The Perfect Lineup: Week 5's FantasyScore Team
Struggling to find players to start while your stars are on bye in your season long fantasy football league? Well, at FantasyScore.com, you don't have to fight the waiver wire to find value -- you just pick your favorite players every week while playing weekly fantasy football for cash prizes.
If you've never played before and aren't sure who to pick, our fancy algorithms have you covered for Week 5. Take a look at this week's FantasyScore Perfect Lineup.
Quarterback
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
Ryan has been incredible through the first four weeks of the season. He currently ranks second in the NFL in our Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) metric, and has thrown the third most yards per game (301) while leading the Falcons to a perfect 4-0 record. Although his matchup with the Redskins is less than ideal considering Washington has allowed the ninth fewest passing yards in the league, they have allowed the 10th most passing touchdowns and have yet to face a passing attack of the caliber of Ryan and Julio Jones this season. The Falcons' star quarterback makes a great play at just $7,800 this week in a game that Vegas expects to be one of the highest scoring of the week.
Running Back
Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs
Charles has gotten off to a very hot start this season, ranking inside of the top five among all running backs in rushing yards (306), yards per carry (5.2), rushing touchdowns (4) and receptions (20). He also ranks sixth at the position in Total NEP (13.44). The Chiefs' star has also been incredibly consistent, posting at least 20 fantasy points in each of the first four games of the season, a feat that no other running back in the league has accomplished. With a matchup against the defensively-challenged Bears on the docket, look for another big performance from Charles in Week 5. He is our top overall projected running back on the board this week.
Le'Veon Bell , Pittsburgh Steelers
After being suspended for the first two games of 2015, Bell has picked up right where he left off last season. The third year Steelers' running back has scored at least 26 fantasy points in each of his first two games of the season, racking up 282 yards from scrimmage with 14 receptions since his return. This week, Bell draws a matchup with a Chargers' defense that has allowed the second most fantasy points per game to opposing running backs on the year and just gave up nine receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown to Browns' running back Duke Johnson last week. Bell is one of, if not the, best receivers out of the backfield in the league and should not only dominate San Diego on the ground but also eat up targets in the passing game as well. He makes a spectacular play in all formats despite his expensive price tag.
Wide Receiver
Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos
Despite a slow start to the season, the Broncos passing attack is starting to heat up and Thomas has been a major reason why. The Broncos' star receiver has caught at least eight balls for 90-plus yards in each of the past three weeks and ranks third in the league with 50 targets on the season. Denver's opponent this week -- the Oakland Raiders -- has allowed the second most passing yards per game (311), the fifth most passing touchdowns (8) and rank dead last in the NFL in our schedule adjusted Defensive Passing NEP metric. Thomas is our number one overall projected wide receiver for this week's slate.
Keenan Allen, San Diego Chargers
Allen has been a target monster to open the 2015 season, amassing the fifth most targets (46) and third most receptions (33) in the league through the first four weeks of the season. With the Chargers second and third receiving options -- Steve Johnson and Malcom Floyd -- both banged up and uncertain if they will be able to play this week, Allen will likely be even more involved in the passing game in Week 5 than he was through the first four weeks of the season. Although the Steelers will still be without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Vegas still expects this game to be a shootout which means Allen should have plenty of chances to rack up yards and receptions. He makes an excellent play as the 13th most expensive receiver on the board this week.
Kamar Aiken, Baltimore Ravens
Aiken really made his presence felt last week against Pittsburgh, grabbing five catches with 77 yards and a touchdown with Steve Smith banged up for the last 20 minutes of the game. The Ravens have already announced that Smith will sit this week, which means Aiken will serve as Joe Flacco's number-one option against the Browns. Cleveland has allowed the fifth most fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers so far this season, which means Aiken has a tremendous opportunity to post his second consecutive huge fantasy outing. He is an absolute steal at just $2,000 this week.
Tight End
Owen Daniels, Denver Broncos
As I mentioned earlier, the Raiders pass defense is the worst in the league, and that doesn't just apply to wide receivers. As JJ Zachariason explains in this week's 15 transactions column, the Raiders have allowed opposing tight ends to finish as top-two fantasy tight ends in PPR leagues each of the first four weeks of the season. The have allowed the most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends by a wide margin and Daniels is next in line for this dream matchup. At just $4,000, Daniels should provide solid cap relief to make room for the elite running backs I outlined earlier.
Flex
Cole Beasley, Dallas Cowboys
Dez Bryant, Tony Romo and now Lance Dunbar have all been lost for substantial periods of time for the Cowboys so far this season. In result, the Dallas offense looks very different than what we expected coming into the season. One player who should continue to benefit from all of these injuries is Beasley, who caught six balls for 62 yards last week, the majority of which were after Dunbar went down with his knee injury. Cowboys' quarterback Brandon Weeden has not pushed the ball downfield much since replacing Romo, electing to rather take the check down and underneath routes, which is where Beasley makes his money. The Cowboys will likely be playing from behind most of the game against the Patriots this week which means we will see a lot of throwing from Dallas and soft coverage from New England. All signs point to a big game from Beasley in Week 5.
Defense
You may be surprised to see the Jaguars' defense so highly projected, but any team facing off against Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers is in play for the foreseeable future. Winston currently leads the league with seven interceptions so far this season and Tampa Bay currently ranks second behind only the Colts with a whopping ten giveaways in just five games on the year. Look for the Jaguars to force a few turnovers en route to a solid fantasy performance against the Buccaneers and their rookie quarterback.
