Fantasy football-Week 5 sleepers
Quarterback Week 5 sleepers
Philip Rivers-San Diego Chargers (FD-7,500, DK-6,200): Rivers isn’t too deep of a sleeper since he’s the 10th-highest paid QB on both daily sites, but I think he has a good chance to go off and be an elite option this week at home against the Steelers. Pittsburgh’s secondary was gashed by Tom Brady on opening night and even Colin Kaepernick put up good numbers against them in week 2. They’ve looked better lately but they’ve also only played Joe Flacco and Nick Foles. This week, Rivers will look to post his third huge game at home where he has thrown for 761 yards and five touchdowns while struggling to just 487 yards in his two road starts. At home against an iffy Pittsburgh secondary, I like Rivers a lot this week and I think he has legitimate top-5 upside.
Marcus Mariota (FD-7,400, DK-6,000): Mariota and the Titans are in a good place to produce this week as they host an ailing Buffalo Bills team as Tennessee returns off a bye week after almost pulling off the upset against the Colts. Tennessee’s strong start and good outlook has everything to do with the good play of rookie Marcus Mariota who has thrown for multiple TD’s in each of his three NFL games with escalating yardage totals of 209, 257, and 367. He did throw a pair of back-breaking picks against Indy, but he should be able to shake that off as he takes on the third-worst passing defense in the league by fantasy football scoring. Mariota is still affordable and does carry risk due to the usual inconsistencies associated with rookie QB’s, but I like him to put together a nice performance at home in this one.
Jay Cutler-Chicago Bears (FD-7,400, DK-5,300): The inactives will tell us a lot about Cutler’s chances today, but if things go his way he could be set up for success. Cutler himself is questionable as are Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Royal his two top receivers. His starting left tackle Jermon Bushrod has already been ruled out which could make things tough on Cutler even if he and his receivers are active. However, if he can go and has Jeffery back, Cutler is in a good enough matchup to make his one of our week 5 sleepers in a matchup against the Chiefs secondary which has given up more fantasy points to opposing QB’s than any other team in the NFL.
Josh McCown-Cleveland Browns (FD-6,700, DK-5,100): McCown has looked great in his last two weeks which are his only two full games as Browns’ starting QB. He threw for 341 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Raiders in week 3 and followed that with 356 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Chargers. Cleveland hasn’t been able to turn either of his big games into wins, but they’ll try again today as they visit their division rivals in Baltimore who also enter with a 1-3 record.
Week 4 Picks: Andy Dalton, Derek Carr, Jameis Winston
Next: Running Back Sleepers Week 5