| | | | Thursday, October 6, 2022 | | In a way, it's fitting that the big Thursday night prime-time game features two teams that will be playing without their star running backs, because injuries have dominated the NFL season in the early going. There have been so many injuries to sort through so far, and Week 5 is no exception. If anything, the fact that we at least have clarity on Jonathan Taylor -- he's out for tonight's game , by the way -- is a blessing. | | Because there are a ton of players whose status is very much up in the air as practices kicked off Wednesday. I have the latest on all the injuries you need to know about for Week 5 at the bottom of today's newsletter. | | In case you missed it yesterday, Jamey Eisenberg's Start 'Em & Sit 'Em picks for Week 5 are right here, and today's newsletter will also bring Dave Richard's start and sit picks to you as well. And if you have some other questions you need answers to, make sure you subscribe to the Fantasy Football Today YouTube channel and join Adam Aizer and I at 2 p.m. ET for our start/sit live stream. We'll be discussing all of the latest news and answering your toughest lineup questions. | | In tomorrow's newsletter, I'll have previews of every game on the Week 5 schedule, including the latest injury updates for everyone you need to know about, plus all of the key takeaways from tonight's Colts-Bengals game. | | Get ready for Week 5 with all of our preview content here: | | Week 5 Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: QB | RB | WRStarts, sits and sleepers for every game Week 5 Position Previews: QB | RB | WR | TE Week 5 Rankings: Jamey | Dave | HeathMy rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | | Here's what else today's newsletter will cover: | | 5️⃣Dave Richard's Week 5 Preview🆚TNF Preview: Colts at Broncos🚑Week 5 Injury Watch | | | 5️⃣Dave Richard's Week 5 Preview
| | | | There are the obvious calls, and then there are the ones you need help with. Dave Richard goes through each game to identify the most interesting matchups and biggest lineup dilemmas for Week 5. Here are some of his top picks for this week. You can find the rest of his advice for Week 5 here: | | Starts | | Nyheim Hines -- "With Taylor out, Hines should step into a larger-than-normal role, though he probably would lose some carries to Phillip Lindsay . Hines would remain the Colts' passing-downs back in a not-bad matchup. You're looking for volume here -- at least six catches as he had in Week 1. He is not nearly as reliable to start in non- and half-PPR leagues. He'll be in my lineup ahead of Antonio Gibson, Tony Pollard and any Rams running back."Kareem Hunt -- "Hunt and the Browns have an excellent matchup that should bode well for their run game and play-action passing. If you started him last week, be ready to start him again this week in pretty much the best matchup you could ask for. I'd chance it with him over Najee Harris, James Conner and Ezekiel Elliott in non-PPR, and over Melvin Gordon, A.J. Dillon and Mark Ingram in full PPR." | | Sits | | Diontae Johnson -- "Sitting Johnson feels like the safe play considering the matchup, the rookie quarterback, and the rookie quarterback's tendencies from his first half of football. Save for a massive target share or some uncharacteristic blown coverage from the Bills, Johnson won't have a great day statistically. He's at best a PPR flex. I'd rather start Josh Reynolds or Romeo Doubs." David Njoku -- "I expect Njoku to remain a short-area target for Brissett, but given the Chargers' struggles stopping the run, my hunch is the Browns will aim to keep the ball on the ground this week. Njoku might be able to cobble his way to 10 PPR points, but his upside feels capped. I would rather take my chances with Taysom Hill in non-PPR and Pat Freiermuth in all formats." | | Sleeper | | Darnell Mooney -- "The Bears seem a little closer to letting Justin Fields cut it loose. A favorable matchup does open the door for Mooney to have another solid game. I wouldn't use him as anything more than a flex, but the mere fact he and Fields are trending in the right direction should make Fantasy managers feel a little confident. I'd take a chance on him over JuJu Smith-Schuster, Greg Dortch, Tyler Boyd and Elijah Moore." | | Bust Candidate | | Melvin Gordon -- "Denver might give Gordon a shot at getting 15-plus touches, but he's 29 years old with FOUR fumbles (two lost) this season, and he's saddled with a tough matchup in Week 5. He certainly might score on the Colts -- a RB has done that to Indy in each of its past three -- but he's tough to call a must-start. At best he's a flex. I'd rather start Kareem Hunt, A.J. Dillon and Rhamondre Stevenson." | | | | 🆚TNF Preview: Colts at Broncos | | | | All lines from Caesars Sportsbook | | Line: Broncos -3.5; 42 O/UImplied totals: Broncos 22.75-Colts 19.25 | | Both teams lost their starting running backs last week, with Javonte Williams out for the season with a torn ACL and Jonathan Taylor ruled out