We are roughly a quarter through the fantasy football season. Week 5 is our last week for a while with a full slate of games and no bye weeks to navigate, so enjoy having your entire roster to decide amongst this week. As a reminder, this article is not here for the obvious plays, so if you have Derrick Henry, Alvin Kamara or Aaron Jones, you know what to do. This article will look at RBs on the fringe of RB2/Flex status to help you make the tough choices.
Welcome back to our weekly fantasy football start or sit article and our ever-popular player-based fantasy team names, just in case a change may be in store for your squad.
QB Fantasy Football Start/Sit
WR Fantasy Football Start/Sit
Fantasy Football Start or Sit: Week 5 RBs
Start: Cordarrelle Patterson vs. Jets
Team Name: Corduroy Panttersons
Congratulations are in order if you picked up Cordarrelle Patterson prior to last week’s explosion. The term league winner gets thrown around, but with his dual position eligibility in addition to his usage in the running game and targets in the passing game, Patterson may be just that. If you have him, you are starting him this week, as he gets a gem of a matchup with the Jets, who are giving up 33.4 fantasy points per game (fppg) to opposing RBs. Since Week 2, Patterson has been given 6-7 carries and 6-7 targets in the passing game. He also scored twice in Week 2 and thrice last week. Even without reaching the endzone, Patterson has shown a safe floor, with 16.2 fantasy points. Get him in your lineup and you can even consider Mike Davis as a flex.
Start: Damien Williams at Raiders
Team Name: Notre Damien
The latest RB to fall victim to the injury bug, David Montgomery, sprained his knee and will reportedly be out at least four weeks. If you had the foresight, and bench space, to stash Damien Williams prior to the game or dropped the FAAB to add him on waivers, you can fire him up this week as an RB2. The matchup against the Raiders, who give up 26.9 fppg to opposing RBs, is very favorable and his workload should be solid as the Bears look to take the pressure off of Justin Fields in his third career start. This is as plug-and-play as it gets, folks.
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Sit: Eagles RBs vs. Panthers
Team Name: Colonel Sanders
Over the last two weeks, Miles Sanders has had nine total carries and six receptions, and he played 63.5% of the snaps last week. Kenneth Gainwell has had four carries and nine receptions and played 39.2% of the snaps in the past game. Throw Jalen Hurts into the mix with 10 and seven carries, respectively, and you have the makings of a pretty split timeshare. Now, with a tough matchup on deck against the Panthers, who are holding opposing RBs to only 12.8 fppg, this is a week to keep both Sanders and Gainwell on the bench, as both are low-floor, low-ceiling Flex plays with the way the workload has been divided.
Sit: Broncos RBs at Steelers
Team Name: Javonte’s Inferno
Another timeshare in a difficult matchup to stay away from this week is the Denver Broncos, who are playing in Pittsburgh. The Steelers allow only 15.9 fppg to opposing RBs, and this split is as close to 50-50 as it gets, with Javonte Williams getting 50.8% of the snaps last week and Melvin Gordon III logging 49.2%. Over the last two weeks, Gordon has 27 carries for 116 yards and three receptions for 32 yards and a touchdown. Williams has 19 carries for 77 yards and six receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown. Given the tough matchup and low Vegas total for this game of 40.5, you will want to look elsewhere for your RB2 this week.
