Crunch time begins now for fantasy owners everywhere as we have reached the dreaded bye weeks. The real ones — not those makeshift disasters that may or may not have put Tampa and Miami at disadvantages for the remainder of the season.
But I digress…
Week 4 provided another laundry list of unexpected results across the league both in game scores and fantasy outputs, so where does that leave us this season in terms of thinking we have a good grip on how Week 5 will go? We have no clue, but here’s some rankings anyway!
Quarterback
By all accounts, Thursday night is shaping up to be an all out points extravaganza between New England and Tampa Bay placing both Brady and Winston in this week’s top 3 plays. How bad has New England’s defense been this year? 27th in pass rush and their shiny new toy in Stephon Gilmore has not been as advertised.
Deshaun Watson makes the biggest jump of the group and is starting to look like the real deal. Hard to imagine DeAndre Hopkins isn’t loving his new quarterback by now. I like Philip Rivers this week to get the Chargers into the win column for the first time this season, but past that there aren’t a lot of deep sleeper options compared to last week’s crop.
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp |
| 1 | Tom Brady | NE | @TB |
| 2 | Aaron Rodgers | GB | @DAL |
| 3 | Jameis Winston | TB | NE |
| 4 | Russell Wilson | SEA | @LAR |
| 5 | Dak Prescott | DAL | GB |
| 6 | Deshaun Watson | HST | KC |
| 7 | Matthew Stafford | DET | CAR |
| 8 | Carson Wentz | PHI | ARZ |
| 9 | Eli Manning | NYG | LAC |
| 10 | Cam Newton | CAR | @DET |
| 11 | Tyrod Taylor | BUF | @CIN |
| 12 | Carson Palmer | ARZ | @PHI |
| 13 | Philip Rivers | LAC | @NYG |
| 14 | Alex Smith | KC | @HST |
| 15 | Ben Roethlisberger | PIT | JAX |
| 16 | Andy Dalton | CIN | BUF |
| 17 | Marcus Mariota | TEN | @MIA |
| 18 | Jay Cutler | MIA | TEN |
| 19 | Jacoby Brissett | IND | SF |
| 20 | Jared Goff | LAR | SEA |
| 21 | Joe Flacco | BLT | @OAK |
| 22 | DeShone Kizer | CLV | NYJ |
| 23 | Josh McCown | NYJ | @CLV |
| 24 | Brian Hoyer | SF | @IND |
| 25 | Blake Bortles | JAX | @PIT |
Running Back
The top three for Week 5 are a wash for me. Each option should put up a solid game as it looks like Bell has finally shaken off the rust after his pre-season holdout. Gurley and Fournette are iffy options for me this week, but because of the talent, you can’t disregard what they could bring to the table. Fournette is starting to give me some cause for concern as his snap count has decreased each week this season as last week he was only on the field for half of Jacksonville’s snaps.
Doug Martin comes back this week following his three game suspension and falls in the 20s among a tangled mess of options including Latavius Murray’s shot to rule the Vikings’ backfield. This also may be the week Wayne Gallman overtakes the Giants’ backfield after unimpressive starts by both Paul Perkins and Orleans Darkwa.
Oh, and one more sub-3 YPC game from Isaiah Crowell this week and he’s a dump option across all leagues for me. All hail Duke Johnson.
