It's been an interesting start to the season for Zay Flowers, and Fantasy managers aren't sure what to do with him yet in lineups. As of Friday afternoon, he's only being started in 53 percent of leagues on CBS Sports heading into Week 5 at Pittsburgh.
Flowers had his worst game of the season in Week 4 at Cleveland with just 8.0 PPR points on three catches for 56 yards on four targets. Prior to that, he scored at least 13.0 PPR points in two of his first three games, and I expect him to bounce back against the Steelers.
Now, we could see Odell Beckham Jr. (ankle) and Rashod Bateman (hamstring) return to action this week, but Flowers will remain the No. 1 receiver for Lamar Jackson (No. 2 target behind Mark Andrews). And all four No. 1 receivers to face the Steelers this season (Brandon Aiyuk, Amari Cooper, Davante Adams and Nico Collins) have scored at least 16.0 PPR points.
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Will Flowers follow suit? I'm not sure he gets to that level of production, but he could score at least 13.0 PPR points once again. He should be considered a must-start Fantasy option in all three-receiver leagues, and he's a borderline starter in two-receiver formats.
Hopefully, Flowers can deliver a big outing against the Steelers, and then he gets to face the Titans in Week 6. He could be a must-start Fantasy option in all formats before you know it.
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Now, let's look at other sleepers to target in Week 5. Hopefully, they deliver in a big way to give your lineup a significant boost. And if you're looking for my Week 5 DFS plays, you can find my million-dollar contest tournament lineups for both DraftKings and FanDuel over at SportsLine.
Week 5 Sleepers
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Week 5 Preview
Sleepers
Sleeper QBs
Purdy doesn't have an easy matchup in Week 5 against Dallas, but I'm still going to trust him as a low-end starter. He's scored at least 20.8 Fantasy points in three of four starts, including at least 23.3 points in two games in a row, and we'll see if the Cowboys can slow down this 49ers offense. So far, Dallas has faced Daniel Jones, Zach Wilson, Joshua Dobbs and Mac Jones, but Purdy will be their toughest opponent to date. He's also been great at home, scoring at least 20.0 Fantasy points in all five games that he's started in San Francisco in the regular season going back to last year, with an average of 23.8 points over that span.
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Dobbs has been great over the past three weeks with an average of 24.6 points against the Giants, Cowboys and 49ers, and he should do well against Cincinnati in Week 5. The Bengals allow an average of 19.4 Fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, and Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson both scored at least 22.7 points against this defense. Dobbs is making plays with his legs with at least 41 rushing yards in each of the past three games, and he's yet to throw an interception. He's been a pleasant surprise so far this year, and he's a good bye-week replacement if needed in Week 5.
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I don't want to chase Wilson's quality performance against the Chiefs in Week 4, but it was easily the best he looked all season when he passed for 245 yards and two touchdowns on 28-of-39 completions, along with 14 rushing yards. He should build off that outing in Week 5 against the Broncos, who allow the most Fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. All four quarterbacks against Denver this season (Jimmy Garoppolo, Sam Howell, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Fields) have each passed for at least two touchdowns, and Tagovailoa and Fields each had more than 300 passing yards and four touchdowns in the past two games. Wilson will hopefully follow suit, and I love the narrative of Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett facing his former team, especially after current Broncos coach Sean Payton took shots at Hackett this offseason.
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Sleeper RBs
Warren has outscored Najee Harris in PPR in every game this season, and Warren has scored at least 11.5 PPR points in two of his past three outings coming into this game against the Ravens. We'll see what happens at quarterback for Pittsburgh with Kenny Pickett (knee) banged up, but if it's Pickett or Mitch Trubisky, we should see Warren heavily involved in the passing game since Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) is joining Diontae Johnson (hamstring) on the sidelines. Warren is already among the league leaders in targets (22) and receptions (18) for running backs this season, and the Ravens have allowed at least 6.0 PPR points to three running backs (Joe Mixon, Zack Moss and Jerome Ford) just with their receiving stats alone. Warren is a quality flex option in PPR in Week 5.
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We'll see if Justice Hill gets more work in Week 5 against the Steelers than he did in Week 4 against the Browns. Coming back from a toe injury, Hill only had three carries for 33 yards and no targets, and he's still on the injury report in Week 5 with foot and hamstring ailments. That should help Edwards continue to get a healthy amount of touches, and he had 15 carries for 48 yards against the Browns, along with a surprising two catches for 1 yard on three targets. That was a tough matchup against Cleveland, but the Steelers have been more forgiving to running backs. Three of four running backs this season have gained at least 100 total yards against Pittsburgh, and we'll see if Edwards can have success on the ground. He's worth using as a flex in deeper leagues, with his value higher in non-PPR.
