3 Daily Fantasy Football Players to Avoid in Week 5

We have a lot of pieces on numberFire geared toward helping you figure out which players you should roster in your DFS contests on FanDuel, but an important aspect of the DFS process is figuring out who you shouldn't play.

Narrowing down your list of potential plays by avoiding those who are destined to underwhelm can go a long way toward helping you create winning lineups.

Zigging when the masses zag is part of giving yourself an edge in DFS, so you'll sometimes be able to make a case for using a player in this piece in an effort to be contrarian -- especially if said player is really good.

Inevitably, some of the players I feature in this article will blow up and pop for a big game, but that comes with the territory of doing a piece like this one -- unless I'm going to tell you to avoid playing dudes who aren't on anyone's radar. I'm not going to do that. I want this piece to be useful.

Here are some players I'm avoiding this week.

Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jaguars

FanDuel Salary: $7,600

If you're in need of a value quarterback, Trevor Lawrence deserves to be on your radar in a matchup with the Houston Texans. There's no doubt it's a great matchup, and Lawrence has been pretty good in his second season.

Fading Lawrence isn't about him being a bad play; it's more about how I'm approaching quarterback this week. I want a sky-high ceiling, and Lawrence doesn't offer the upside that the slate's top-end signal-callers do.

On this slate, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Tom Brady stand out as the best quarterback options -- particularly Hurts and Allen. Our model projects both dual-threat weapons for at least 23.4 FanDuel points, and we know they have the upside to break the slate. Hurts could go nuts against the Arizona Cardinals , and Allen is a two-touchdown home favorite versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And while Brady doesn't have the rushing upside of Hurts and Allen, he's just $200 more than Lawrence and gets a dreamy matchup versus the Atlanta Falcons. We could see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense get right on Sunday.

I'm just not going to be rolling the dice on Lawrence -- who we project Lawrence for 16.2 FanDuel points, the 12th-most among passers -- this week, and the same goes for fellow value quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater ($6,400) and Kirk Cousins ($7,100), all of whom look like they'll garner a decent amount of popularity.

Christian McCaffrey, RB, Panthers

FanDuel Salary: $8,700

The role is normally so great for Christian McCaffrey that he needs to be in our player pool nearly every single week. But it's very hard to get excited about him in Week 5.

The Carolina Panthers are hosting the San Francisco 49ers. San Fran's D ranks fourth overall and ninth against the run, per our metrics. It's a brutal matchup for the Panthers, and it's the last thing the struggling Carolina offense needs. The Panthers rate as the second-worst offense by our numbers and have been handed an ugly 16.0-point implied total, the slate's lowest.

CMC has seen at least four targets in every game, including nine last week, and his high-volume role gives him a chance to explode every time out. You can always make a case for using CMC, especially if he's not going to be super popular, and he won't be chalky in Week 5.

But with him going against an elite defense -- one that has surrendered the second-fewest FanDuel points per game to running backs (13.7) -- I'm staying away.

CeeDee Lamb, WR, Cowboys

FanDuel Salary: $7,200

CeeDee Lamb's production sans Dak Prescott has been pretty dang good the last three weeks, as he's ripped off FanDuel point totals of 11.6, 18.7 and 18.7.

I think it comes to a halt this week.

Cooper Rush has done an admirable job filling in for Dak, but there's no doubt the level of competition is about to go up a couple of levels. The Dallas Cowboys have faced the meh defenses of the Cincinnati Bengals, New York Giants and Washington Commanders the past three games. In Week 5, they go on the road to play the Los Angeles Rams.

While the Rams' defense hasn't been at its best thus far, it's still a talented unit and will be the toughest test yet for Rush. Oddsmakers aren't expecting much from Dallas' offense, giving the 'Boys a 19.0-point implied total, and if the offense tanks on Sunday, it might take Lamb down with it.

In Lamb's salary range, I'd rather take a shot on Deebo Samuel ($7,200), Chris Godwin ($7,000) or Chris Olave ($6,900).