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp |
| 1 | Le’Veon Bell | PIT | JAX |
| 2 | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | GB |
| 3 | Kareem Hunt | KC | @HST |
| 4 | Todd Gurley II | LAR | SEA |
| 5 | Carlos Hyde | SF | @IND |
| 6 | Leonard Fournette | JAX | @PIT |
| 7 | LeSean McCoy | BUF | @CIN |
| 8 | Melvin Gordon | LAC | @NYG |
| 9 | Jordan Howard | CHI | MIN |
| 10 | Bilal Powell | NYJ | @CLV |
| 11 | Jay Ajayi | MIA | TEN |
| 12 | DeMarco Murray | TEN | @MIA |
| 13 | Lamar Miller | HST | KC |
| 14 | Christian McCaffrey | CAR | @DET |
| 15 | Ameer Abdullah | DET | CAR |
| 16 | Joe Mixon | CIN | BUF |
| 17 | Tarik Cohen | CHI | MIN |
| 18 | James White | NE | @TB |
| 19 | Aaron Jones | GB | @DAL |
| 20 | Duke Johnson Jr. | CLV | NYJ |
| 21 | Andre Ellington | ARZ | @PHI |
| 22 | Frank Gore | IND | SF |
| 23 | Doug Martin | TB | NE |
| 24 | Mike Gillislee | NE | @TB |
| 25 | Latavius Murray | MIN | @CHI |
| 26 | Marshawn Lynch | OAK | BLT |
| 27 | LeGarrette Blount | PHI | ARZ |
| 28 | Wendell Smallwood | PHI | ARZ |
| 29 | Alex Collins | BLT | @OAK |
| 30 | Theo Riddick | DET | CAR |
| 31 | Javorius Allen | BLT | @OAK |
| 32 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | BUF |
| 33 | Jonathan Stewart | CAR | @DET |
| 34 | Wayne Gallman | NYG | LAC |
| 35 | Jerick McKinnon | MIN | @CHI |
| 36 | Thomas Rawls | SEA | @LAR |
| 37 | Isaiah Crowell | CLV | NYJ |
| 38 | Derrick Henry | TEN | @MIA |
| 39 | Shane Vereen | NYG | LAC |
| 40 | D’Onta Foreman | HST | KC |
| 41 | C.J. Prosise | SEA | @LAR |
| 42 | Elijah McGuire | NYJ | @CLV |
| 43 | Jalen Richard | OAK | BLT |
| 44 | Eddie Lacy | SEA | @LAR |
| 45 | Jacquizz Rodgers | TB | NE |
| 46 | Chris Johnson | ARZ | @PHI |
| 47 | Terrance West | BLT | @OAK |
| 48 | Dion Lewis | NE | @TB |
| 49 | Chris Ivory | JAX | @PIT |
| 50 | Matt Breida | SF | @IND |
Wide Receiver
Came close to placing Brown lower on the list as Jacksonville’s secondary has been lights out against WR1’s this year. Still a risky play regardless. The matchups throughout the top 10 provide plenty of intrigue and are favorable for the most part.
Meanwhile into the teens we find Chris Hogan who continues to thrive following the injury to Julian Edelman. It comes as somewhat of a shock to me that he is THIS good. It should continue on Thursday night.
Will Fuller’s chemistry was on point with Deshaun Watson last week against Tennessee, and with a challenging matchup against Kansas City this week, it should be interesting to see if he can build off the four reception season debut.
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp |
| 1 | Mike Evans | TB | NE |
| 2 | Antonio Brown | PIT | JAX |
| 3 | Odell Beckham Jr. | NYG | LAC |
| 4 | Jordy Nelson | GB | @DAL |
| 5 | A.J. Green | CIN | BUF |
| 6 | DeAndre Hopkins | HST | KC |
| 7 | Stefon Diggs | MIN | @CHI |
| 8 | Dez Bryant | DAL | GB |
| 9 | Brandin Cooks | NE | @TB |
| 10 | T.Y. Hilton | IND | SF |
| 11 | Larry Fitzgerald | ARZ | @PHI |
| 12 | Keenan Allen | LAC | @NYG |
| 13 | Chris Hogan | NE | @TB |
| 14 | Tyreek Hill | KC | @HST |
| 15 | Doug Baldwin | SEA | @LAR |
| 16 | DeVante Parker | MIA | TEN |
| 17 | Pierre Garcon | SF | @IND |
| 18 | Golden Tate | DET | CAR |
| 19 | Jarvis Landry | MIA | TEN |
| 20 | Rishard Matthews | TEN | @MIA |
| 21 | Adam Thielen | MIN | @CHI |
| 22 | Michael Crabtree | OAK | BLT |
| 23 | DeSean Jackson | TB | NE |
| 24 | Randall Cobb | GB | @DAL |
| 25 | Amari Cooper | OAK | BLT |
| 26 | Alshon Jeffery | PHI | ARZ |
| 27 | Sammy Watkins | LAR | SEA |
| 28 | Kelvin Benjamin | CAR | @DET |
| 29 | Sterling Shepard | NYG | LAC |
| 30 | Devin Funchess | CAR | @DET |
| 31 | Tyrell Williams | LAC | @NYG |
| 32 | Martavis Bryant | PIT | JAX |
| 33 | Marvin Jones Jr. | DET | CAR |
| 34 | Jeremy Maclin | BLT | @OAK |
| 35 | Jermaine Kearse | NYJ | @CLV |
| 36 | Will Fuller V | HST | KC |
| 37 | Allen Hurns | JAX | @PIT |
| 38 | Marqise Lee | JAX | @PIT |
| 39 | Jaron Brown | ARZ | @PHI |
| 40 | Paul Richardson | SEA | @LAR |
| 41 | Tyler Lockett | SEA | @LAR |
| 42 | Robby Anderson | NYJ | @CLV |
| 43 | Danny Amendola | NE | @TB |
| 44 | Donte Moncrief | IND | SF |
| 45 | Kendall Wright | CHI | MIN |
| 46 | Cooper Kupp | LAR | SEA |
| 47 | Mike Wallace | BLT | @OAK |
| 48 | Geronimo Allison | GB | @DAL |
| 49 | Nelson Agholor | PHI | ARZ |
| 50 | Eric Decker | TEN | @MIA |
Tight End
Another week, another Gronk-leading rankings. Moving on…
Evan Engram should provide a solid low end TE1 option as should Jared Cook with EJ Manuel looking to him as a security blanket against Baltimore this weekend.
