Fantasy football-Week 5 sleepers
Running Back Week 5 sleepers
Thomas Rawls-Seattle Seahawks (FD-6,000, DK-3,800): With Marshawn Lynch out for Sunday’s game and Fred Jackson dealing with a high ankle sprain, Rawls should handle the bulk of the work for the Seahawks in the run game against the Bengals in Cincinnati. Rawls ran for 104 yards on 16 carries against the Bears in week 3 and followed that with 48 yards on 17 carries against the Lions on Monday Night Football. This will be his first road game to be involved in, and he’s a great value especially on DraftKings if you need to go cheap at RB.
Antonio Andrews-Tennessee Titans (FD-5,600, DK-3,500): Another ultra-cheap option who could end up getting enough work to produce this week is Titans’ running back Antonio Andrews who led the Titans with 12 carries for 49 yards and a touchdown against the Colts before their bye. Tennessee has been looking for answers at RB, and it’s possible they’re ready to give Andrews and his bruising style the nod in the backfields alongside Marcus Mariota.
Chris Thompson-Washington Redskins (FD-5,100, DK-3,300): The Redskins have been using Matt Jones and Alfred Morris as their top two running backs, but don’t overlook Chris Thompson who has also earned some reps and been productive with his touches. In week 3 he had 57 yards on his eight catches while adding 29 yards rushing on two carries. Last week, he had another nice week running for 53 yards and adding 24 more on two catches. He is a risky play since he doesn’t get a ton of touches, but his matchup this week against the Falcons (worst in the NFL against fantasy football RB) makes him a flier who could pay off.
Andre Williams-New York Giants (FD-5,400, DK-3,100): Williams has been worked into the Giants backfield which now uses a rotation of him, Shane Vereen, and Rashad Jennings. Williams typically takes care of the short yardage and goal line work, but he has actually gotten more carries the last two weeks. He ran for 29 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries in week 3 and then posted 35 yards on a team-high 11 carries in Buffalo last week. While there’s little chance he’ll claim the job outright, he’s worth a cheap flier this week as he faces a good matchup against the 49ers struggling defense.
Anthony “Boobie” Dixon-Buffalo Bills (FD-4,500, DK-3,000): The Bills running back ranks have been thinned by injuries with both LeSean McCoy and Karlos Williams set to miss this week’s contest against the Titans. Dixon should be the lead back for Buffalo this week although he’ll share some time with new acquisition Daniel “Boom” Herron. Herron isn’t available on either DraftKings or FanDuel, so if you are going to use a Bills’ RB this week, Dixon is your value pick and one of the cheapest week 5 sleepers who should get touches to make an impact.
Week 4 Picks: Joseph Randle, Devonta Freeman, Melvin Gordon, Matt Jones, Ameer Abdullah, Karlos Williams, Duke Johnson, Thomas Rawls
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