Fantasy Football Lineup Advice Week 5: Ace your start-or-sit decisions with RotoBaller's "Who to Start?" tool

Matt Lutovsky

Fantasy Football Lineup Advice Week 5: Ace your start-or-sit decisions with RotoBaller's "Who to Start?" tool image

For some loaded fantasy football teams, bye weeks make start 'em, sit 'em decisions easier by taking away one or two viable options. For most, though, the byes complicate matters and force owners to choose between two mediocre players. Fortunately, the experts at RotoBaller are here to help by giving Sporting News Fantasy readers free access to their exclusive “Who to Start?” advice tool to help with your Week 5 fantasy lineup decisions.

How does the “Who to Start?” tool work? Simple: Choose up to four players to compare below, pick your league settings in the upper right corner (PPR, half-PPR, standard), and push “Who to Start?” It’s that easy. From there, you’ll get a lineup recommendation based on RotoBaller’s award-winning rankings and projections.

 

MORE: Click here to become a RotoBaller VIP subscriber and receive exclusive access to their Premium VIP lineup tools, DFS cheat sheets, Lineup Optimizer, and Team Sync platform to give you custom tools and advice! Use discount code SPORTING.

The Buccaneers, Seahawks, Browns, and Chargers are on bye this week, leaving some owners with big holes at WR and RB. Fortunately, this is a relatively easy bye week for QBs and TEs, but there are still bound to be plenty of lineup questions as we get a better idea of favorable and unfavorable matchups.

As always, RotoBaller factored in usage, matchups, and talent into its Week 5 rankings, and it’s reflected in its “Who to Start?” tool. Check out an example from each offensive position.

Advice below is based on full-point PPR leagues

Start or Sit?: Week 5 fantasy QB lineup advice from RotoBaller

Daniel Jones (@ MIA) vs. Joe Burrow (@ ARI) vs. Jordan Love (@ LV) vs. C.J. Stroud (@ ATL)

RotoBaller -- like many fantasy football owners -- is out on Burrow despite a favorable matchup, ranking him last among this group. He's one spot behind Jones, who's three spots behind Stroud. That makes Love the leader despite mixed results so far this year. Stroud is playing the best, but Love's more favorable matchup gives him the slight edge.

MORE: Click here to become a RotoBaller subscriber and receive exclusive access to their lineup tools, rankings, and analysis. Use discount code SPORTING.

Start or Sit?: Week 5 fantasy RB lineup advice from RotoBaller

Kyren Williams (vs. PHI) vs. De'Von Achane (vs. NYG) vs. Breece Hall (@ DEN) vs. James Conner (vs. CIN)

RotoBaller ranks all four of these backs as "must-starts," but Achane leads the way. The red-hot rookie doesn't have as good of a matchup as Hall, but Hall's usage concerns actually have him last, one spot behind Williams. L.A.'s TD machine has been a revelation this season, but a brutal matchup has him behind even Conner, who's also been more effective than expected. Ultimately, though, Achane has the highest ceiling, which we've seen the past two weeks.

WEEK 5 STANDARD RANKINGS: 
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers

Start or Sit?: Week 5 fantasy WR lineup advice from RotoBaller

Adam Thielen (@ DET) vs. Tank Dell (@ ATL) vs. Romeo Doubs (@ LV) vs. Tutu Atwell (vs. PHI)

Here's a collection of four surprises, and you can't really go wrong with any as your WR3/flex. However, Theilen, who's seen 31 targets over the past three weeks, gets the nod, ranking seven spots ahead of Dell. Houston's rookie is two spots ahead of Doubs, who's seven spots ahead of Atwell. It's possible Atwell is getting dinged because of a possible Cooper Kupp (hamstring) return, as he has the best matchup of the bunch. Either way, Thielen has the highest floor, especially in PPR leagues, so he's the safest bet.

WEEK 5 PPR RANKINGS: 
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers

Start or Sit?: Week 5 fantasy TE lineup advice from RotoBaller

Hunter Henry (@ NO) vs. Dalton Schultz (@ ATL) vs. Dalton Kincaid (vs. JAX) vs. Kyle Pitts (vs. HOU)

It's gotten so bad for Pitts that he's dropped below Henry and Schultz, and he's only one spot ahead of Kincaid. It's understandable given his lack of production, but it's not like any of the other three have been consistent. Henry is the safest bet for targets, which is likely why RotoBaller gives him the edge despite a tough matchup. If you prefer to play the numbers, both Schultz and Kincaid have much better matchups on paper. 

MORE: Click here to become a RotoBaller VIP subscriber and receive exclusive access to their Premium VIP lineup tools, DFS cheat sheets, Lineup Optimizer, and Team Sync platform to give you custom tools and advice! Use discount code SPORTING.

Try out any combination of players – including players at different positions for your flex spot – with the RotoBaller "Who to Draft?" tool above. It’s like having your own fantasy football expert on call just to help with your specific Week 5 lineup questions.

Matt Lutovsky

Matt Lutovsky Photo

Matt Lutovsky has been a writer and editor for The Sporting News since 2007, primarily writing about fantasy sports, betting, and gaming.