2022 NFL Fantasy Football Start/Sit – Week 5

Bye weeks will begin next week, are you ready?

The days with ample amount of players on the waiver wire will be over soon. It’s smart to prepared yourself right now and pick up a few guys to maybe stash away for a bye week…although, injuries can ruin all of your future plans.

It looks like we will see at least two rookie quarterbacks this week. The Steelers gave the starting role to QB Kenny Pickett and the Patriots need rookie QB Bailey Zappe to step into that role due to multiple injuries at the position. 

How will the rookie quarterbacks fare in Week 5?

Here is our Fantasy Football Sit/Start for Week 5 of the 2022 NFL season…and enjoy our awesome MS Paint masterpiece of QB Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings.

I want to explain what I mean by “sit” and “start.” Of course you are going to start some of the guys i say to bench this week, because you probably used high draft picks or a lot of money in an auction for them. My ‘sit’ players are guys I am just not completely sold that they will have good weeks. If you have a guy that you are on the fence about, maybe this will help you pick between the players.

START’EM

  • QB Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville Jaguars) – Lawrence has taken a huge step from his rookie season. I thought he would fall back down to Earth the last couple weeks, but it hasn’t happened. He faces the Texans this week and should rack up a lot of points against a struggling secondary.
  • WR George Pickens (Pittsburgh Steelers) – Pickens came into the season a bit overhyped. He has all the skills in the world, but he had QB Mitchell Trubisky throwing the ball. The Steelers benched Trubisky last week and Pickett starting throwing to Pickett right away. He threw 33% of his targets at Pickens. He faces the Bills this week and Pickett may throw a few picks, but it’s safe to say that Pickens will get plenty of targets.
  • TE T.J. Hockenson (Detroit Lions) – Hockenson is finally living up to his potential and making Detroit QB Jared Goff look awesome. He faces the Patriots this week and New England has allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season.
  • RB Tyler Allgeier (Atlanta Falcons) – One of my favorite players, Cordarrelle Patterson, will miss a few games with an injury and it leaves Tyler Allgeier and Caleb Huntley in the backfield. Both will get carries this week, but I think Allgeier has better hands and will get some balls thrown at him. If you’re in a deep league, you should target both of these guys.
  • QB Jared Goff (Detroit Lions) – Goff has been on fire recently and he has his offensive line to thank. He is getting a ton of time in the pocket and his receivers are better than the hodgepodge Detroit surrounded himself with last season.
  • Jacksonville Jaguars Defense & Special Teams – Jacksonville’s has the fifth-most points among all NFL defenses in fantasy this season. That point total is a bit padded due to their big outing against Indianapolis a couple weeks ago. I still think they are a smart stream against the Houston Texans this week. 
  • RB Nyheim Hines (Indianapolis Colts) – Colts RB Jonathan Taylor is dealing with an ankle injury that may cause him to miss Thursday’s game against Denver. There are rumblings that he will tough it out, but I would be surprised if he suits up. If you own Taylor, I would pick up Hines as a insurance policy. Keep an eye on practice reports this week.
  • WR Romeo Doubs (Green Bay Packers) – Doubs finished last week with five catches, 47 yards and a touchdown (he also tied WR Allen Lazard in targets with eight). I like his match-up this week against the Giants. I expect him to get around the same amount of targets again.
  • RB Brian Robinson Jr. (Washington Commanders) – This dude was shot this preseason and it looks like he will play against the Titans this week. He will share workload with RB Antonio Gibson, but it would be smart to stash Robinson for the future. All reports this preseason was that he was going to be the starting running back before the shooting happened. He may need a game or two to work his way back into form, but he could be a stud very soon.
  • TE David Njoku (Cleveland Browns) – Browns QB Jacoby Brissett loves him some tight end. Njoku is getting a lot of targets and it will not stop anytime soon. The Chargers head to Cleveland this week and they’re dealing with a lot of injuries on both sides of the ball at the moment.
  • WR Michael Gallup (Dallas Cowboys) – It doesn’t matter if Cowboys QB Dak Prescott will play this week, backup QB Cooper Rush is a capable quarterback. Gallup is a red zone target and should start to gain more targets every week since coming back from injury.
  • RB Latavius Murray (Denver Broncos) – Murray has had an eventful week. He travelled to London with the Saints and played well in their 28-25 loss. He rushed the ball eleven times for 57 yards and a touchdown. The Broncos were able to sign Murray off the Saints practice squad and he will take over for RB Javonte Williams, who tore his ACL last week. Murray should get carried right away. I’d rather have him over RB Melvin Gordon.
  • San Francisco 49ers Defense & Special Teams – Any team that plays the Panthers are an instant streaming candidate. The Niners have playmakers on defense and will cause even more headaches for QB Baker Mayfield.
  • QB Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals) – Murray doesn’t have WR DeAndre Hopkins back from suspension, but he has found a new weapon in WR Marquise Brown. He already has five 20+ receptions this season. Murray faces the Eagles this week, whose defense has allowed a couple big fantasy games to opposing quarterbacks this season (Goff & Lawrence).

