NFL DRAFT DFS: 2018 Week 5 Rankings (DRAFT.com)

Why do you need another DFS site? Because DRAFT combines the excitement of a season-long draft into one set of games!  This article has some targets and pre-draft rankings all set for you to jump into some NFL DRAFT DFS action!

Welcome to the NFL week five edition of NFL DRAFT DFS, covering snake drafts on DRAFT.com from FantasyCPR. Every week, I will cover the main slate on DRAFT, omitting the Thursday game from this article. If you draft before Thursday night, there may be a few players not in the rankings to add to your rankings. If you are new to DRAFT or if you are wondering what I am even talking about, check it out here.

If you have read my DRAFT articles for PGA and MLB in the past, this set-up will be nearly identical in terms of breaking it down. I will first go over my targets at each position, and follow that up with rankings. Each target will be followed with their overall ranking. Rosters on DRAFT are 1-QB, 2-RB’s, and 2 WR/TE’s, so just five spots.

Tournament size varies as far as how many participants are in each DRAFT, but this column will be geared towards cash games. The most popular of these that I play are the $1 6-man’s and $5 10-man’s. Therefore, I will give my top 50 overall rankings after the targets, with 10 quarterbacks, 20 running backs, and 20 wide receivers. That should cover you for your 10-man contests! Before we get to this weeks targets and rankings, let’s check out how last weeks targets fared!

NFL DRAFT DFS Week Three Recap:

QB:

Well I finally had my monster week on DRAFT that I had hope to have earlier in the season. I drafted plenty of my recommendations so I hope you did too. While the newest NFL darling Patrick Mahomes “regressed” a bit throwing just one touchdown, we finally got to see a glimpse of his running ability. Mahomes took a run seven yards for a touchdown last week, on a play where he went through his progressions in the red zone, looked to his blindside, and there was a clear path to the end zone.

If you aren’t watching Mahomes yet you need to. This kid is doing incredible things. With that said, he ended up with 22.86 DP which is solid, but my other recommendation was just a bit better, and didn’t cost you an earlier pick like Mahomes did.

That other QB pick last week was Andy Dalton, and it was another solid one, as it appears every game the Falcons play this year will be a shoot-out. I am kidding of course, but when you look at Vegas this week and see Atlanta travels to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers and an over/under of 58, you know you need to attack this game. Just like Cincy versus Atlanta last week. Dalton actually played better than I expected, ending up with 337 yards and three touchdowns. It was good for 25.78 DP, and another solid QB pick.

RB:

I recommended three running backs, as I will do every week, and one was scratched so we will start with the obvious. I was looking for Seahawks back Chris Carson to be a great late plug after his 32 carry outing the previous week. Turns out he probably got a little too much work, as he could not go, and Mike Davis filled in and did a pretty good job. Great thing about DRAFT though. is that if you did draft him, you got a notification for a late swap. Nothing better.

The guys that did actually take the field were not fantastic but were not bad either. Giants rookie Saquon Barkley seems to be getting full attention of opposing defenses, now that they have realized Odell Beckham Jr has completely checked out. I think this only hurts his touches going forward if anything, but he is such a huge part of this offense already just four games into his career. I think they keep feeding him, and I think he keeps producing. He had just ten carries last week for 44 yards and added a touchdown, but the Giants abandoned the run fairly. Also a big part of the passing game, Barkley caught six balls on eight targets, for an additional 56 yards.

The last running back pick was Carlos Hyde, who continued to do Carlos Hyde things. Hyde was able to grind out 82 yards on 22 carries against Oakland, and added his league leading fifth rushing touchdown. Hyde’s backup, rookie Nick Chubb stole the show however, ripping off two long touchdown runs, and amassing 105 yards on just three carries. I don’t know what that says for Hyde moving forward as far his workload goes, but I can bet he will still get close to 20 carries a game and all of the goal-line work. For what it’s worth, Hyde scored 14.2 DP for his efforts, which wasn’t too bad for a mid-round pick.

WR/TE:

Not as good of a week with the WR/TE position, but it wasn’t entirely my fault. Well Mike Evans was, so I’ll take my “L” on that one, but Will Fuller re-aggravating that hamstring injury forcing him to leave the game early was out of my hands.  Fuller had just 49 yards on 4 catches prior to his early exit, but was able to connect with QB Deshaun Watson for another touchdown, keeping their TD streak alive. Evans found no rhythm with Jameis Winston or Ryan Fitzpatrick, and only caught six balls for 59 yards, as the Buccaneers got destroyed by the Bears 48-10.

The last target was certainly a win in my book, as Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce had a great game for a late round pick. Honestly, a vast majority of the drafts I cashed in had the Mahomes/Kelce combo for the W. Kelce has scored three straight weeks now, and he and Mahomes look to have found a rapport. He put up 17.3 DP grabbing seven passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. If you got him in the fourth or fifth round like I did, congrats to us! Let’s continue and see what’s good this week!

