Week 5 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Lineup Advice, Stars to Exploit and Sleeper Options
Fantasy performers from the past may not be the same assets to league managers that they were before, as evidenced ahead of Week 5.
A franchise quarterback with tremendous upside has seen his attempts diminished amid a new offensive system, while an explosive wide receiver with a case of the drops has been a non-factor for his new team.
Who are the candidates to sit this week and who are the players who have earned the opportunity to start in fantasy leagues?
Find out with this preview of the upcoming week, including potential sleepers and waiver-wire names to target.
Start: Geno Smith, QB, Seattle Seahawks
Geno Smith finished two of the first three games of the season ranked in the top 10 at his position.
Add to the fact that he has legitimate weapons in DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, as well as a coaching staff that seems to understand how to put him in the best position to perform up to his talent, and you have a quarterback who could well be poised for a career year in 2024.
Against a middle-of-the-pack Giants defense in Week 5, Smith will have plenty of opportunities to connect with those playmakers and collect points for managers.
Especially if he has 56 attempts to do so, as he did Monday night against Detroit when he completed 38 passes for 395 yards and a touchdown while adding five carries for 38 rushing yards.
Smith has been a great fantasy quarterback to this point and has earned consideration for a starting spot in any lineup without a sure-fire QB such as Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow or Patrick Mahomes.
The 12-year veteran is available in 56 percent of Yahoo and 71 percent of ESPN leagues.
Sit: Gabe Davis, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
It's time to ask how much of Gabe Davis' fantasy value in seasons past was directly linked to having quarterback Josh Allen under center.
The free-agent signing for the Jacksonville Jaguars has yet to have more than three receptions in any game this season, and he has not sniffed 100 yards or found the end zone.
Davis has yet to achieve double-digit fantasy points, and the highest he has finished among wide receivers to this point in the season was 37th.
The 25-year-old has not been targeted by quarterback Trevor Lawrence more than seven times in any one game and there is nothing to suggest that will change.
The dynamic, game-changing, three-touchdown receiver from Buffalo he is not.
Sit Davis and use a coveted roster spot on another player who can benefit your team.
Start: Xavier Legette, WR, Carolina Panthers
With competent quarterback play comes the opportunity for potentially explosive young receivers to impact the game, as the Carolina Panthers found out in Week 4 with Xavier Legette.
The South Carolina product had a breakout showing against the Cincinnati Bengals, catching six of 10 balls for 66 yards and a score. He added two rushes for 10 yards.
A week earlier against the Las Vegas Raiders, he caught two balls for 42, an early indication of the big-time receiver the 23-year-old can develop into.
The Panthers' offense has improved under Andy Dalton and is likely to continue trending in that direction. The question will be whether Legette will benefit from it. As he builds chemistry with Dalton, the rookie should.
With Adam Thielen suffering from a hamstring injury and Dionte Johnson not quite living up to expectations, it would not be surprising if Legette challenges for the WR1 spot on the team.
After Sunday's performance, don't be surprised if Dalton looks his way on a few different occasions against a tough Chicago Bears defense.
Sit: Justin Herbert, QB, Los Angeles Chargers
Had you said at the beginning of the season that Justin Herbert would be a "sit" candidate at any point this year, you would have been told you were fantasy illiterate.
The 26-year-old has long been one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL and a prolific passer at that, so his performance thus far in 2024 is somewhat surprising.
Herbert has not thrown for 200 yards yet this season or attempted 30 passes in John Harbaugh's run-first offense.
He does have a five-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio but in fantasy football, a quarterback who is not throwing the ball consistently or often enough is not as valuable as one who is.
The highest Herbert has finished among his fellow signal-callers is 19th.
There are better, more consistent points-scoring quarterbacks who can better help teams than Herbert, whose value takes a dip every week that the Chargers run JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards down the opponents' throats instead of letting him open up the passing game.
Sitting him this week makes sense since Los Angeles has a bye, but it may be more difficult in the weeks that follow to bring him back off the bench given his underwhelming fantasy performance so far.
All stats via FantasyPros unless otherwise stated.