Fantasy football · Week 5
Start 'em, sit 'em: Week 5, 2026
Full-PPR and guillotine calls every week of the season: first calls Wednesday morning, updated each morning through Sunday, and graded against what actually happened.
Raiders · Waivers · QB · RB · WR · TE · K · DEF · Flex · Guillotine · FAAB
Week 5 takes Kansas City and Carolina off the board and hands the quarterback position a bad week. Caleb Williams is out with a hamstring and Tyson Bagent starts at Lambeau, Baker Mayfield is out three to six weeks with a dislocated thumb, Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota are both on the Washington report, and Lamar Jackson is questionable on an ankle. Ja'Marr Chase has not cleared concussion protocol, Justin Jefferson has not been cleared from an ankle, and Philadelphia travels to London without DeVonta Smith and Hollywood Brown, with Saquon Barkley questionable and Dallas Goedert doubtful.
That leaves two games worth building around. Detroit at Arizona is a 54.5 total in a dome against a defense allowing 43.5 receiver points and 28.4 tight end points a game. Buffalo at Los Angeles on Monday is the other 54.5. Everything else is priced between 37.5 and 47.5, which makes this a slate for buying usage rather than ceilings: the receivers and backs absorbing vacated targets, and the kickers attached to offenses that move the ball and do not finish.
Raiders
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Brock Bowers
PPRStartGuillotineStartTwenty five targets in two games back, shares of 45 and 23 percent, 10 catches for 116 yards and 6 for 86 with a score in each. Eight catches for 95 yards is 17.5 points against a line of 10. New England allows a league low 5.9 points a game to tight ends, so this rests on his target count and nothing else.
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Ashton Jeanty
PPRStartGuillotineStartNineteen and a half carries and six targets a game, and 8 targets for 6 catches and 68 receiving yards last week. New England allows 19.9 points a game to backs. Nineteen carries for 80 yards and five catches for 45 is 17.5 points with no touchdown, with the Raiders implied for 21 as a 3.5 point underdog.
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Matt Gay
PPRStartGuillotineStartTen for ten on field goals including four last week, 2.5 attempts a game. With Bech and Thornton on injured reserve and Nailor concussed, Las Vegas stalls inside the 30 rather than finishing, and New England allows 14.0 quarterback points a game. Two and a half field goals plus two extra points is 11 against lines of 8 and 7.
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Kirk Cousins
SplitPPRSitGuillotineStartCousins has 11 touchdowns in four games but no rushing production at all, so the floor is entirely passing, and New England allows 14.0 quarterback points and 1.25 passing touchdowns a game. Last week's 20.6 came on 52 attempts in a thirty point loss, which is why the sit is not rewritten the same way: the projection here is 17, under the PPR 18 and over the guillotine 15.
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Tre Tucker
PPRSitGuillotineSitFifteen catches on 23 targets for 233 yards all season, a 16.8 percent share, and one week above 8.4 points. Four catches for 50 yards is 9 points, under 14 and under 10. New England allowing 34.9 a game to receivers is the reason to hesitate, but the target count is not there to use it.
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Cody White
PPRSitGuillotineSitWhite is the number three by default with Bech and Thornton on injured reserve and Nailor in protocol, but that is 10 targets in four games and an 8 percent share. Three touchdowns have carried every box score he has. Two catches for 30 yards is 5 points against lines of 14 and 10.
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Jalen Nailor
QPPRSitGuillotineSitNailor is questionable in concussion protocol after missing Week 4, and even healthy he had 11 targets in three games for 5.7, 1.9 and 2.6 points. There is no version of this role that reaches 14 or 10 against a New England defense with 8 sacks and 3 interceptions.
Waiver wire
1. Cody White, LV, WR. Stash, 1 to 3 percent. Raiders first and the honest answer is that the volume still is not there: 10 targets in four games at an 8 percent share, with three touchdowns doing all the work. Bech and Thornton are on injured reserve and Nailor is in concussion protocol, so he is the number three by subtraction rather than by role. Worth a dollar in a deep league, not a bid.
2. Emanuel Wilson, SEA, RB. Start-ready, 20 to 30 percent. Charbonnet is out and Price is on injured reserve, and Wilson answered with 21 carries, 81 yards, four targets and two scores for 27.0 points. He has the backfield alone against a San Francisco defense allowing 24.4 a game to backs.
3. Kyle Monangai, CHI, RB. Start-ready, 20 to 28 percent. Thirty carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns in Week 4 while Swift fell to 15, and Green Bay concedes 28.9 points a game to running backs. He is questionable with a thumb, which is the only reason the price is not higher.
