Top 10 Fantasy Football Takeaways Week 5

Believe it or not, the fantasy football season is easily more than a quarter over. Depending on your league’s settings, you are almost certainly more than a third of the way done with the regular season. With five weeks of data, we know what to expect from the majority of players. That means we need to pay extra attention to those players who are trending in a surprising direction — without further ado, here are my top takeaways from Week 5.

Rico Dowdle’s Massive Day

It’s one thing when a backup running back has a big fantasy day when their team’s RB1 is sidelined. It’s actually more common than you might think, as backups sometimes see even better usage than the original starter if a team does not trust their RB3. But it’s another thing entirely when a backup RB has a game like Rico Dowdle had on Sunday: a whopping 206 yards on 23 attempts, plus three catches for 28 more yards.

With a performance like this, there’s a real chance that Dowdle has earned himself a shot at the Panthers’ RB1 job. Chuba Hubbard hasn’t been particularly impressive to start the season, even before missing time with a calf injury. Dave Canales’ postgame comments indicated that there is at least a chance that he may find himself in a competition when he returns. Depending on your level of risk-tolerance, it might be worth trading for Dowdle now if his current manager still views him as a temporary fill-in … or buying low on Chuba if you still believe in him.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt Arrives

Dowdle wasn’t the only RB to have a big game on Sunday, as Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merrit exploded for 26.0 half-PPR points. The Commanders finally gave the rookie (who leads qualified RBs in PFF Rush Grade by a huge margin) a lead role in their backfield, as he handled 14 carries to six combined for Chris Rodriguez (all five of his carries came on Washington’s final drive) and Jeremy McNichols.

Going forward, there’s no reason to think JCM can’t be a weekly RB2 … at least. He even led Washington’s backfield in route participation rate against the Chargers, catching both of his targets for 39 yards. Good things simply seem to happen when he touches the ball, so his role should continue to grow.

Even More Running Back Injuries

Along with Dowdle’s aforementioned explosion, Week 5 also saw three other backfields heavily impacted by injuries:

In Arizona, Trey Benson was placed on IR heading into the week; Michael Carter was the team’s clear RB1 and should be added in all formats as a flex option.
Bucky Irving was also ruled out prior to Week 5 and seems to be due for a multi-week absence with shoulder and foot injuries. In his absence, Rachaad White was the Buccaneers’ clear RB1, with Sean Tucker also mixing in. White has always been a capable three-down back, and he has actually been more efficient on the ground so far this year. He is a high-end RB2 as long as the sophomore is sidelined.
Finally, Omarion Hampton exited the Chargers’ Week 5 contest early and has been placed on IR with an ankle injury. After his exit, Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal saw a near-perfect 50/50 split in the Chargers’ backfield. They are both worth adding, although don’t be surprised if we see LA add another player to the mix as well.

Is Alvin Kamara Finally Washed?

Alvin Kamara was outcarried by Kendre Miller on Sunday, 10 to eight. Kamara also played just 53% of the Saints’ offensive snaps, his first time below 70% for the season. On the bright side, we know that a lot of Kamara’s value is in his receiving work, and he did still see six targets. But his 12% target share for the season is also well below his 20% share in 2024. Unless he bounces back in Week 6 and beyond, the former RB1 overall may be more of an RB2 or even RB3 going forward.

The King is Dead?

Sticking with the theme of fantasy superstars who are slowing down, I am officially worried about Derrick Henry. Where Kamara has been showing signs of age for years, King Henry was still remarkably efficient in 2024. So far this season, that is not the case.

After leading the entire league in PFF Rush Grade last season, he ranks 56th out of 58 qualified backs through five weeks. Henry also ranks among the bottom 10 backs in both success rate and EPA per rush.

This is particularly concerning because Henry has never been even a league-average pass-catcher. If he isn’t dominating on the ground, his fantasy production is going to crater. In fact, it already has: He has averaged just 7.2 half-PPR points per game over the last four weeks.

Of course, some of Henry’s struggles are undeniably related to the absence of All-World QB Lamar Jackson. Playing next to Lamar instead of Cooper Rush will open up more rushing lanes … but will it be enough? Especially with how game-script-dependent Henry is and how bad the Ravens’ defense has been, it might be worth seeing if you can sell the King now before everyone realizes he has no clothes.

Time To Worry About (Some) Rookie Running Backs?

