8 Big-Name Players You May Want to Avoid in Week 5

Jamaal Charles, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

First and foremost, know that if you have Jamaal Charles, you're probably playing him. And he does rank high within our projections. This is just a fair warning.

Charles is the exact opposite of his quarterback. Smith is sort of a reliable, ho-hum guy that gets the job done every week. Charles has explosive potential on every play and can go for 200 yards and two scores in the first half of a game, or he can get left out of the game plan entirely because the Chiefs commit, in the words of head coach Andy Reid, "negligence". Seriously, guys: Donnie Avery should never out-touch Jamaal Charles.

With that said, Charles is still affected by an ankle sprain he suffered in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos and has seen some of his touches (though not an immense amount) sapped away by fellow backfield mate Knile Davis, who is proving to be a budding stud in his own right. If there is any concern about Charles, the Chiefs won't hesitate to pull him and rest him.

Charles dropped 28 standard fantasy points last week against the New England Patriots, with 108 total yards and three touchdowns, but I wouldn't expect that to happen again against a stout run-defending San Francisco 49ers team. The Niners know he is the best weapon the Chiefs have, and will do everything in their power to make Alex Smith win the game through the air. San Francisco held Matt Forte to three fantasy points in Week 2, and LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles combined to just seven points in Week 4.

Charles isn't completely locked in right now as a high-end RB1, and if I had a stacked stable of runners, I wouldn't hesitate to bench him in this matchup.