Team of the Week
QB: Kirk Cousins, ATL
Cousins was simply outstanding in the Thursday night win over the Bucs—completing 42-of-58 passes for 509 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception on his way to 34.36 fantasy points. The night was capped by a 45-yard touchdown pass to KhaDarel Hodge in overtime, and Cousins should have increased confidence moving forward coming off his torn Achilles.
RB: Tank Bigsby, JAX
The Jaguars appeared to be featuring Travis Etienne Jr. early, but Bigsby eventually took over in a 37-34 win by rushing 13 times for 101 yards and two touchdowns (plus a 28-yard reception on his lone target). Bigsby has run with tremendous power and physicality this season and has earned a good chunk of work for Jacksonville.
RB: D’Andre Swift, CHI
Swift picked up where he left off in a Week 4 breakout—turning 23 touches into 120 yards and a touchdown to lead Chicago’s backfield in a 36-10 victory. Roschon Johnson converted a couple of goal-line scores as well, but Swift showing displeasure when pulled at one point allowed him to convert a touchdown of his own, so that’s something to watch.
WR: Ja’Marr Chase, CIN
Since a modest start to the season, Chase has caught fire in a big way—and yesterday was a monster performance with ten receptions for 193 yards and two touchdowns. The scores came on a perfect deep ball by Joe Burrow and a long catch-and-run, with both showing how dangerous Chase can be from a real-life and fantasy perspective.
WR: Drake London, ATL
London was uncoverable against Tampa Bay last Thursday night, as he hauled in 12-of-13 targets for 154 yards and a touchdown on his way to 27.4 fantasy points. With a combined 25 targets over the past two weeks and Kirk Cousins looking rounded back into form, London’s stock is rising.
TE: Tucker Kraft, GB
Kraft emerged with a 6/53/1 line in Week 4, and he built on the outing with a career-best performance—catching four passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns. The second-year tight end was clearly becoming the No. 1 option at the position for Green Bay, and yesterday left no doubt and puts Kraft in the TE1 discussion.
FLEX: Darnell Mooney, ATL
Kirk Cousins has been very confident throwing to Mooney since a quiet opener, and the win over Tampa Bay was a career-best showing for the wideout—who went for a 9/105/2 line on a whopping 16 targets. There was even some production left on the field for Mooney, but he’s now firmly on the low-end WR2/FLEX radar.
D/ST: Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings and Giants both put up 18.0 fantasy points yesterday, but Minnesota was the more widely used option based on how good they have been—which continued in London by intercepting Aaron Rodgers three times, including a pick-six by Andrew Van Ginkel.
K: Ka’imi Fairbairn, HOU
It was largely a good week for kickers with 12 guys going for double-digit fantasy points, and Fairbairn gets the nod here after nailing all three of his field goals—including a 59-yard bomb as time expired to beat the Bills.
Surprise of the Week: Darius Slayton
Malik Nabers (concussion) was out for the Giants in Week 5, but Slayton stepped up in a big way by catching eight-of-11 targets for 122 yards and a touchdown in an upset road win over Seattle. Daniel Jones could also be the Surprise of the Week with 22.08 fantasy points, and the entire offense will be in a great spot next Sunday night for a cupcake matchup against the Bengals.
Disappointment of the Week: De’Von Achane
Miami was as good as they’ve been all season up front with Jaylen Wright (13 carries for 86 yards) and Raheem Mostert (19 carries for 80 yards) each producing on the ground versus New England—so it was tough to swallow for Achane owners with the electric playmaker going down with a concussion after just four touches. On the bright side, Achane now has an extra week to get healthy with the Dolphins having a bye in Week 6.
Rookie of the Week: Bo Nix
Nix’s confidence has continued to grow during Denver’s three-game winning streak, and yesterday was his best game yet by competing 19-of-27 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns—plus another score on the ground (his third of the campaign). There was even another long would-be touchdown that was dropped by fellow rookie Troy Franklin late, and Nix should draw consideration as a streamer in plus matchups.
Week 5 MVP: Ja’Marr Chase
The trio of quarterbacks with Kirk Cousins (34.36 fantasy points), Joe Burrow (33.78), and Lamar Jackson (33.42) all going off slanted matchups, but Chase currently leads all Week 5 scorers with 36.3 fantasy points after one of his best career performances. Look for him to remain white hot next Sunday night against an attackable secondary for the Giants.