Week 5 Flex Rankings for Fantasy Football

The Week 5 NFL slate starts with a clash between the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos on Thursday. Both teams will have to navigate the short week without the top running back in their respective stables. Jonathan Taylor will miss this game due to an ankle injury suffered last week. There is a possibility he can return next week, but the good news is that he avoided a major injury. The same cannot be said for Broncos running back Javonte Williams. Denver’s second-year back suffered a torn ACL and LCL and will miss the remainder of the season. These injuries will have an impact on fantasy managers in both the near and long term. Find out how I think things will shake out on Thursday night concerning my Week 5 Flex rankings.

Running Back Notes

If you have Jonathan Taylor on your roster, you have no choice but to bench him this week. I believe this will be a bit of a messy situation until Taylor returns. Despite head coach Frank Reich declaring in the offseason that he would want Nyheim Hines on his fantasy team, we have not exactly seen that trust play out on the field. Hines does have 17 receptions through four games but has only carried the ball eight times. And those carries have netted just 11 total rushing yards. I think he will get some run on the ground, but I still expect most of his fantasy value to come in the receiving game. The likely increase in volume should result in Hines posting Flex value on Thursday. But I do not expect him to touch the ball 20 times or end the week as an RB1.

I think it is likely that Indianapolis employs a committee on early downs involving Phillip Lindsay and Deon Jackson. Given that Taylor should be back in a relatively short timeframe, I would not rush to acquire or start either back. I prefer Lindsay over Jackson if given the option. Perhaps the former Bronco will be extra motivated to stick it to his former team. But neither Lindsay nor Jackson are among my top 100 Week 5 Flex options.

On the other side of the field will be the Denver Broncos sans Javonte Williams. Like Hines, Melvin Gordon is rostered in every league. The difference is that Denver is much more willing to use Gordon in a lead-back-type role. Gordon is an impending free agent, so Denver may just run him into the ground. At the same time, he is 29 years old. I do not think Gordon automatically becomes a 20-touch guy every week. I think it is more likely that Mike Boone and the newly-signed Latavius Murray spell Gordon. Fantasy managers should fire up Gordon as an RB2 this week. He will have fresh legs and nearly two weeks to recover before Denver’s Week 6 contest. I would not start Boone or Murray this week, but Boone would be my preference if I had to go with one.

The Atlanta Falcons placed offensive weapon, Cordarrelle Patterson, on injured reserve this week. Patterson is dealing with a knee injury, and will now be out for about a month. Atlanta ran the ball 35 times last week, while quarterback Marcus Mariota attempted just 19 passes. The trick is trying to determine which Falcons back will benefit most from Patterson’s injury. Both Tyler Allgeier and Caleb Huntley carried the ball 10 times last week, and both were quite effective. Allgeier amassed 82 yards, while Huntley accounted for 56 yards and a touchdown. This week’s matchup versus Tampa Bay figures to be one to avoid, however. I am not starting either one in Week 5 if I can help it, though I give a slight nod toward Allgeier.

Not all the running back news is bad, particularly near the Beltway and the surrounding area. The Washington Commanders officially designated rookie running back Brian Robinson to return to practice. Robinson was a buzz-worthy name throughout the preseason, and many wondered if he would supplant Antonio Gibson as Washington’s primary rushing threat. Robinson is still available in nearly 20 percent of Fantrax leagues. If he is on your wire, you should grab him immediately. I would not expect workhorse usage out of the gate, and I do not consider him Flex-worthy in Week 5. But he could be a big factor in fantasy leagues as the season continues, especially with bye weeks about to come into play.

The Baltimore Ravens also designated Gus Edwards to return to practice this week. Edwards is only rostered in about half of all Fantrax leagues. While I do think Robinson has higher immediate upside, I do not think fantasy managers should ignore Edwards. We know how much Baltimore likes to run the football, and Edwards acquitted himself quite nicely when given the opportunity. Edwards has averaged over five yards per carry in each season from 2018 through 2020. J.K. Dobbins is still the running back you want to have in Baltimore, especially after his 17-touch, two-touchdown performance a week ago. Still, Dobbins hasn’t exactly been the most durable back in his brief NFL career. I would not start Edwards anytime soon unless the situation changes, but he is a solid stash.

