We've got four weeks of football under our belts, which should mean we are starting to feel more certain about player roles and performance. That would probably be more true if we didn't lose a handful of stars to injury seemingly every week. Still, I feel confident saying we know a lot more now than we did a month ago.
This newfound knowledge comes just in time for the first byes of the season. Normally, a two-team bye week is worthy of a yawn, but in Week 5, we'll be missing two top 12 quarterbacks, two top 12 running backs, a top 12 receiver, and a top 12 tight end. In other words, we've got work to do.
One thing I hope to avoid as I do this weekly is calling a guy a faller one week and a riser the next week. But we had a lot of guys that we all but gave up on after three bad weeks who finally popped. At the very least, we have to address some of those, starting with Malik Nabers.
We also have some big matchup shifts, which always impact the weekly projections. Prominent players, we had projected last week that we are not projecting to play in Week 5 as of Monday evening: Lamar Jackson, Ja'Marr Chase, Saquon Barkley, Ladd McConkey, DJ, Moore, Kyle Monangai, Mack Hollins, Marcus Mariota At the bottom of this article are my Week 5 projections for quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end. They will be updated throughout the week as we get more information.
The first thing that is going to stand out to you is that Jared Goff is QB1 for Week 5. I'm not sure it should be that big of a surprise. He is QB5 on a per-game basis for the season, and he's facing a Cardinals defense that has given up the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing defenses.
I could make the argument that they have been the worst pass defense in the league, but if they haven't, it may be Goff's Lions. Goff's Lions have an implied total of 29, which is both the biggest number on the weekend and slightly below their season average. It also helps Goff's case that Josh Allen is on the road against the Rams without DJ Moore.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