NFL DRAFT DFS: QB Targets:

Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers – (19)

We should probably start these targets out this week by saying on site like DRAFT, stacking a QB and WR is a common strategy to maximize the big plays they could potentially connect on. When I broke down this slate, it was obvious to me that this game in Pittsburgh between the Steelers and the Falcons is the top one to target. After all, Dalton was able to put up big numbers, so it would not be far-fetched to see Big Ben throw for 400 yards here.

He threw for 452 in week two against the Chiefs, and I would argue this defense is worse. That huge 39 DP game in week one skews his average a bit, but through four games, Roethlisberger is averaging 22.98 DP per game. If I land Antonio Brown or JuJu Smith-Schuster early, I will definitely look to Big Ben in the fourth round or so.

Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints – (29)

My second quarterback target for week five, is the red-hot Saints signal caller Drew Brees. In what is viewed as a somewhat difficult match-up, Brees is being drafted around the fifth or sixth QB this week in 10-man drafts. I look at it as it’s another home game for Brees, regardless of opponent. The way he plays at home, coupled with the way this offense has played so far this season, pairing Brees with Alvin Kamara or Michael Thomas is a solid strategy as always, but give it a slight bump for home-field advantage.

NFL DRAFT DFS: RB Targets:

Melvin Gordon – Los Angeles Chargers – (3)

Super studs Todd Gurley and Alvin Kamara have been simply amazing up to this point of the season, but now solidifying himself right behind them with his outstanding start is Chargers running back Melvin Gordon. This is without a doubt, the third overall pick this week, and if you wanted to take him second, I wouldn’t argue it. Out of the three top backs, Gordon looks to have the best match-up, and could end up the top scorer of the week.

The Chargers will face the Raiders at home, and this another game expected to be explosive offensively, with a Vegas total of 52.5. I think the Chargers get up big early again, and we see a ton of Gordon and his back-up Austin Ekeler. Gordon has eclipsed 20 DP’s in three out of four games this season, and has averaged 23.38 DP per week. This should be as easy a draft pick as one and two are.

James Conner – Pittsburgh Steelers – (11)

One thing of note about my 10-man drafts this week, there is not much variance with certain running backs. In a perfect draft, we are somehow able to land two high usage stud backs in great spots. This week it is capable to do so, if Conner can bounce back from a lackluster showing last week, in which he only rushed for 19 yards on nine attempts. As long as LeVeon Bell remain away from the team however, Conner remains in play. The Steelers will welcome the Falcons to Heinz Field, and again this is a game we want to target from every angle. Conner is going mid-to-late second round, and if you can pair him with one of the top five studs, you should be in good shape.

 Aaron Jones – Green Bay Packers – (30)

Jones has played two games now since returning from suspension, and his workload doubled from one game to the next. Jones took six carries for 42 yards at Washington in his season debut, then handled the rock 11 times for 65 yards while adding a touchdown last week against the Bills. This is still a messy backfield with Jamaal Williams and Ty Montgomery in the fold, but I am hoping Green Bay realizes who the best player back there is this week, and gives him even more work this week.

The Packers will face the Lions who have been surprisingly bad against the run up to this point, and if Jones gets what he deserves, he should have a big game. Montgomery will likely be used in the passing game, and lining up in the slot a bunch this week due to the injuries in the Packers WR corps. That leaves Williams battling Jones for carries. In comparison to Jones’ 11 carries last week, Williams also got 11, but only turned it into 27 yards. In these 10-man drafts if you are forced to take a wide receiver in an early spot, Jones can be had in the late third / early fourth round.

NFL DRAFT DFS: WR/TE Targets:

JuJu Smith-Schuster – Pittsburgh Steelers – (13)

My goal is usually to grab the two best running backs I can, as early as I can. With that said, we all know Antonio Brown is the top dog in that Steelers receiving corp, but it doesn’t seem the emergence of Smith-Schuster is OK with Brown. That is just my perception I have no way to back that up of course, but AB84’s numbers have dipped a bit without holdout star running back LeVeon Bell, while JuJu is proving to be one of top wide receivers in the entire NFL.

Again, I am targeting this game as much as possible, and the fact that JuJu struggled a bit last week may cause some to shy some away this week due to good old recency bias. I think this is mostly true, as I have seen Smith-Schuster slip to the early third round in more drafts than he should. He still saw double-digit targets last week, and now has been targeted 49 times in four games. This should be a big game for this entire offense, I will have many different pieces of it in many different places.

Davante Adams – Green Bay Packers – (23)

This one is a question mark due to the questionable tag, but the latest word on Adams is that he will practice on Saturday, with the intent to play on Sunday. Another target machine, Adams is coming off an eight catch, 14 target game against the Bills. Thus far on the season, Adams has caught 28 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns. The calf injury has most staying away this week, and he is falling further and further down draft boards. If he plays he could be a steal, and if he sits you can swap. I think he is well worth the risk in the last two rounds.