Don’t worry, I’m not just going to pick on old running backs. The fantasy community had a collective panic about rookie running backs a few weeks ago, which was promptly silenced by huge games from Omarion Hampton, Cam Skattebo, and Ashton Jeanty. However, not all rookie RBs are created equal, and we are far enough into the season that it’s time to be concerned about those who aren’t producing.

On the low end, popular draft-season sleepers like Jaydon Blue and Bhayshul Tuten are likely doomed to handcuff status at this point. Their respective starters, Javonte Williams and Travis Etienne, have been better than expected and are locked into bell-cow roles.

More interestingly, real-life second-round picks RJ Harvey and TreVeyon Henderson continue to provide lackluster results … and I’m not sure that’s going to change. Harvey is actually trending in the wrong direction, playing just 21% of Denver’s offensive snaps in Week 5, his lowest mark of the season. Given that J.K. Dobbins is playing well and Sean Payton seems committed to involving Tyler Badie, Harvey is nothing more than a desperation flex option at this point.

Things aren’t as dire for Henderson. Antonio Gibson unfortunately suffered a season-ending knee injury on Sunday. This helped the rookie post a new career-high snap share … but it was still just 48%. Rhamondre Stevenson keeps fumbling, but the Patriots seemingly have no interest in replacing the veteran with the rookie as their RB1.

Henderson is explosive enough to have value as the team’s RB1B, and he might eventually be their 1A. But the upside scenario where he fully takes over this backfield looks very unlikely at this point, especially given that he might not actually be that good.

Oh yeah, and Kaleb Johnson is a bust..

Dillon Gabriel’s First Start

Third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel got his first start in Week 5, and it went … okay. He threw for less than 200 yards, but did have two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Arguably, he was more impressive as a passer than Jaxson Dart has been so far. However, what Gabriel didn’t do that Dart has is run. With two carries for five yards, Gabriel unsurprisingly added no rushing upside, so he is not fantasy-relevant in traditional leagues.

Instead, the big fantasy impact of this move is how it will affect the Browns’ weapons. Gabriel had just a 6.4-yard ADOT on Sunday, over a yard lower than Joe Flacco’s already low 7.5-yard mark. The beneficiaries of this approach were David Njoku (nine targets), Isaiah Bond (seven targets), and Harold Fannin Jr. (four targets). If this trend continues, Njoku could be back on the radar as a TE1, although Fannin is still cutting into his usage.

Joe Flacco to the Bengals

Speaking of Joe Flacco, it was announced this morning that the veteran QB was traded to the Browns. Unfortunately, this news isn’t as exciting as it once might have been, as Flacco was brutal in his four starts this season. Still, anything is an improvement from how Jake Browning has been playing. This is an upgrade for Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown … although it’s probably actually just a sell-high window, at least for Higgins and Brown (the latter of whom is losing his elite usage, by the way).

AFC East Tight Ends Emerge

Two of the hottest pickups this week are tight ends from the AFC East. Obviously, Darren Waller is attracting attention with over 16 half-PPR points in each of his first two games. That number is inflated by TDs, and his usage still isn’t ideal (he has posted 37% and 65% route participation rates), but he’s a must-add in all formats. Especially with Tyreek Hill done for the year, he could easily provide TE1 numbers in this offense.

Meanwhile, Jets rookie TE Mason Taylor is seeing excellent usage. He ranks seventh at the position with a 75% route participation rate, and that number is only trending up. He has also seen a 26% target share in each of the Jets’ last two games: seven targets in Week 4 and a whopping 12 targets on Sunday. Playing with Justin Fields is always rough for passcatchers, but Taylor is clearly Fields’ second target behind Garrett Wilson. He is worth adding given the state of the TE position.

Kareem Hunt is the Chiefs’ Goal-line Back

This was already an intriguing trend, but it is now an official fact: Kareem Hunt is the Chiefs’ goal-line back. Including his two touchdowns on Monday night, he now has five carries inside the five-yard line. Isiah Pacheco has zero snaps (Hunt has 13), let alone carries. Even if we zoom out to the 10-yard line, Hunt has seven carries to Pacheco’s zero on more than four times as many snaps (21 to five).

Of course, goal-line work isn’t everything. But for these two plodding RBs in particular, it’s essentially their only path to fantasy viability. Especially with the Chiefs’ offense looking more like its old elite self, dominating goal-line work gives Hunt some appeal as a flex option. Pacheco, meanwhile, is essentially useless at this point.