NFL schedule-makers gave NFL DFS players a favor by taking Tom Brady off of the main slate the week he was going to have his worst fantasy performance. We’re back on the Brady train with our Week 5 FanDuel tournament lineup, though, and we’re calling upon a few other studs who have experienced some ups and downs in recent weeks. With the Jets and Falcons traveling to London, there are eight teams in standalone spots, so the player pool is a little thinner than usual this week. That said, there is still plenty of value on the board for our daily fantasy football picks.
Before we get into this week's lineup, here are the basic rules for FanDuel contests. Scoring is pretty standard, with the only notable settings being four-point passing TDs and half-point PPR.
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FanDuel Picks Week 5: NFL DFS lineup for GPP tournaments
Sunday main slate, $60,000 budget, no more than four players from one team
QB Tom Brady, Buccaneers vs. Dolphins ($8,400). This would be a letdown spot for many other quarterbacks not named Tom Brady. Brady emerged victorious in spite of being held to his worst numbers of the season (11.06 FanDuel points) against the Pats, and even though Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is a branch off of the Bill Belichick coaching tree, it’s difficult to imagine two straight subpar Brady performances.
RB James Robinson, Jaguars vs. Titans ($7,400). After a slow start that had fantasy owners panicking to a degree, Robinson has ripped off two performances of 20-plus FanDuel points. He’s handled 40 touches over the past two games and could be leaned on even more with DJ Chark (fractured ankle) sidelined.
WEEK 5 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | Yahoo
RB Najee Harris, Steelers vs. Broncos ($7,300). Harris continues to dominate volume, eclipsing the 20-touch plateau for the second straight week. The Broncos are a stingy defense and Vegas sportsbooks project a low-scoring affair, but Harris has accounted for 46.3 percent of the Steelers’ touches.
WR CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys vs. Giants ($6,900). Two straight quiet appearances (10.3 points combined from Weeks 3-4) have trimmed Lamb’s price considerably and might discourage much of the field from including him in lineups. Amari Cooper suffered a hamstring tweak that limited him to 29 snaps last week after playing no fewer than 60 over the first three games. If the Cowboys decide to manage Cooper’s reps, we could see a blow-up spot for Lamb on Sunday.
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WR Antonio Brown, Buccaneers vs. Dolphins ($6,500). Brown’s 11 targets last week trailed only Mike Evans’ 12. As we’ve discussed, choosing from the Buccaneers wide receiver trio will be a tricky exercise this season. However, we’re comfortable calling on Brown this week, especially after just missing a touchdown on Sunday night. If Rob Gronkowski (ribs) remains out or limited, Brown becomes an even more attractive play.
WR Kadarius Toney, Giants @ Cowboys ($5,300). Are the Giants starting to get something brewing offensively? Daniel Jones has played well, Saquon Barkley has looked like his vintage self of late, and Kenny Golladay appears to be rounding into form. Still, it was the rookie Toney who led the team in targets (nine) last week. He finished with a relatively modest 6-78 line, but his playmaking ability was apparent and makes him a good candidate to see an expanded role in the coming weeks.
WEEK 5 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
TE Darren Waller, Raiders vs. Bears ($7,400). Waller had 19 targets in Week 1 and has had 21 total in the subsequent three games. We don’t expect the lid to be kept on Waller all season, and with the tight end options looking particularly slim this week -- Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews are in standalone spots, George Kittle is likely playing with rookie Trey Lance under center -- it’s worth splurging in this spot.
FLEX D'Andre Swift, Lions @ Vikings ($6,900). Perhaps when Lions head coach Dan Campbell proclaimed that we were going to see "a lot more of Swift," he didn’t mean immediately. Week 4 was a disappointment for the second-year back, but better times are ahead. He’s alternated 20-plus-point outputs with single-digit stinkers, so don’t get too down on last week’s effort. After all, he’s not the first back to struggle against the Bears, and he won’t be the last.
WEEK 5 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
DEF Carolina Panthers vs. Eagles ($3,800). The Panthers came crashing back to earth, finishing with negative-four fantasy points. They were on the road against one of the league’s top offenses, though, so we’re not going to change our view of what we consider a high-caliber defensive unit. The Eagles present their own challenges, but they’re not on the same level as the Cowboys.