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Sleeper WRs
Nico Collins has become a must-start Fantasy receiver in all leagues, and I'm going back to Dell as a borderline starter in all formats as well. He should bounce back after a dud in Week 3 against Pittsburgh when he caught one pass for 16 yards on three targets. Prior to that, Dell scored at least 20.2 PPR points in each of his previous two games against the Colts and Jaguars, and I'm expecting a solid showing against the Falcons. Atlanta has allowed five receivers to score at least 11.8 PPR points in the past three games, and Dell should remain a go-to option for C.J. Stroud in this matchup.
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Addison had his worst game of the season in Week 4 at Carolina with no catches on just one target, but he should bounce back this week against the Chiefs. While he's still playing fewer snaps than K.J. Osborn, this should be a game where Addison's targets are bountiful with the Vikings likely chasing points, even at home. Addison scored a touchdown in his first two games this year against Tampa Bay and Philadelphia, and he had six catches for 52 yards on eight targets in Week 3 against the Chargers. He's still a boom-or-bust No. 3 Fantasy receiver, but I expect him to do well in Week 5.
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We'll see what happens with the Lions receiving corps with Amon-Ra St. Brown (abdomen) not expected to play since he's listed as doubtful heading into Week 5 against Carolina, and Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) is also doubtful. Reynolds, Jameson Williams and Kalif Raymond will have to pick up the slack for Detroit, and St. Brown is averaging 8.8 targets, 6.5 receptions and 82.8 yards this season, with two touchdowns. I'm hopeful the majority of his vacated production goes to Sam LaPorta, but Reynolds now has appeal as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver in the majority of leagues. He's dealing with a groin injury himself, but he's expected to play. And Reynolds has scored at least 12.0 PPR points in two of three games this season while sharing the field with St. Brown.
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Gallup has worked his way into the conversation as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver, especially with four teams on a bye. In his past two games, Gallup has 11 catches for 152 yards on 13 targets, and he's scored at least 11.0 PPR points in both outings against the Cardinals and Patriots. He has passed Brandin Cooks as the No. 2 receiver for the Cowboys behind CeeDee Lamb, and Dak Prescott should continue to lean on Gallup in this tough road game at San Francisco in Week 5.
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Tee Higgins (ribs) is listed as questionable, and if he's out in Week 5 against the Cardinals then Boyd could be used as a No. 3 PPR receiver. He comes into Week 5 with 24 targets in his past three games, and he has two outings with at least five catches over that span. We could see his targets and receptions rise with Higgins out, and Boyd could help you in deeper leagues. It would be even better for Boyd if Joe Burrow was 100 percent, but his calf injury limits the upside for everyone in Cincinnati. That being said, Boyd should benefit with Burrow continuing to dump the ball off underneath based on how the past three games have gone.
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Sleeper TEs
In the past two games without safety Marcus Maye (suspension), the Saints have allowed Luke Musgrave and Cade Otton to each score at least 10.3 PPR points. Henry was one of the few bright spots for the Patriots in Week 4 at Dallas with four catches for 51 yards on five targets, and Mac Jones missed him for a touchdown in the back of the end zone. Henry has now scored at least 9.1 PPR points in three of four games this season, and I like him as a top-10 Fantasy tight end in Week 5 at home.
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Ertz should have scored his first touchdown of the season in Week 4 at San Francisco, but the ball slipped out of his hands for a bad drop late in the fourth quarter. Still, Ertz scored at least 11.3 PPR points for the second time in three games, and he has three outings this season with at least six catches and eight targets. This week, he's facing a Bengals defense that has allowed three tight ends in the past three games (Mark Andrews, Tyler Higbee and Josh Whyle) to score at least 10.6 PPR points, and Ertz has top-10 upside in PPR in Week 5.
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The Broncos made Cole Kmet look like a superstar in Week 4 with seven catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns on nine targets, and that's now two tight ends with at least 10.2 PPR points against the Broncos this year after Logan Thomas hit that number against Denver in Week 2. Conklin has scored at least 9.8 PPR points in two of his past three games, and he has 17 targets in his past three outings. Given the matchup and his recent level of production, Conklin is worth using as a low-end starter in deeper leagues as a quality bye-week replacement.
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Defense/Special Teams
- Dolphins vs. NYG
- Commanders vs. CHI
- Texans at ATL
Kickers
- Riley Patterson vs. CAR
- Wil Lutz vs. NYJ
- Nick Folk at IND