4. Braelon Allen, NYJ, RB. Start-ready, 15 to 22 percent. Hall is doubtful on a quad that already cost him a week, and Allen took 14 carries for 59 yards without him. Seven targets in four games caps the PPR ceiling, so this is a floor add rather than a difference maker.
5. Dohnte Meyers, CIN, WR. Start-ready, 12 to 18 percent. Nine targets for seven catches and 82 yards in Week 4, and Ja'Marr Chase has not cleared protocol. Burrow threw 54 times last week and Cincinnati averages 39.2 attempts a game, so the third receiver in that offense has a real floor.
6. Oronde Gadsden, LAC, TE. Stash, 5 to 10 percent. Eight targets for a 26 percent share with McConkey out on a foot, and Herbert has nobody else. Tight end is the thinnest position on the Week 5 board, which is what makes this worth a bid at all.
7. Keaton Mitchell, LAC, RB. Stash, 5 to 10 percent. Six targets and ten carries last week while Hampton fell to nine carries. He is the passing-down back in an offense that has to throw, and Hampton's five targets in four games say the role is not coming back.
8. Darius Cooper, PHI, WR. Stash, 8 to 14 percent. Seven targets and two touchdowns in Week 4 with Smith, Hollywood Brown and Goedert all out. London against a Jacksonville defense with six interceptions is a bad spot, but if Philadelphia's receivers stay out the targets are his.
9. Tyler Allgeier, ARI, RB. Stash, 4 to 8 percent. Jeremiyah Love is questionable on an ankle and Allgeier took 8 carries for 42 yards and a score behind him, in the highest total on the slate at 54.5. Pure contingency.
Quarterbacks
Start 'em
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Jared Goff
PPRStartGuillotineStartDetroit is implied for 30 in a dome, the highest number on the slate, and Arizona has given up 2.75 passing touchdowns and 21.0 quarterback points a game. Goff is at 303 passing yards a game on 40.2 attempts, which is 21 points before a rushing yard. The scores come through St. Brown and Michael Wilson against a defense conceding 38.4 a game to receivers, not off script.
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Brock Purdy
PPRStartGuillotineStartEleven passing touchdowns in four games and 252 passing yards a game puts Purdy at 21 without counting the 30 rushing yards he adds every week. San Francisco has not allowed a sack through four games, which is what carries this. Seattle allowing a league low 11.6 quarterback points is the argument against, so the case is his own touchdown rate, not the matchup.
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Dak Prescott
PPRStartGuillotineStartDallas is implied for 28 indoors against a Tampa pass rush at 1.5 sacks a game, and Prescott is at 37.5 attempts and 266 yards a game with 8 touchdowns against 1 interception. Lamb drew 21 targets last week. The no-rush baseline is 18 rather than the 21 this bar normally wants, so this is the thinnest of the three starts and it leans on the implied total.
Sit 'em
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Jalen Hurts
PPRSitGuillotineSitBarkley is questionable on a hamstring, Smith and Hollywood Brown are unavailable and Goedert is doubtful, so Hurts throws to Darius Cooper and Makai Lemon in London. Jacksonville has 10 sacks and 6 interceptions against a line that has allowed 12 sacks, and Philadelphia is implied for 17.75. Hurts has gone 16.2, 12.6 and 13.5 since Week 1.
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Justin Herbert
PPRSitGuillotineSitHerbert has 7 interceptions in four games and has not cleared 13.3 points in any of them. McConkey is questionable on the foot that already ruled him out last week. Denver brings 4 interceptions and 8 sacks against a Chargers line that has allowed 12, and Los Angeles is implied for 19.5 in a 42.5 total.
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Drake Maye
PPRSitGuillotineSitTake the three touchdowns out of last week and 24.2 becomes 269 passing yards and 54 rushing yards, which is 15 points, under both lines. The three weeks before that were 9.8, 8.0 and 3.8 with 6 of his 7 interceptions, and Las Vegas has 12 sacks and 4 interceptions. New England's 24.5 implied total is the reason to hesitate.
Running backs
Start 'em
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Aaron Jones Sr.
PPRStartGuillotineStartNew Orleans allows 37.2 fantasy points a game to running backs, eight clear of the next worst defense, and Jones took 20 carries and 8 targets for a 24 percent target share last week. Twenty carries for 90 yards plus five catches is 18 points with no touchdown, indoors. Jefferson has not been cleared from an ankle, which concentrates the offense further.