for this one with an ankle injury. I wrote about Taylor being ruled out here, but long story short, Nyheim Hines is an RB2 for me and I don't really have much interest in anyone else in that backfield. I'll get to my expectations for Melvin Gordon shortly, but it'll be interesting to see what these two teams do with their most effective runners out. Neither offense has lived up to expectations to date with their new quarterbacks, but I'm still starting Michael Pittman and Courtland Sutton as WR2s, with Jerry Jeudy a solid WR3. | | Toughest lineup decision: Melvin Gordon -- Start. It was frustrating to see Gordon taking snaps and valuable touches away from Javonte Williams, but with Williams out of the picture, it's OK to acknowledge that Gordon is still a pretty good running back in his own right -- when he can hang on to the football. There's some risk in starting him, because there's risk of a benching if he fumbles again, but I basically just slid him right into the Williams spot of my projections without downgrading my expectations much at all. In fact, you could argue Gordon might have more upside than Williams did, simply because Mike Boone probably isn't as good as Gordon as a backup. Gordon absolutely could be a top-12 RB the rest of the way if he keeps the ball off the ground. Injuries: Jonathan Taylor (ankle) -- Out. Nyheim Hines is an RB2 for me this week ... Shaquille Leonard (concussion/nose) -- Out. That makes Gordon an even better start. | | | | 🚑Week 5 Injury Watch | | | | The Big News: Kyle Pitts was unable to practice Wednesday due to a hamstring injury, which might explain his limited role in Week 4's win over the Browns. Pitts played just 62% of the snaps in the game, but that number was down to 46% in the second half. Not that it would be good news that Pitt is dealing with an injury, but at least it would mean he wasn't limited arbitrarily. He has been one of the most frustrating players in Fantasy, and this definitely doesn't help his near-term outlook. But, if Pitts is active, I'm going to have a tough decision to make in the league where I have him and T.J. Hockenson – if the Lions injury situation isn't improved, it might be a Hockenson week. | | I'll have a full breakdown of the injury report in Friday's newsletter along with my previews of each game, but here's a look at the first practice participation reports of the week. | | FP = Full participation in practice.LP = Limited participation. DNP = Did not practice. | | Injuries to watch for Week 5 | | It's not clear what these injuries mean quite yet. | | Tom Brady (shoulder/finger) – DNP. These are new injuries for Brady, and it's not clear how serious either is. He's a top-10 QB if he plays with his receiving corps back to full strength. Daniel Jones (ankle) – LP. It's actually pretty surprising to see Jones limited to kick off the week, and that seems like a pretty good sign for his chances of playing Sunday morning against the Packers. He's not a recommended starter for Fantasy, but with Tyrod Taylor dealing with a concussion (he wasn't able to practice Wednesday), you'd prefer not to have Davis Webb out there, at least for Saquon Barkley's sake. Zach Wilson (ankle) – LP. It's not clear if this is something to worry about at this point, but we do at least know that Joe Flacco wouldn't be a downgrade for the Jets skill players if he had to start. Alvin Kamara (rib) – LP. Kamara's inactive in Week 4 came as a surprise, so hopefully he'll be able to go this week. He was limited all week last week, so we really have no idea what this means for his chances. Rashaad Penny (shoulder) – DNP. Penny met with the media Wednesday and didn't mention the injury, so hopefully that's a sign that it isn't much to be concerned about. It bears watching, and Ken Walker would be in the RB3 discussion vs. the Saints if Penny is out. Breece Hall (knee) – LP. This is a new one for Hall, so it bears watching. This would be bad timing for Hall, who was used like a No. 1 RB for the first time in Week 4. Hopefully this doesn't derail a breakout. Michael Carter would be an RB2 vs. the Dolphins if Hall is out. J.K. Dobbins (chest)/ Justice Hill (hamstring) – DNP. Hill seems likely to miss some time, but Dobbins was limited by a chest injury last week before ultimately playing, so hopefully this is a non-issue. Jaylen Waddle (groin) – DNP. Waddle played in a somewhat limited role last week with this injury, so I'm assuming the Dolphins are just being careful with him. He gets a bit of a downgrade for Teddy Bridgewater replacing Tua Tagovailoa at QB, but I still think he's worth using in Fantasy. Marquise Brown (foot) – DNP. Brown played through the injury last week, so here's hoping he can do the same against the Eagles. They're a tough matchup, but it would be hard to sit Brown at this point, given his role in the offense. Rashod Bateman (foot) – DNP. Ravens coach John Harbaugh was non-committal when asked about Bateman's chances of playing, which isn't great. He's day-to-day, but there