NFL
7 Deep Fantasy Football Sleepers for Week 5
Need to dig deep for a few good plays this week? Check out some players with great opportunities in Week 5.

Thankfully only two teams are on bye this week, instead of six like last week. Those two teams are also the Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders, which makes it likely that you aren't without too many starters because of dreaded byes.

But, alternatively, that means there are 15 games in Week 5, and that gives us plenty of low-owned options to plug and play if you need it.

These recommendations are primarily intended for deep leagues (like 14- and 16-team leagues), but if you're in a clever league, then there may not be many obvious plays available on the waiver wire. In case you don't need anything this deep, my less obscure sleeper recommendations are available by default. Reaves did add three receptions (for just 11 yards), giving him 15 touches in Week 4.

The matchup against the Bears, who were amazingly bad against fantasy running backs last year, is still pretty good. They rank 15th in fantasy points allowed but are 24th against the rush according to our metrics.

It's hard to get too excited about Reaves based on what he showed in Week 4, but you won't find many guys with 18-touch potential available in 99.9% of leagues many other weeks.

Running Back: unlikely to play in Week 5, so the Eagles are thin at linebacker - especially pass coverage.

Cook has both a solid floor and a high ceiling in this matchup.

Flex: Justin Forsett (2.9% | 9.2%)

This one comes with a bit of trepidation because there's really no guarantee that Forsett is the main rusher come Sunday, but based on Week 4 (and the rest of the year, actually), he's clearly the guy in Baltimore. Forsett gets the same type of boost that Flacco does because the Colts just are a generous defense. They rank 26th in Adjusted Defensive NEP per play and 19th in fantasy points allowed to running backs.

Despite the fear of Lorenzo Taliaferro, Forsett has had at least 12 touches in every game and averages 15.0 per game. He had at least 11 carries in 3 of his 4 games. Forsett also has 16 receptions this year, which were evenly distributed throughout the year: 5, 4, 4, 3.

Forsett is underowned based on the ESPN numbers, and he's getting consistent touches. Taliaferro is a good bet to take over at some point, but for now, play Forsett while you can.

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