Tyler Croft busted on to the scene, taking advantage of Tyler Eifert’s absence last week but a difficult matchup with a stingy Buffalo defense creates a solid high-risk, high-reward play.
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp |
| 1 | Rob Gronkowski | NE | @TB |
| 2 | Travis Kelce | KC | @HST |
| 3 | Zach Ertz | PHI | ARZ |
| 4 | Charles Clay | BUF | @CIN |
| 5 | Delanie Walker | TEN | @MIA |
| 6 | Jimmy Graham | SEA | @LAR |
| 7 | Evan Engram | NYG | LAC |
| 8 | Cameron Brate | TB | NE |
| 9 | Jared Cook | OAK | BLT |
| 10 | Jason Witten | DAL | GB |
| 11 | Martellus Bennett | GB | @DAL |
| 12 | Kyle Rudolph | MIN | @CHI |
| 13 | Jack Doyle | IND | SF |
| 14 | Eric Ebron | DET | CAR |
| 15 | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | NYJ | @CLV |
| 16 | Benjamin Watson | BLT | @OAK |
| 17 | Hunter Henry | LAC | @NYG |
| 18 | Antonio Gates | LAC | @NYG |
| 19 | Tyler Kroft | CIN | BUF |
| 20 | O.J. Howard | TB | NE |
| 21 | Zach Miller | CHI | MIN |
| 22 | Jesse James | PIT | JAX |
| 23 | Julius Thomas | MIA | TEN |
| 24 | David Njoku | CLV | NYJ |
| 25 | Ryan Griffin | HST | KC |
Defense/Special Teams
It feels weird putting the Jets as high as they are, but Cleveland is that bad. The debut of Mitchell Trubisky should provide a turnover or two for Minnesota’s defense, but it could also blow up in the Vikings’ face if Chicago plays anything like they did the past two games at home with better quarterback play.
| Rank | Name | Opp |
| 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers | JAX |
| 2 | New York Jets | @CLV |
| 3 | Minnesota Vikings | @CHI |
| 4 | Buffalo Bills | @CIN |
| 5 | Seattle Seahawks | @LAR |
| 6 | Kansas City Chiefs | @HST |
| 7 | Cincinnati Bengals | BUF |
| 8 | Baltimore Ravens | @OAK |
| 9 | Philadelphia Eagles | ARZ |
| 10 | Detroit Lions | CAR |
| 11 | Jacksonville Jaguars | @PIT |
| 12 | New York Giants | LAC |
| 13 | Oakland Raiders | BLT |
| 14 | Arizona Cardinals | @PHI |
| 15 | Houston Texans | KC |
| 16 | Los Angeles Rams | SEA |
| 17 | Miami Dolphins | TEN |
| 18 | Carolina Panthers | @DET |
| 19 | Tennessee Titans | @MIA |
| 20 | San Francisco 49ers | @IND |
| 21 | Cleveland Browns | NYJ |
| 22 | Indianapolis Colts | SF |
| 23 | Chicago Bears | MIN |
| 24 | Los Angeles Chargers | @NYG |
| 25 | Green Bay Packers | @DAL |
ChiCitySports Fantasy Review: Week 6 Fantasy Football Rankings
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