looks to be real risk here. Jakobi Meyers (knee) – LP. Meyers has missed the past two games with this injury, but it's hard to know whether he's making improvement, given how rarely the Patriots ever tip their hands. It would be tough to trust him if Mac Jones doesn't play, however. Jahan Dotson (hamstring) – DNP. It wouldn't be a surprise if Dotson had to miss some time with this one. Curtis Samuel also didn't practice Wednesday, but that was due to an illness, so hopefully it's a non-issue. Kenny Golladay (knee)/Richie James (ankle) – DNP. It seems like there is real risk of missing time here. T.J. Hockenson (hip) – DNP. Hockenson has been on the injury report pretty much every week this season, and this isn't the first time we've seen a hip injury -- he played through it in Week 3. Hopefully he can do the same here. Jonnu Smith (ankle) – DNP. Smith is "week-to-week" with this injury, so I'm not expecting to see him this week. Cameron Brate (concussion) – DNP. Brate left the game Sunday briefly, then returned, only to eventually be ruled out. I would be surprised if the Buccaneers let him play, in light of that. | | Trending up for Week 5 | | This doesn't mean they will play, but we got good news about them Wednesday. | | Mac Jones (ankle) – LP. Brian Hoyer (concussion) didn't practice, but it looks like the Patriots at least have a chance to get their starter back. I would guess it's still kind of a long shot for Jones, given that this was a high-ankle injury, but it bears watching. The Patriots signed Garrett Gilbert to their practice squad this week, with rookie Bailey Zappe set to start if Hoyer and Jones are out. Gabe Davis (ankle) – FP. Davis has been playing through this injury the past two weeks, but this is his first full practice session, so that's a good sign. It's fair to wonder if Davis' subpar production the past two weeks is due to the injury, because he's been held to four catches in two weeks despite running nearly every route. He's hard to trust at this point, with just one big game to his name in three games. Wan'Dale Robinson (knee),/Kadarius Toney (hamstring) – LP. It's not clear whether either is going to play this week, but it's good to see them out there to kick off the week. They are the Giants' only hope of getting anything out of their passing game, it seems, and both remain worth stashing, with Robinson more of a deep-league option. | | Trending down for Week 5 | | This doesn't mean they won't play, but they aren't moving in the right direction yet. | | Jameis Winston (back/ankle) – DNP. Winston missed last week's game and he'll have to improve from here to get back out there. Andy Dalton would start in his place if needed. Tua Tagovailoa (back/concussion/ankle) – DNP. Tagovailoa has already been ruled out for Week 5. The Dolphins will obviously have to be very cautious with his return. David Montgomery (ankle) – DNP. Montgomery missed last week's game, and looks like there's a chance he'll miss this week's too. The Bears called him "day-to-day" in the aftermath of the injury, but clearly that was just being optimistic. D'Andre Swift (ankle/shoulder) – DNP. We've seen little to suggest Swift will be back before the team's Week 6 bye. Jamaal Williams filled in more than capably in Week 4 and will continue to be worth starting as long as Swift is out. Keenan Allen (hamstring) – DNP. This injury just doesn't seem to want to go away for Allen, and the Chargers have to be cautious at this point. I'm not planning to have him available. Amon-Ra St. Brown (ankle)/D.J. Chark (ankle)/Josh Reynolds (ankle) – DNP. The Lions are liberal with days off in practice, so it'll take until later in the week to have some certainty about these guys. But obviously there is real risk of at least St. Brown and Chark missing time, seeing as they already missed last week. Michael Thomas (foot) – DNP. Thomas' injury is more to his toe, and he's rehabbing the injury rather than practicing. At this point, those are the only details we have. Chris Olave remains a viable starter, whether Thomas is available or not. Treylon Burks (toe) – DNP. I'm not expecting to have Burks available for this week, at least. He's worth stashing, however. Jamison Crowder (ankle)/Isaiah McKenzie (concussion) – DNP. Crowder seems like a candidate for injured reserve, while McKenzie will need to be cleared from the concussion protocol. In deeper leagues, Khalil Shakir has some appeal as a streamer, since he figures to handle a bunch of slot snaps if these two are out.Dawson Knox (foot/hamstring) – DNP. Knox has been on the injury report pretty much every week so far, though last week it was a back/hip he was nursing. He's a low-end touchdown-dependent tight end if he plays. | | | | | | | | SEC Football on CBS | | Fantasy Football Today | Saturday, it's an SEC doubleheader featuring Auburn at #2 Georgia, then at primetime, Texas A&M faces #1 Alabama. Catch it all live on cbssports.com or the CBS Sports App.
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