Welcome to Week 5, Sneaky Starts Squad! Week 4 was the most devastating for injuries yet, with multiple superstars going down for the season. Combine that with the start of Bye Weeks, and managers will be scrambling to find usable players moving forward. So, our calls to start these players might turn from Sneaky to necessary.
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We went 50/50 with our Starts in Week 4. On the good side, Stefon Diggs finally put up a great game and is really starting to look like himself. While we didn’t get the full blowup game for Matthew Golden (and we were apparently a week early on our call for Romeo Doubs), the rookie still put up double-digits in PPR scoring and finished the week as a Top-30 receiver.
On the flip side, Nick Chubb was a bust, and it seems like he has officially been overtaken by rookie Woody Marks. Cade Otton saw 4 targets, which should have been promising, but he turned that into 3 catches for only 9 yards! I would say he’s been fully removed from the new offense in Tampa.
Sneaky Start Season Tally: 8-7
Now that these calls are going to be all the more relevant, let’s see if we can do better in Week 5.
Week 5 Sneaky Starts
Keon Coleman, Buffalo WR vs. New England Patriots
Bills’ receivers are hard to rely on simply because there’s no real pecking order to speak of. Josh Allen is happy to spread the ball around wherever he sees an opening, regardless of who it is. Coleman got off to a hot start in Week 1, surpassing 100 yards with a touchdown, but hasn’t done much of anything since. A big reason for that is the Bills haven’t been in a very competitive game since then.
The Patriots are a team that has improved each and every week. The offense is starting to click, and the defense is massively improved, especially against the run. The Bills are a run-first team, but if New England can neutralize that a bit, they will happily turn to Josh Allen’s arm to get the job done.
The biggest green flag for Coleman is his usage. While it might feel like Khalil Shakir is the closest thing Buffalo has to a “#1 receiver,” Keon has had a higher snap percentage in every game so far. He’s also surpassed or tied Shakir’s targets in three of the four. He’s always going to be somewhat of a dart-throw player, but that’s exactly what a Sneaky Start is. In a game where New England might be able to keep it closer than expected, I think Keon could be a big beneficiary.
Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee WR @ Arizona Cardinals
Starting a Titan in 2025 might feel like self-inflicted punishment, but Week 5 is certainly desperate times. Let’s start with the good: Ayomanor has received at least 5 targets in every game so far, Calvin Ridley looks like a shell of his former self, and Cam Ward refuses to check the ball down. As for the bad: It’s the Titans, nuff said.
Ayomanor has shown flashes, though. He’s already had back-to-back games with a receiving touchdown. While the Cardinals defense is above average, there’s a good chance they’ll be the worst defense the rookie has seen so far. Ridley is still getting enough targets and has enough of a history that the defense is likely to treat him as the primary receiver. If that happens, Ayomanor is talented enough to challenge their defensive backs in 1-on-1 coverage.
If you find yourself needing to start a player right off the waiver wire, then I lean towards going with someone who has guaranteed targets. Rather than being a fill-in for an injured player, Ayomanor’s place on the team is already established. You shouldn’t be putting him out there if you need a blow-up game, but expect him to get enough volume that he won’t sink your team in a pinch.
David Montgomery, Detroit RB @ Cincinnati Bengals
Montgomery followed up his 151-yard and 2-touchdown performance in Week 3 with a 12-yard, scoreless game against the Browns in Week 4. So, you’re probably thinking his volume also dropped off? No, not really. The difference was only 3 rushing attempts.
Montgomery is the Lions’ change-of-pace back, without a Gibbs injury that’s not shifting, but his usage is very predictable. His rushing attempts so far through four weeks are 11, 11, 12, and 9. That’s great news for Fantasy managers because it means his workload isn’t game-script dependent. His snap percentage is only at 36%, but when he’s on the field, he’s used. He’s yet to receive more than one target in a game since Week 1, and I’d love for that number to increase, but he’s caught 100% of the balls thrown his way.
I understand that it will be tough to put him into your starting lineup after last week, but it was nothing more than a bad game against a great defense. The Bengals let J.K. Dobbins and R.J. Harvey (and Marvin Mims, for that matter) run all over them in Week 4. The Lions are going to be way ahead from the first quarter, which should mean even more work for Monty. While it will be hard for him to replicate his insane Week 3 numbers, I expect his production this week to be much closer to that than his Week 4 outing.
Check out all of our Week 5 Rankings: Flex Rankings | QB Rankings | RB Rankings | WR Rankings | TE Rankings
Darren Waller, Miami TE @ Carolina Panthers
I’ll be the first to admit, 2 touchdowns on 3 receptions and only 27% of snaps sure feels like a fluke. But what if it’s not? What if the Dolphins have no choice other than relying on him? Tyreek Hill is out for the year, and the team has limited proven pass-catchers that can fill the void. The team showed at the end of 2024, with the Jonnu Smith explosion, that they can scheme for open tight-end looks.
It was a limited sample size for Waller against the Jets, but he looked fast for someone who’s 33 and over a year removed from football. He fits the offensive scheme of timed crossing routes perfectly, and Tua’s tendency to throw near the line of scrimmage is any tight end’s dream. Don’t overlook the fact that the team went out of their way to specifically bring him in this offseason, and was even willing to wait for him to ramp up into game shape the first three weeks.
Again, this could have been a single-game fluke with an unsuspecting defense. He could also slow way down once he’s forced to play more snaps. But again, I ask, what if he doesn’t? He’s long removed from his days as a Fantasy superstar, but if he truly is refreshed after his time away from the league, he could have just enough juice to be a problem for your league-mates this year. Why not roll the dice with him this week against the Panthers?
Make sure to check out all of our Week 5 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!
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