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Kyren Williams
PPRStartGuillotineStartThirteen targets and a 26 percent target share last week on top of 16 carries, in the highest total on the board at 54.5 with the Rams implied for 28.75. Buffalo concedes 25.8 points a game to backs. Sixteen carries for 75 yards and seven catches for 55 is 20 points before a touchdown, which is where the three point cushion comes from.
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Chase Brown
PPRStartGuillotineStartJa'Marr Chase has not cleared concussion protocol, which puts 28 targets back in play, and Brown already took 11 of them in Week 4 for 19.1 points. Miami allows 27.0 a game to backs. Twelve carries and seven catches for 105 total yards is 17.5 points with no score, and Burrow threw 54 times last week.
Sit 'em
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Bucky Irving
PPRSitGuillotineSitIrving's target share has gone 26, 12, 11 and zero percent, and he had no targets at all in Week 4 for 6.1 points. Mayfield is out three to six weeks with a dislocated thumb and Jalon Daniels threw two interceptions in his first start. Sixteen carries for 60 yards and a catch is 7.5 points against lines of 14 and 10.
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Omarion Hampton
PPRSitGuillotineSitFive targets in four games means no receiving floor, and he was down to 9 carries last week while Keaton Mitchell took 6 targets and Vidal scored. Fourteen carries for 55 yards and one catch is 7 points, so he needs a touchdown every week, and he has three. Denver allowing 25.8 a game to backs is the argument against.
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Cam Skattebo
PPRSitGuillotineSitNine targets in four games and Najee Harris taking nine carries a week caps this, and Washington allows 15.3 points a game to backs, second fewest in the league. Eighteen carries for 60 yards and one catch is under 8 points. The Giants are implied for 20 with Winston at quarterback after two interceptions last week.
Wide receivers
Start 'em
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Carnell Tate
PPRStartGuillotineStartTate took 12 targets for a 43 percent share last week, nine catches and 145 yards, against a Houston defense allowing a league worst 44.6 points a game to receivers. Eight catches for 100 yards is 18 points with no touchdown. Tennessee's 15 point implied total is the lowest on the slate, and last week was the lesson that usage that large beats the implied total.
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Chris Olave
PPRStartGuillotineStartForty eight targets in four games for a 28.1 percent share, and his worst week is 19.6 points, which is the most reliable floor on the board. Shough throws 45 times a game. Eight catches for 110 yards is 19 points without a score, and Minnesota still concedes 30.1 a game to receivers even with the pass rush.
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Tee Higgins
QPPRStartGuillotineStartChase is in concussion protocol, vacating 28 targets, and Higgins already carried a 25.2 percent share with him healthy plus 16 targets for 11 catches and 157 yards last week. Nine catches for 110 yards is 20 points with no touchdown. He is questionable with a groin and Miami allows the third fewest receiver points, so the volume has to do all the work.
Sit 'em
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George Pickens
PPRSitGuillotineSitPickens fell to 3 targets and a 7 percent share last week while Lamb took 21 for 49 percent. Tampa allows 24.1 points a game to receivers, fifth fewest. Four catches for 50 yards is 9 points against lines of 14 and 10, and Dallas being implied for 28 has not been reaching him since Week 3.
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Courtland Sutton
PPRSitGuillotineSitNine catches on 22 targets for 86 yards all season and a best week of 7.6 points, including one catch for 4 yards on 6 targets last week. Two catches for 25 yards is under 5 points. Denver's 23 point implied total in a 42.5 total does not fix a 41 percent catch rate.
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Malik Washington
PPRSitGuillotineSitA 27.2 percent target share is real, but Miami throws 25.8 times a game, third fewest in the league, so that is seven targets. Five catches for 55 yards is 11 points, under both lines, and his ceiling in four weeks is 12.0. Willis has one passing touchdown all season and Cincinnati brings 14 sacks against a line that has allowed 11.
Tight ends
Start 'em
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Trey McBride
PPRStartGuillotineStartDetroit allows 28.4 points a game to tight ends, six clear of the next worst defense, and McBride is at 46 targets for a 31.1 percent share with 11 or more in three of four weeks. Eight catches for 70 yards is 15 points with no touchdown against a line of 10. Dome, 54.5 total, Arizona implied for 24.5.
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T.J. Hockenson
PPRStartGuillotineStartJefferson has not been cleared from the ankle, and Hockenson already took 13 targets for 13 catches and 119 yards at a 39 percent share last week. New Orleans allows 20.2 points a game to tight ends, third most. Eight catches for 75 yards is 15.5 points before a score, with Jefferson's 17 targets still unaccounted for.
