5 breakout fantasy football stars to pick up for Week 5

1. Top Fantasy Football Pickups For Week 5 - Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud

It feels like C.J. Stroud has become a regular participant in this column. Despite hyping him up after both Week 2 and Week 3, fantasy owners have been slow to move on Stroud, who is rostered in only 46 percent of leagues.

It's understandable to be a bit gun-shy on taking a Texans' quarterback on, particularly since Stroud's strong games came against division foes Indianapolis and Jacksonville, but his Week 4 performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers should open eyes. Stroud was efficient against Pittsburgh's strong defense, completing 16-of-30 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns.

Those totals marked the third consecutive week Stroud has thrown for at least 280 yards and two or more touchdowns, a performance that will net you over 20 points in standard leagues. There have been plenty of uneven quarterback performances in the early going, including injury issues for Joe Burrow and a general failure to launch (prior to Week 4) for Justin Fields, making Stroud a good option for any team in need of help under center.

This should (it really should guys, come on now) be the last call on Stroud, who has a fun matchup on tap in Week 5 against a very burnable Atlanta Falcons' secondary. Leaving 20+ points a week on the waiver wire isn't smart business so Stroud is the choice as the top fantasy pickup of the week.