moore, Deebo Samuel, Justin Jefferson, and Keenan Allen among the higher priced wide receivers. I know Adams has been a letdown at times this season but he's still seeing a massive 36% target share in a game that could shootout. Allen is also just way too cheap. I understand Mike Williams is having a breakout season but there's no reason Allen should be $700 less than him on DraftKings. Allen still leads the Chargers in target share and red zone targets.

What about value!? I'm glad you asked. Laviska Shenault is set up nicely in Week 5. D.J. Chark has been placed on IR, which means we have a more concentrated target tree for the Jaguars. Shenault is coming off his best game with six receptions for 99 yards and the team has openly talked about getting him more involved. That will definitely work against the Titans secondary that's allowing the most Fantasy points to wide receivers this season and just made Zach Wilson look like a competent quarterback. Outside of Shenault, Jaylen Waddle is my next favorite. The Dolphins are huge underdogs on the road against a Buccaneers defense that's allowing the second most Fantasy points to wide receivers this season. On top of that, Will Fuller was placed on IR for the Dolphins this week.

Here are my five favorite value plays at wide receiver and then five bonus ones at tight end.