Sit 'em
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Dalton Kincaid
PPRSitGuillotineSitKincaid's target share has gone 21, 29, 12 and 7 percent, down to 2 targets and one catch for 7 yards last week. The Rams allow 6.6 points a game to tight ends, second fewest. Three catches for 35 yards is 6.5 points against lines of 10 and 7, and the 54.5 total is the only reason to think twice.
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Cade Otton
PPRSitGuillotineSitOtton has not cleared 8.8 points in any week on 23 targets, and that was with Mayfield throwing. Mayfield is out with a dislocated thumb and Jalon Daniels has 3 interceptions in 30 attempts. Four catches for 40 yards is 8 points, under the PPR 10 and not two clear of the guillotine 7, so there is no start in either format.
Kickers
Start 'em
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Spencer Shrader
PPRStartGuillotineStartEleven field goals on eleven attempts at 2.75 attempts a game, and Daniel Jones has three touchdown passes in four games, so Indianapolis moves the ball and finishes with the kicker. He averages 13.2 points a week against lines of 8 and 7. The case is stalled drives, not the 21 point implied total.
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Will Reichard
PPRStartGuillotineStartTwelve for twelve including five last week, 3.0 attempts a game, and Minnesota has four passing touchdowns all season while running 29 times a game. That is an offense that reaches scoring range and kicks rather than finishing, and it is indoors in New Orleans. He averages 13.0 points against lines of 8 and 7.
Sit 'em
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Joey Slye
PPRSitGuillotineSitFive field goal attempts in four games, the lowest volume on the slate, and Tennessee is implied for 15 in a 37.5 point total, the lowest game on the board. Houston brings 3.5 sacks a game, which ends drives short of range rather than inside it. Slye averages 4.2 points against lines of 8 and 7.
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Riley Patterson
PPRSitGuillotineSitOne field goal attempt and one extra point in each of the last two weeks, for 4 points twice. Willis has one passing touchdown all season so the extra points are not coming, and Miami is implied for 17.75. Patterson averages 5.2 points against lines of 8 and 7. The same sit cashed last week and nothing in the usage has moved.
Defenses
Start 'em
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Vikings D/ST
PPRStartGuillotineStartSixteen sacks in four games, the most in the league, against a New Orleans line that has allowed 12, with Shough putting up 45 attempts a game to be hit on. Minnesota allows a league low 10.5 quarterback points and 0.75 passing touchdowns a game. Four sacks, a turnover and New Orleans at 20.5 implied is 9 to 11 points with no defensive score required.
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Jaguars D/ST
PPRStartGuillotineStartTen sacks and six interceptions in four games against a Philadelphia line that has allowed 12 sacks, with Barkley questionable, Smith and Hollywood Brown out and Goedert doubtful. Hurts threw for 93 yards last week. Three sacks, two turnovers and Philadelphia under 20 points is 9 to 11, and no return touchdown is needed to get there.
Sit 'em
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Bills D/ST
PPRSitGuillotineSitThe Rams are implied for 28.75 in the highest total on the board, which is minus one for points allowed before anything happens, and their line has allowed 1.5 sacks a game. Buffalo is at 2.5 sacks a game with a median of 5.5 points. Three sacks and a turnover gets to 4 against lines of 8 and 6.
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Cowboys D/ST
PPRSitGuillotineSitTampa has allowed 16 sacks, the most in the league, which is the only reason to look here, and Dallas has four sacks and zero interceptions in four games. Weekly scores of 3, 3, 1 and 1. Even with Tampa at 19.5 implied and a backup quarterback, one sack and one turnover is 3 points against lines of 8 and 6.
Flex
Running backs, receivers and tight ends for the flex spot, beyond the calls above.
Start 'em
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Michael Wilson
PPRStartGuillotineStartSeventeen and thirteen targets the last two weeks for a 29.7 percent season share, against a Detroit defense allowing 43.5 points a game to receivers, second worst in the league. Eight catches for 90 yards is 17 points with no touchdown. Dome, 54.5 total, Arizona implied for 24.5.
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RJ Harvey
PPRStartGuillotineStartHarvey took 10 targets for a 26 percent share last week and caught all ten, 21 targets in three games. The Chargers allow 22.9 points a game to backs. Eight catches for 60 yards plus seven carries is 17 points before a touchdown, a receiving floor Dobbins cannot match on 4 targets all season.
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Isaiah Likely
PPRStartGuillotineStartTwelve targets for a 41 percent share last week and 35 on the season for 31.5 percent, against a Washington defense allowing 18.3 points a game to tight ends. Seven catches for 65 yards is 13.5 points against a line of 10. Winston threw for 250 yards and three scores in his first full start.
