Welcome back to Week 5 of Keeping it Real With Fantasy! Heading into Week 5 of the NFL season, New York fans can finally rejoice as the Giants and Jets both managed to do something that none of us expected: they won. Both games went into overtime and both New York teams managed to emerge victorious. The Bills continued their demolition of the NFL as they shut-out the Texans 40-0. The Cardinals rose to 4-0 after defeating the Rams. Tom Brady has finally beaten every single team in the NFL after returning to Foxboro and defeating his former team, the Patriots. The return was emotional but the game was mediocre. Week 5 presents us some great storylines: last year’s AFC Championship Rematch is this week’s Sunday Night Football game, and The Cardinals look to perfect their record to 5-0 as they face their division rival 49ers. 

News/Injuries

Chris Carson (RB) – The Seahawks’ running back did not practice on Tuesday. The Seahawks play on Thursday night against the Rams. He’s listed as questionable with a neck injury. The Seahawks might play it safe and let their running back take it light for now, especially with the shortened week. 

David Montgomery (RB) – The Bears’ running back sprained his knee on a 5 yard run against the Lions this past Sunday. He was helped off the field, which wasn’t a good look. After further tests, the Bears expect Montgomery to miss 4-5 weeks. Look for backup Damien Williams to fill Montgomery’s absence. 

DJ Chark Jr. (WR) – Early in Jacksonville’s TNF game against the Bengals, wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. fractured his right ankle. It’s unclear how long Chark will be out for, but given the severity of his injury, we’d say your best bet would be to bench him and start searching for viable replacements. Before he’s ruled out for the season, try to trade him and get something in return.

Starts

Sam Darnold– The tables have turned for Darnold as he went from being on a losing franchise team, to being traded, and then starting the new season off 3-1. Darnold now has new threats to work with, including DJ Moore, Robby Anderson, and the jack of all trades, Christian McCafrey. One thing about Darnold that surprised the league is his rushing and his ability to make something out of nothing. Currently, Sam Darnold leads the league in rushing touchdowns, and for fantasy, that means big points and consistency. Look for Darnold to keep this trend going and produce more and more. 

Cordarrelle Patterson – After a statement by Patterson this past week against the Washington Football team, he is starting to seem like one of the sleepers in this year’s fantasy leagues. The man has been seen rushing the ball, hauling in targets, and playing on the special team side as well. Patterson is a Taysom Hill-like player and will start to be used more and more in the Falcons offense going forward. His freakish athleticism and overall knowledge of the game allows for him to put up consistent numbers like he has. He is a very good option at the flex and running back position.  

Sits

Justin Fields– It is finally time. Fields has been named the starting quarterback in Chicago going forward. Bears fans should be very ecstatic but should contain that excitement when it comes to starting him in fantasy. Fields looked decent last week earning his first win against the Detroit Lions. However, even against one of the worst defenses in the league, he only managed 7.26 fantasy points. Fields has tremendous upside with his rushing ability and he should be kept on rosters, but for now, he should also be kept on your bench. This week, he will be tested against the very good defensive linemen the Raiders have. Until Fields gets comfortable in the offense and starts showing off all of his talent, we have decided to sit him.

Brandin Cooks–  We are sitting Cooks this week. Brandin Cooks has been one of the best late round draft picks as he is currently the ninth ranked wide receiver thus far. However, the Texans offense is a disaster. Last week, they lost 40-0 to the Bills. It has been hard to get anything going with rookie David Mills under center after the loss of starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor to injury. Because of these offensive issues and a tough matchup ahead against the Patriots, Cooks is a sit this week.

Waiver Wires

Damien Williams– With injuries to both of the Chicao Bears’ running backs, David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen, Williams will be the next man up. Now that Justin Fields is the starting quarterback in Chicago, this Bears’ offense can become very run-heavy over the next few weeks. In just a quarter of playing time, Williams managed to garner eight carries for 55 yards and a touchdown along with two receptions for 15 yards. This gave him a total of 15 fantasy points on the day. With weak run defenses upcoming in the next two weeks, Williams should be producing high end RB2 numbers. He is a must-add right now.

Dawson Knox –  Another waiver to add to your roster is Dawson Knox. For a very high-powered Buffalo Bills’ offense, Knox has averaged 17.8 fantasy points over his last two games. These efforts were enough to boost him to the number six overall tight end on the season so far. The Bills will continue to throw the ball, and  with this in mind, Knox could have a very prominent role to see lots of targets, especially in the red zone where it really counts. Tight end is the most scarce position in all of fantasy football, therefore Knox is another must add because of his positional value in all leagues.