Wide Receiver Notes

Local authorities have put out an APB for Allen Robinson, and sources say he is at practice this week. I was high on Robinson coming into the season, but it has been an absolute trainwreck so far. How bad has it been? Here are a few stat lines for Rams wide receivers:

Receiver A: 12 catches, 140 yards, 16 targets
Receiver B: 9 catches, 95 yards, 18 targets
Receiver C: 14 catches, 122 yards, 19 targets

Receiver B is Allen Robinson. He has the fewest yards and targets among the Rams’ top three wide receivers so far this season. Yes, fewer than Receiver A, Ben Skowronek. Receiver C is Cooper Kupp’s Week 4 numbers alone. Again, yes, Kupp had more catches, yards, and targets in Week 4 than Robinson has produced through four games. I cannot in good conscience start Robinson until the Rams start featuring him in their offense. Part of me wanted to rank Skowronek ahead of Robinson this week. I’m not quite there yet, but that should indicate how disappointing Robinson has been thus far.

As was the case with Brian Robinson, there was plenty of buzz around another rookie during the preseason. I am talking about Steelers wide receiver George Pickens. Pickens got off to a slow start, but he is starting to make some waves. He had an incredible catch in Week 3 and posted his first 100-plus yard game last week against the New York Jets. Pittsburgh has decided to end the Mitch Trubisky experiment and give rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett the job moving forward. This move should continue to benefit Pickens, as was evidenced on Sunday. Pickett is much more willing to challenge defenses down the field, which increases the chances of Pickens making big plays. I ranked Pickens just below the area where I am comfortable starting him as a Week 5 Flex, but the arrow is certainly trending upward.

Fellow rookie Romeo Doubs may be in a similar boat. Doubs has caught a touchdown in each of his last two games and has been targeted eight times on both occasions. Those are signs that he may have joined Allen Lazard in Aaron Rodgers’ circle of trust among Packers wide receivers. However, it remains to be seen if Doubs can stay there. The rookie has a pair of fumbles already on the young season, including a lost fumble in last week’s overtime victory. That will not endear him to Rodgers or the coaching staff. I am inclined to give Doubs the benefit of the doubt, and I ranked him as a Week 5 Flex play. A lot will depend on how Green Bay utilizes him this week. Keep in mind that the Packers play at an early start time on Sunday morning.

Rondale Moore returned last week following a hamstring injury that cost him the first three games of the season. Moore did not produce much, but his involvement should spell the end of fantasy relevance for September standout Greg Dortch. Dortch was targeted just once on Sunday after totaling 20 catches during Moore’s three-game absence. Arizona is also getting back DeAndre Hopkins in a couple of weeks, so there will be fewer targets to go around for ancillary receiving weapons. Hopkins and Marquise Brown figure to be Arizona’s top two targets beginning in Week 7. As for this week, Brown is the only Cardinals wideout I would start. I want to see more out of Moore before I start him.

Tight End Notes

I say all the time that there aren’t a ton of tight end notes included in my weekly Flex rankings because you probably aren’t starting a tight end in your Flex spot. But I figured I would offer my obligatory statement on Kyle Pitts. I dropped Pitts down to my overall TE7 spot this week. That means that I would still start him in nearly all situations. The tight ends I ranked above him were all consensus top eight or nine fantasy tight ends heading into the year. So I really don’t see a situation where you are benching Pitts. Several tight ends have produced at a much higher rate than most expected coming into the season. Names on this list would include David Njoku, Gerald Everett, and Tyler Conklin. I still have Pitts ranked ahead of all those players for Week 5.

I understand the temptation to start one of those guys ahead of Pitts given the production through four games. Or lack thereof in Pitts’ case. At the same time, this should be a good matchup for Pitts. As much as the Falcons love to run the ball, that is probably not going to work against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They have allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs and have yet to allow a rush of more than 20 yards. Atlanta will have to throw to keep up with the Bucs. Linebacker Devin White has also struggled in coverage to this point in the year. His 35.9 coverage grade is the worst among those primarily tasked with covering tight ends, per Pro Football Focus. If there is ever a time for Pitts to get off the schneid, it is this week.

Week 5 Flex Rankings for Fantasy Football

More Week 5 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | Flex Rankings