Flex Options for Week 5 (Fantasy Football)

Welcome back for this week’s edition of my Flex Options article. We have our first wave of byes this week, with the Eagles, Chargers, Lions, and Titans being off, and many of you are looking to fill holes in your lineups left behind by players from these teams. With that in mind, we’ll dig a little deeper this week and throw out some flex options that have been mostly off the fantasy radar to this point in the season.  Hopefully, you already roster these players, but if not, you may be able to find some of them on your waiver wire prior to the games this Sunday.

Chase Brown

Brown’s efficiency numbers have been incredible all season, averaging 6.3 yards per carry through four games. Last week, the Bengals finally showed a commitment to utilizing him in a 50/50 split with backfield mate Zack Moss, and he made it count turning 17 touches into 92 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns. This week’s matchup with the Ravens currently sports the highest over/under of the week at 50.5, so don’t be surprised if Brown finds the end zone again and returns flex value for your squad.

Justice Hill

On the other side of this same matchup, Justice Hill has been quietly effective in his passing downs role for the Baltimore Ravens. Of course, for this Ravens offense led by dynamic quarterback Lamar Jackson, passing downs are really just longer-distance running downs, which led to 10 opportunities for Hill last week, including six targets which he turned into six receptions for 78 yards. Perhaps the Ravens will look to lighten the load on Derrick Henry this week, coming off a game in which he tallied 24 carries. You could do worse than taking a shot on Hill this week in what figures to be a high-scoring matchup.

Dontayvion Wicks

Wicks feasted last week after the departure of fellow wide receiver Christian Watson. His snap percentage increased from just 46% in Week 3 to 76% last week, suggesting that he might be a direct fill-in for Watson while he’s out on injury. Wicks’ 13 targets were a team-high, of which he caught five for 78 yards and two touchdowns. It’s being reported that Watson is expected to avoid IR, meaning he could come back sooner than later, but I’d expect him to miss this week, opening up a huge opportunity for Wicks against a beatable Rams secondary. If you were lucky enough to stash Wicks or pick him up on waivers this week, you should feel confident starting him in all formats.

Wan’Dale Robinson

Robinson has had as safe of a floor as you’ll find in fantasy this season, scoring no fewer than 8.8 fantasy points across four games. This floor can be credited to his heavy target share, with his 38 targets currently tied for the fourth-most in the NFL. The Giants have a tough matchup against a Seattle defense that has been fairly stout against receivers this year, but that shouldn’t prevent Robinson from catching his fair share of short-yardage checkdown targets. Malik Nabers is not yet practicing after suffering a concussion in the Giants’ loss to the Cowboys last week, which could mean a few more looks for Wan’Dale. Don’t expect a week-winning performance, but Wan’Dale should get you around 10 fantasy points this week and fill your flex spot nicely.

Jerry Jeudy

Speaking of targets, Jeudy has been racking them up in a Browns offense that has somewhat surprisingly been near the top of the league in passing attempts so far this year. Their 148 attempts rank fourth most in the league behind only the Seahawks, Cowboys, and Texans. Efficiency has been an issue with these attempts translating to just 727 yards (fifth fewest in the league), but much like Wan’Dale Robinson, Jeudy has had a nice floor in fantasy this year thanks to high volume. The table above outlines the pretty impressive company Robinson and Jeudy find themselves in at this early point in the season. This week’s matchup with Washington is as juicy as it gets. The Commanders have allowed the league’s most fantasy points to wide receivers this year, and their offense looks good enough to keep the Browns in catch-up mode for most of the game. If Deshaun Watson can string together some drives, Jeudy could be primed for a big week here in Week 5.