Fantasy Football Recap Week 5: 23 Things You Need To Know

Thoughts on prayers to all of those who picked the Los Angeles Rams or Arizona Cardinals in Survivor pools for Week 5. The fantasy football streets weren’t much kinder for a number of players who had a lot of hype heading into this week. So, whether you’re commiserating over Emari Demercado’s bone-headed play or wondering where Woody Marks disappeared to, there was a lot to digest on Sunday. As always, there were plenty of other players who delivered astounding fantasy football performances, too.

Before we get our Week 5 dessert with the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday Night Football, let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the injured from a wild Week 5 in the NFL.

Stud Players

Which players put up the best performances in Week 5?

For the first three weeks of 2025, it looked like we would be getting the 2024 version of C.J. Stroud. That’s the version with a bad offensive line, poor play-calling in the passing game, and an emphasis on the running game. In the last two weeks, however, Stroud has re-emerged into the version we saw in his rookie season. Against the depleted Baltimore Ravens, Stroud threw for 244 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 30 yards. In the past two weeks, he has thrown for 477 yards with six touchdowns and no picks.

Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold went toe to toe on Sunday afternoon and delivered one of the best shootouts of the young NFL season in a 38-35 Tampa Bay Buccaneers win. Darnold threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns while Mayfield went into Seattle and delivered with 379 passing yards and two touchdowns, plus a two-point conversion. The only blemish on either ledger was the back-breaking interception thrown by Darnold near the end of the game that led to the game-winning Tampa Bay field goal.

Rico Dowdle stepped in for an injured Chuba Hubbard and proceeded to rush for 206 rushing yards, catch 28 more, and run for a touchdown. His 206 rushing yards are the most by a running back this season, and Dowdle was quick and decisive all game. If Chuba Hubbard has to miss more time, the Carolina Panthers appear to be just fine at the running back position with Dowdle and Trevor Etienne.

Jonathan Taylor rewarded fantasy football managers who had to suffer through his poor performance last week. In Week 5, Taylor rushed for 66 yards, caught 20 more, and found the end zone three times. At home in the dome against a bad defense (like the Las Vegas Raiders), Taylor is going to smash every time.

Emeka Egbuka was put on this earth to score touchdowns, apparently. Heading into Sunday Night Football, he led all wide receivers with 27.8 half-PPR fantasy points after catching all seven of his targets for 163 yards, a touchdown, and a two-point conversion. Egbuka has five touchdowns already this season and fewer than seven targets in a game just once.

Ja'Marr Chase finally broke out of his (Jake Browning) slump. Chase caught some long garbage-time touchdowns and finished with six catches for 110 yards and two scores. For one week, things looked back to normal with Chase, but Browning was horrific in this game until the fourth quarter, when the Lions were basically playing prevent defense.

Three different tight ends scored two touchdowns on Sunday. Was it Trey McBride, Mark Andrews, and Brock Bowers? Nope, those three scored none. But Theo Johnson, Jake Ferguson, and AJ Barner all found the end zone twice for their teams and are the three top tight ends of the week heading into Sunday Night Football. All three had at least seven targets and are all emerging as legitimate threats in their respective passing games.

Dud Players

Which players disappointed fantasy managers the most in Week 5?

Geno Smith is definitely not having the Las Vegas Raiders tenure he was hoping for. He has five touchdowns and eight interceptions in his last four games and has been under 230 yards in three of them. He bottomed out in a 40-6 loss to Indianapolis on Sunday and somehow managed just 228 yards on 36 pass attempts.

After rushing 17 times and drawing five targets in Week 4, Woody Marks was a top waiver wire add this week. And of course, against one of the worst run defenses in the NFL, Marks rushes just seven times for 24 yards and did not catch his lone target. The Houston Texans largely relied on Nick Chubb again, setting up a maddening situation with this backfield going forward.

Alvin Kamara looks like he needs a trade, and he needs one badly. The New Orleans Saints are prioritizing the pass and also looking to get Kendre Miller involved, which is rendering Kamara obsolete. He rushed just eight times for 27 yards and caught four passes for 28 yards. He hasn’t had more than nine fantasy points since Week 2.

Jameson Williams led the NFL in air yards in Week 4, although it only led to two catches for 40 yards. But after eight targets and 215 air yards, the thought was that he would regress to big game in Week 5. That didn’t happen as the Lions scored 37 points, but Williams only had one target, which he caught for nine yards. The Lions are on a record-breaking pace for points, but I fear that at some point, we might hear of Williams going all A.J. Brown on the Lions and expressing his discontent.

Quentin Johnston has been an elite wide receiver all season, so it was disappointing to see Ladd McConkey displace him as the top option in Week 5. Johnston caught just four passes for 40 yards and lost a fumble in a 27-10 loss to Washington.

Mark Andrews was a risky play in Week 5 anyway with Cooper Rush under center, but the Ravens couldn’t do anything on offense, and that extended to Andrews as well. He caught just two passes for 22 yards and now has six or fewer fantasy points in four of five weeks this season. A couple more games like this, and he is going to wind up as a featured player in the category below.

Thud Players

Which players can we shove off our fantasy rosters after Week 5?

Several of us gave Malik Washington a shot on our fantasy rosters after Tyreek Hill was lost for the year with an injury. That experiment is over quickly, as Washington caught four balls for exactly zero yards against Carolina on Sunday. The Dolphins do not want to target him downfield, and there does not appear to be enough offense left after Jaylen Waddle, DeVon Achane, and Darren Waller get fed for Miami.

RJ Harvey had a game in Week 4 where we all thought the breakout was upon us for the talented rookie running back. We can put that gift back in the box after Harvey rushed for 12 yards and caught 18 yards in Week 5, with his touches dropping from 18 to seven in this game. I do recommend holding Harvey if you are a J.K. Dobbins manager, but it’s just insurance for now, as Harvey is too inconsistent to trust.

Juwan Johnson started his season with 28 targets and 19 receptions in his first three games. Since then, he has had just five catches on seven targets. He caught just two balls for 17 yards on Sunday, and it appears Johnson is suffering from having Spencer Rattler as his quarterback. The return of Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau also complicates things for Johnson.

Bad Blood Players

Which players’ injuries are worth monitoring after Week 5?

Omarion Hampton appears to have suffered some kind of ankle injury against the Washington Commanders in Week 5 and left the stadium in a walking boot. More results on the severity will come this week, but with Najee Harris already out, Hampton would be missing a tasty matchup against the Miami Dolphins if he is forced to miss any time.

The first game in the post-Malik Nabers era could not have gone worse for Darius Slayton. He dropped a sure touchdown from Jaxson Dart, he fumbled at the end of the first half when the Giants were driving, and then he suffered a hamstring injury in the second half, forcing him to leave the game. Slayton will be reevaluated this week to determine if he must miss any time.

Xavier Worthy didn’t play on Sunday, but his name still popped up on the injury report for Monday Night Football. Apparently, after flying to Jacksonville, his ankle was swollen (all of us old guys can relate), so the Chiefs are not listing him as Questionable. He is expected to play in the game, but it’s worth monitoring to make sure.