To assist with your most difficult lineup decisions, you’ll find my Week 5 fantasy football rankings below. Toggle between standard, half PPR (point per reception) and full PPR to see where players rank in your league’s format.
Our team at the USA TODAY Sports Network also has you covered for all your fantasy football needs. Looking for up-to-date player news? We’ve got it. Need to know who the best starts and sits of the week are? We have an article for that. We also have fantasy defense rankings, kicker rankings, and a trade value chart to help with all your trade decisions.
Given the volatility of this league and fantasy football in particular, these rankings will be updated up until a half hour before the Sunday afternoon games kick off. Let’s get to it.
Week 5 fantasy football quarterback rankings
STOCK UP: Jordan Love finished as the QB2 against the Vikings in Week 4 and will face what should be a much easier test vs. the Rams. To date, Los Angeles has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.
STOCK UP: Justin Fields was the only signal-caller who outscored Love last week, riding 367 total yards and three scores (two on the ground) en route to 32 fantasy points. Dating to last year, Fields has finished as a top-eight quarterback in half of his last 14 starts. He’ll match up well with a Dallas team that’s ceding the ninth-most fantasy points and second-most rushing yards to the position.
STOCK DOWN: Trevor Lawrence has finished as the QB16 or worse in each of the first four weeks, and he’s failed to finish higher than QB10 in 16 of his last 19 games. The Colts have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks but keep your expectations in check.
STOCK DOWN: Sam Darnold is currently relying on an unsustainable 10.6% touchdown rate. The highest since 2020 has been 6.9%. There’s a good chance he comes crashing back down to earth against a Jets defense that’s allowed the fewest fantasy points to passers since the start of last season.
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Week 5 fantasy football running back rankings
STOCK UP: D’Andre Swift tore apart the Rams in Week 4 with a 165-yard, one-touchdown performance. He’s now averaging 18.7 touches since Week 1. That kind of volume should play well against a Panthers squad that just gave up 170 yards and three touchdowns to Chase Brown and Zack Moss.
STOCK UP: Alexander Mattison is finally set to lead the Raiders backfield with Zamir White listed as out with a groin injury. Mattison has played well in a limited role and is currently top 15 among running backs in yards after contact both on the ground and through the air. He’s a volume-based top-24 play.
STOCK DOWN: Brian Robinson Jr.will play on Sunday after being listed as questionable with a knee injury, but he won’t have the RB1 upside he had last week. In half-PPR formats, Robinson has finished higher than RB10 just once in his last 17 games, and the return of Austin Ekeler dampens his upside. It doesn’t help that the Browns have ceded the sixth-fewest fantasy points to opposing backfields.
STOCK DOWN: Zack Moss had just one more touch than Chase Brown in Week 4, and a split workload might not be enough to get it done against Baltimore. Through four weeks, the Ravens have limited opposing backs to just 2.7 yards per carry, which is the best mark in the league.
Week 5 fantasy football wide receiver rankings
STOCK UP: Amari Cooper was on the wrong end of phantom holding call last week, which prevented him from finishing as a top-five receiver for the second week in a row. In Week 5, he’ll take on a Washington secondary that’s given up the most fantasy points to wideouts this season.
STOCK UP: Dontayvion Wicks will be the prime beneficiary of injury to Christian Watson, but the suspension of Romeo Doubs further narrows the target tree for Green Bay. Wicks was targeted a whopping 13 times against Minnesota in Week 4 and racked up 78 yards and two touchdowns. A salivating matchup with the Rams awaits in Week 5.
STOCK DOWN: D.J. Moore ranks seventh among receivers in targets, and yet his best finish on the season has been WR31. The game script and presence of Keenan Allen in Week 4 resulted in a season-low six targets, and his outlook doesn’t look all that much better against the Panthers this week.
STOCK DOWN: Jakobi Meyers turned 10 targets last week into 5 receptions for 49 scoreless yards, and a matchup with Patrick Surtain II and the Broncos is up next. He’s better off left on benches.
Week 5 fantasy football tight end rankings
STOCK UP: Travis Kelce is in prime position to regain elite fantasy tight end status with Rahsee Rice out of the lineup, and he might very well be in the overall TE1 discussion. The second-year receiver ranked second in the league with a 33.7% target share through Week 3.
STOCK UP: Tucker Kraft should also benefit from the narrowing of Green Bay’s target tree. With Watson and Doubs out of the lineup, Kraft is a locked-in top-10 option at a thin position.
STOCK DOWN:Dalton Schultz finished as the TE18 with Tank Dell out of the lineup in Week 4. The veteran tight end is probably droppable in most leagues.