Sit 'em
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Dalton Schultz
PPRSitGuillotineSitSchultz went 3 and 2 targets the last two weeks, shares of 12 and 8 percent, once Nico Collins returned and took 8 targets for 118 yards and two scores. Tennessee allows 7.4 points a game to tight ends, third fewest, in the slate's lowest total at 37.5. Three catches for 25 yards is 5.5 points against lines of 10 and 7.
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D'Andre Swift
PPRSitGuillotineSitSwift's carries have gone 18, 16, 20, 15 while Monangai went 10, 10, 10, 30 for 146 yards and two scores. Caleb Williams is out with a hamstring and Bagent starts. Fourteen carries for 60 yards and two catches is 9.5 points, and Green Bay allowing 28.9 a game to backs is the reason this is not a lock.
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Braelon Allen
SplitPPRSitGuillotineStartHall is doubtful on the quad he already missed a week with, so Allen gets the carries, but he has 7 targets in four games and no receiving floor. Eighteen carries for 75 yards and a catch is 12 points, under the PPR 14 and clear of the guillotine 10, which is the split. Cleveland allows 16.7 a game to backs, tenth fewest.
Guillotine survival
Survival this week is mostly a roster problem. Kansas City and Carolina are on bye, which removes Mahomes, Kenneth Walker, Kelce, Worthy, Butker, Bryce Young, Hubbard, McMillan, Waller and Fitzgerald from every lineup at once. By Week 5 the teams already chopped have pushed their rosters onto waivers, so the replacement pool is deeper than it looks and more expensive than it was. If a Chiefs quarterback or a Panthers back is your only option at a spot, fix it before Thursday night.
Tight end is the thin position. Six of the fifteen games involve a defense inside the top five against tight ends, so the cheap streams are worse than usual and the floor plays are Hockenson and McBride rather than anything free. At quarterback the bye plus the injury list leaves perhaps eight passers worth starting in a format where one zero ends your season. Take the boring one and spend the budget on the flex spot instead.
Guillotine FAAB
Budget. You are a quarter of the way through and the eliminated teams have already dumped their rosters, so the market is at its deepest point of the season and it only thins from here. Spend 20 to 30 percent of what is left on anything that starts for you every week, and do not carry more than one stash. Hoarding budget to Week 10 is only useful if you are still alive in Week 10.
What is worth a real bid off a chopped roster: a back who gets both the carries and the passing-down work, a receiver already above a 20 percent target share, and the kicker on a high-attempt offense. What is not: a backup running back behind a healthy starter, a receiver whose last good week was a touchdown on three catches, and anybody on bye. In guillotine the question is never who has upside, it is who cannot give you a four.
Named targets this week. Emanuel Wilson in Seattle is the headline with Charbonnet out and Price on injured reserve, 21 carries and four targets for 27.0 points last week, worth 20 to 30 percent. Kyle Monangai in Chicago took 30 carries for 146 yards and two scores and is only questionable with a thumb, 20 to 28 percent. Braelon Allen gets the Jets backfield with Hall doubtful, 15 to 22 percent. Dohnte Meyers is the cheapest way to buy Ja'Marr Chase's absence at 9 targets last week, 12 to 18 percent.
Cheaper: Oronde Gadsden drew 8 targets with McConkey out, 5 to 10 percent, and Keaton Mitchell has taken over the Chargers passing-down role at 6 targets, 5 to 10 percent. Darius Cooper is a London lottery ticket with Philadelphia's top three receivers hurt, 8 to 14 percent.
How calls are graded
Every call is locked at its player's kickoff and graded on full-PPR points from the official box score: a point per reception, a tenth of a point per rushing or receiving yard, one per 25 passing yards, six per rushing or receiving touchdown, four per passing touchdown, minus two per interception or lost fumble. Two-point conversions and return touchdowns aren't counted.
Kickers: three per field goal, one more from 40 to 49 yards and two more from 50 or longer, one per extra point, minus one per miss. Defenses: one per sack, two per interception or fumble recovery, six per defensive or return touchdown, two per safety, plus points allowed (the opponent's final score): shutout 10, 1 to 6 is 7, 7 to 13 is 4, 14 to 20 is 1, 21 to 27 is 0, 28 to 34 is minus 1, 35 or more is minus 4.
A start cashes if the player reaches the line for his position; a sit cashes if he stays under it. PPR lines: QB 18, RB 14, WR 14, TE 10, K 8, DEF 8. Guillotine lines are survival floors: QB 15, RB 10, WR 10, TE 7, K 7, DEF 6.
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