SIT’EM

  • RB Ezekiel Elliott (Dallas Cowboys) – It doesn’t matter which Cowboys quarterback will start this week, because their run block has been awful this year. Elliott’s production will be spotty all year, and even though he had a bad game last week, I’d rather have RB Tony Pollard in most games this year. He has better hands and can be used in more creative ways, which needs to happen when your run blocking is bad.
  • QB Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams)  – Stafford just isn’t getting the ‘fantasy stats’ you want to see from your fantasy quarterback. He’s throwing for a lot of yards, but not enough touchdowns and too many interceptions.
  • WR DJ Moore (Carolina Panthers) – Moore doesn’t get the kind of targets needed to be relevant in fantasy. The Panthers have a quarterback problem that will not be solved this season.
  • RB Melvin Gordon (Denver Broncos) – He’s been a fumbling machine and I think newly-signed RB Latavius Murray will be more productive this week.
  • QB Kenny Pickett (Pittsburgh Steelers) – PIckett will be better than Mitchell Trubisky this season, but they’ve picked a hell of a week for his first start. The Bills defense is legit and Pickett will throw a few more picks this week.
  • WR Rashod Bateman (Baltimore Ravens) – He’s dealing with a foot injury and he may not even suit up. I wouldn’t want to risk it, so I’d rather start Denver’s Jerry Jeudy or Cincinnati’s Tyler Boyd.
  • TE Gerald Everett (Los Angeles Chargers) – As long as Chargers QB Justin Herbert is dealing with this rib cartilage issue, the passing game will hurt. Also, the Chargers lost two of their best offensive linemen recently. Everett will be needed to block more.
  • Philadelphia Eagles Defense & Special Teams – The Eagles face a stud quarterback this week (Cardinals QB Kyler Murray) and have allowed big performances from Lions QB Jared Goff and Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence already this year. I’d rather start the Minnesota Vikings DEF/ST or Denver Broncos DEF/ST this week over the Eagles.
  • TE Irv Smith Jr. (Minnesota Vikings) – He just isn’t getting enough looks. The Vikings passing offense has a lot of great targets, so Smith is a touchdown or bust tight end.
  • Baltimore Ravens Defense & Special Teams – The Bengals travel to Baltimore this week, and even though their offense hasn’t been unstoppable this year, they always play the Ravens tough. I have a feeling that their game on Sunday Night Football could be a fun one and I wouldn’t stream the Ravens DEF/ST this week.
  • WR Gabe Davis (Buffalo Bills) – Davis has been dealing with a bad ankle and hasn’t put up many fantasy points in back-to-back games. It may take a few more games before he’s back to putting up enough fantasy points worth a start. He is a decent ‘buy low’ candidate since I think he will bounce-back in the coming weeks.

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sweetbob-author-picAbout the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.