Stefon Diggs – Minnesota Vikings – (32)

Diggs’ low projection has him falling into the late third / early fourth round. Well much like I think Pittsburgh and Atlanta will have a shoot-out, there are plenty of signs this match-up between the Eagles and Vikings will do the same. Philadelphia’s defence has been vulnerable, especially in the secondary, and the exact same can be said about the Vikings as well. While all the attention has shifted to Adam Thielen and rightfully so, it’s time to load up on Diggs in the fourth round as much as possible this week.

After the dud at home against Buffalo, Diggs bounced back against the might Rams, albeit in a losing effort. He caught 11 passes on 15 targets for 123 yards, but failed to find the end zone, giving him 17.8 DP. Thus far through four games, Diggs quietly has 27 catches for 311 yards and three TD’s, while seemingly accepting his role as second fiddle to Thielen as far as targets go. Diggs has averaged 16.38 DP per game, and I certainly will take that from my WR2 in the fourth round this week. Don’t miss the rankings below!

NFL DRAFT DFS: Week 3 Rankings: Top 50

My rankings are pretty easy to follow. I have ranked the top 50 overall. Following each player is their DRAFT fantasy point projection in parenthesis. Again, we will have the top ten QB’s, 20 RB’s and 20 WR/TE’s and here they are!

1. RB – Todd Gurley – Los Angeles Rams – (21.3)

2. RB – Alvin Kamara – New Orleans Saints – (19.7)

3. RB – Melvin Gordon – Los Angeles Chargers – (19.4)

4. RB – Christian McCaffrey – Carolina Panthers – (19.7)

5. RB – Ezekiel Elliott – Dallas Cowboys – (16.2)

6. RB – Saquon Barkley – New York Giants – (18.2)

7. WR – Antonio Brown – Pittsburgh Steelers – (16)

8. RB – David Johnson – Arizona Cardinals – (18.2)

9. WR – Michael Thomas – New Orleans Saints – (15.9)

10. WR – DeAndre Hopkins – Houston Texans – (15.5)

11. RB – James Conner – Pittsburgh Steelers – (15.6)

12. WR – Julio Jones – Atlanta Falcons – (17.3)

13. WR – JuJu Smith-Schuster – Pittsburgh Steelers – (15.6)

14. WR – Adam Thielen – Minnesota Vikings – (14.1) 

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15. RB – Joe Mixon – Cincinnati Bengals – (16)

16. RB – TJ Yeldon – Jacksonville Jaguars – (15.8)

17. WR – Keenan Allen – Los Angeles Chargers – (14.6)

18. WR – Odell Beckham – New York Giants – (14.5)

19. QB – Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers – (21.3)

20. QB – Cam Newton – Carolina Panthers – (20.6)

21. QB – Deshaun Watson – Houston Texans – (21.5)

22. WR – Brandin Cooks – Los Angeles Rams – (13.9)

23. WR – Davante Adams – Green Bay Packers – (13.4)

24. RB – Kareem Hunt – Kansas City Chiefs – (13.5)

25. QB – Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs – (20.1)

26. RB – Matt Breida – San Francisco 49ers – (13.3)

27. WR – Tyreek Hill – Kansas City Chiefs – (15.2)

28. TE – Travis Kelce – Kansas City Chiefs – (13.4)

29. QB – Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints – (19.5)

30. RB – Aaron Jones – Green Bay Packers – (11.4)

31. QB – Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers – (19.5)

32. WR – Stefon Diggs – Minnesota Vikings – (12)

33. WR – AJ Green – Cincinnati Bengals – (14.4)

34. WR – Cooper Kupp – Los Angeles Rams – (14.3)

35. RB – Marshawn Lynch – Oakland Raiders – (13.6)

36. WR – Golden Tate – Detroit Lions – (12.9)

37. WR – Will Fuller – Houston Texans – (10.1)

38. RB – Devonta Freeman – Atlanta Falcons – (10.8)

39. RB – Carlos Hyde – Cleveland Browns – (10.7)

40. RB – Kerryon Johnson – Detroit Lions – (12.8)

41. RB – Alex Collins – Baltimore Ravens – (11.4)

42. WR – Emmanuel Sanders – Denver Broncos – (11.1)

43. RB – Adrian Peterson – Washington Redskins – (10.1)

44. QB – Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons – (20.1)

45. QB – Jared Goff – Los Angeles Rams – (18.2)

46. QB – Philip Rivers – Los Angeles Chargers – (19.2)

47. RB – Phillip Lindsay – Denver Broncos – (10.3)

48. TE – Zach Ertz – Philadelphia Eagles – (10.5)

49. WR – Alshon Jeffery – Philadelphia Eagles – (9.9)

50. QB – Carson Wentz – Philadelphia Eagles – (19.1)

Thanks for giving this a read. My plan is to go hard at this article, week in and week out. Any questions for me you can always find me on Twitter. My handle is at the top of the article. Good luck drafting this weekend and happy football Sunday when it finally arrives!