DraftKings NFL: Week 5 lineup
By Joe Romano
Week 5 of the NFL is the first week teams on a bye will become an issue. DraftKings values and lineup decisions are harder than any other time this season.
The majority of NFL teams have played four games, meaning that they are officially a quarter of the way through their schedule. Week 5 is the first official bye week for teams, not including the odd Week 1 bye from the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to the hurricane.
Before jumping into Week 5, I’d like to quickly look at last week’s lineup. This full lineup produced a winning profit when used with only a single player (aside from defense) scoring below double digits.
- QB: Philip Rivers $6300
- RB: LeSean McCoy $8400
- RB: Bilal Powell $4600
- WR: Odell Beckham Jr. $8900
- WR: Adam Thielen $5800
- WR: Tyrell Williams $4400
- TE: Cameron Brate $3800
- FLEX: Cooper Kupp $4300
- D/ST: Cincinnati Bengals $3500
Rivers had 23.88 points with his two touchdowns and no interceptions to go along with 347 yards passing. The Eagles continue to be a team to exploit for quarterback and wide receiver matchups.
McCoy, while not able to find the endzone, finished with a respectable 13.8 points. He continues to be a quality DraftKings play due to his PPR ability. Last week he had another three catches on three targets and 32 yards receiving to pair with 76 rushing yards.
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Powell was the surprise of the day. With Matt Forte out, Powell shouldered the load for the New York Jets. He finished the day with 25 touches (including four catches) for 190 yards and a touchdown. That was 32 points in DraftKings with a bonus for over 100 yards rushing.
Beckham proved to be worth his price tag with 16 points. The star wide receiver hauled in seven of his 15 targets for 90 yards.
Thielen was the biggest disappointment of the lineup finishing with only 9.9 points. He caught five of his eight targets for 59 yards.
Williams was considered a value play but because of his matchup with the Eagles was a must have in every DraftKings lineup. He proved his value with a monster 25.5 point day. Williams finished the game with five receptions fro 115 yards and a touchdown.
Brate saw some of his work go to fellow tight end O.J. Howard in the Buccaneers win over the Giants on Sunday. He still finished with 18 points thanks to four receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Kupp was another value play in a great matchup. The Los Angeles Rams beat the Dallas Cowboys, another secondary to target for wide receivers and quarterbacks. Kupp finished with five receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown giving him 17 points in DraftKings scoring.
The Bengals defense managed to only give up seven points against the Cleveland Browns. They also forced rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer into an interception and two sacks. This gave them eight points to finish the day.
Week 5 is unique not only because of the bye weeks but also because of the injuries plaguing fantasy studs. Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota are both dealing with injuries. In a week that has Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Kirk Cousins on a bye, having two other quarterbacks out makes for slim pickings. This also will impact the Raiders and Titans wide receivers this week.
The four teams on a bye are the Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos. That is a lot of fantasy options, especially in New Orleans and Atlanta.
These rankings do not include Thursday night football which features the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Those are two more offenses that are fantasy friendly. This will be a tough DraftKings week. Let’s jump right in!