The Fantasy Footballers’ Starts of the Week for Week 5

The Fantasy Footballers are at it again for Week 5, giving you their coveted Starts of the Week. During this part of Thursday’s episode, they presented their picks and justification for choosing those players. A breakdown of their choices is featured below, while the entire episode is here.

JoinTheFoot.com brings you additional resources and exclusives, only for #FootClan Members, something worth looking at after reading more about the Ballers’ Starts.

Andy’s Starts of the Week

QB – Matthew Stafford @ SEA
Andy picked Stafford against Seattle, coming off the loss and facing a vulnerable Seattle defense. There is a nice over-under at 54.5. Stafford had a number three overall week two weeks ago versus the Buccaneers’ defense, and Andy says Stafford will have an excellent performance this week as well.

RB – James Robinson vs. TEN
Robinson takes on Tennessee this week in a super matchup. He has been a top-10 running back two weeks in a row while also having 20+ opportunities over those weeks. Andy is not worried about snap count with Robinson; Andy cares about the opportunities Robinson is seeing. Robinson is a runner who will have a solid day against Tennessee.

WR – Diontae Johnson vs. DEN
Johnson is dominating, with double-digit targets every game this season. He has had nine receptions in the last two games, and he has also scored twice this year. Denver is a good defense but can be beaten. Ben Roethlisberger cannot throw the ball far, and Johnson is a safety valve for the offense. Andy believes Johnson will be a top-10 WR this year.

TE – Kyle Pitts vs. NYJ
“Trust the more predictable metrics at the tight end position with Pitts,” says Andy. Pitts is on pace for 110 targets and over 800 receiving yards for the season. Although he has yet to find the endzone, he could see that change this week with Calvin Ridley not flying to London and Russell Gage missing time. The Jets won’t be shut down on their offensive side of the ball due to Atlanta’s defense, and this should be a high-scoring affair. There are five tight ends at the top of fantasy points at the position (Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Darren Waller, TJ Hockenson, and Mark Andrews), but Pitts offers the most week-to-week upside. Pitts is number four in 20+ yard plus passes for the TE position. He has to score eventually to be relevant in fantasy, so keep an eye on that this week.

Jason’s Starts of the Week

QB – Kirk Cousins vs. DET
Cousins had a bad week in Week 4 against a very good Browns’ defense. The Minnesota QB was playing well, as QB13, QB6, QB6 before that. Dalvin Cook has been limited. Cousins gets to take on the Lions at home this week, with an implied point total of 29 points. Ignore what happened last week because this matchup looks ideal for Cousins.

RB – Damien Williams @ LV
Not a situation where the backup is just being thrown into your lineup. Instead, Williams will be great taking over for an injured David Montgomery. Montgomery was ready to do work against Las Vegas, and Williams will go into this game the same way. Williams has been practicing in full all week, something to note because there were worries about a thigh bruise. He will be the guy to get the ball for the Bears. Williams came into the game last week when Montgomery went down and was able to rush eight times for 55 yards and a touchdown with two receptions. Matt DiSorbo puts out The Math Behind the Matchups every week, and he pointed out that the Bears’ offensive line and the run game is top-5 going to the left and the right. The Raiders defense is bottom five in rushing to the left and the center. Jason doesn’t think Williams will be an ineffective runner this week.

WR – Marvin Jones Jr. vs. TEN
Our very own Kyle Borgognoni will be extremely pleased with Jason’s selection for Start of the Week at wideout. Jones had a dud week last week, three receptions for 24 yards against the Bengals. He’s a player you feel like sitting but don’t do that. In the first three weeks of the season, Jones had nine targets, 11 targets, and eight targets. Now DJ Chark is out, and Jason thinks he will have double-digit targets in this contest. The Tennessee Titans defense is horrible against the wide receiver position. Tennessee is dead last in fantasy versus wideouts. The Titans gave up the second-most points to wide receivers in Week 1, the most in Week 2, and the second most last week. The Tennessee secondary is not good, so look for this to be a game QB Trevor Lawrence gets going. Jones is going to benefit from that.

TE – Mike Gesicki @ TB
The Dolphins haven’t been good this year, Will Fuller is on IR, and they cannot run the ball. Gesicki will be the player seeing all the targets in this matchup against Tampa Bay. He has seen 18 targets over the last two weeks and has had top-10 tight end finishes in both of those matchups. Tampa Bay is 27th in points allowed to the tight end position in fantasy, which will benefit Gesicki even more in Week 5.

Mike’s Starts of the Week

QB – Daniel Jones @ DAL
Mike is selecting Danny Dimes this week as his start at QB. The process says this is a good play as the Dallas Cowboys’ defense has allowed a top-12 quarterback performance in three of four games. Jones was a monster last week, throwing for over 400-yards against the New Orleans Saints. Andy makes a point that the gap between Jalen Hurts and Jones rushing yards is not significant. Jones is running well, with four rushes for 27 yards last week. Mike would like to see a little more in his running game, but it’s not concerning. It is good over-under this week versus the Cowboys (third highest of the week). Jones has been hot and cold, but when he is hot, he is week winning hot. Oh, and Jones is the QB6 this season, so he has been great for fantasy.

RB – Leonard Fournette vs. MIA
This is who Mike states we are picking on now, the Miami Dolphins defense. They have already allowed three 100-yard rushers this season. The Buffalo Bills running backs smashed against Miami. Fournette will be the guy this week, and there should be no fears of Ronald Jones eating into Fournette’s workload. Giovani Bernard could be out in Week 5, which would open up more fantasy points for Fournette. Even if Bernard does play, Fournette is still the play with complete confidence.

WR – Jamison Crowder vs. ATL
Off the waiver wire, right into your Flex spot – Crowder is the perfect start for this week. He’s active, and the matchup against the Falcons is nice. The Falcons are seventh in allowing fantasy points to the wide receiver position. Crowder was activated last week, and he had a 26-percent target share when he returned to the lineup. Mike thinks that the target share only goes up this week. He only played on 62-percent of the snaps last week, but he will be that target hog this week (something you hoped Corey Davis would be coming into New York). Quarterback Zach Wilson will be looking to target his slot receiver even more in this contest.

TE – Dalton Schultz vs. NYG
Schultz is Mike’s pick for Start of the Week at tight end. The Giants are giving up the fourth-most points to the TE position this season, something to take note of as they have given up these points to tight ends that one would not consider elite. Schultz has turned into what Mike hoped Blake Jarwin would be. Over the last two weeks, Schultz saw a 32-percent target share. Dak Prescott targets his tight ends often, and Mike believes Schultz could be a top-12 tight end on the season with the way he is being used.