Fantasy WR PPR Rankings Week 5: Who to start, sit at wide receiver in fantasy football

Nick Musial

Fantasy WR PPR Rankings Week 5: Who to start, sit at wide receiver in fantasy football image

With the fantasy regular season over a third of the way through, we have a much better sense of how wide receivers could perform against certain defenses. Our Week 5 fantasy WR PPR rankings are once again here to help you navigate through all the injuries, breakouts, sleepers, and busts ahead of your important start 'em, sit 'em decisions.

While we hate to start here, we saw a fair amount of pass-catchers go down with injuries ahead of Week 4, forcing fantasy owners to stay in the loop regarding their statuses for Week 5. Keenan Allen (hamstring), Amon-Ra St. Brown (ankle), Michael Thomas (toe), Zay Jones (ankle), and Jakobi Meyers (knee) were unable to go in Week 4, and Treylon Burks (leg) went down mid-game. This opens the door for guys like Josh Palmer (@ Browns in Week 5), Josh Reynolds (@ Patriots), Jamal Agnew (vs. Texans), Nick Webster-Ikhine (@ Commanders) and DeVante Parker (vs. Lions), among others, to have success in Week 5, but none are sure things. 

In terms of defenses to avoid, the Broncos, Giants, 49ers, Patriots, and Colts had allowed the fewest fantasy points to WRs entering Week 4, but the Seahawks, Bills, Saints, and Texans aren't far behind. We're not necessarily scared of all those pass defenses at this point (especially the Seahawks and Texans), but these are trends that bear watching.

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

Michael Pittman Jr. (@ Broncos), Courtland Sutton (vs. Colts), St. Brown if active (@ Patriots), Diontae Johnson (@ Bills), Christian Kirk (vs. Texans), DK Metcalf (@ Saints), and Chris Olave (vs. Seahawks) will remain "must-starts," but you guys like Tyler Lockett (@ Saints), D.J. Moore (vs. 49ers), Michael Thomas (vs. Seahawks), and Jerry Jeudy (vs. Colts) are on the bubble in shallow leagues. In deeper leagues, Romeo Doubs and Allen Lazard (vs. Giants), DJ Chark and Josh Reynolds (@ Patriots), George Pickens (@ Bills), and Zay Jones (vs. Texans) are fairly risky. It's tough to put some of these WRs on your bench, but considering none are constant target hogs outside of maybe Jones, it might be the wise thing to do in PPR leagues.

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

Fortunately, there are plenty of bubble WRs with favorable matchups, led by Garrett Wilson, Elijah Moore, and Corey Davis (vs. Dolphins), Robert Woods (@ Commanders), and Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel (@ Titans), all of whom have the potential to rack up a good amount of catches (especially Samuel and Woods). Guys like Tyler Boyd (@ Ravens), Isaiah McKenzie (vs. Steelers), Michael Gallup and Noah Brown (@ Rams), Jakobi Meyers and DeVante Parker (vs. Lions),  and Julio Jones and Russell Gage (vs. Falcons) aren't quite as reliable for catches and targets, but all have the potential for either five-plus grabs or a big play. McKenzie (head), Meyers (knee), and Brown (neck) are dealing with injuries, while the Patriots are likely going to have rookie Bailey Zappe throwing to them, but we still think they can pay off as flexes in that matchup.

WEEK 5 DFS: Best stacks | Best values

Unfortunately, early-season PPR surprises Greg Dortch (vs. Eagles) and Mack Hollins (@ Chiefs) might be getting edged out because of returning players (Rondale Moore, Hunter Renfrow, respectively), while other "name" receivers (Chase Claypool, Robbie Anderson, Jarvis Landry) have become virtually unplayable.

WEEK 5 DFS LINEUPS: FanDuel | DraftKings

Note: We'll be updating these WR PPR rankings as needed throughout the week, so check back for the latest changes.

WEEK 5 FANTASY PICKS: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em

Week 5 fantasy WR PPR rankings

Rankings based on full-point PPR scoring

Rank Player
1 Cooper Kupp, Rams vs. Cowboys
2 Ja'Marr Chase, Bengals @ Ravens
3 Stefon Diggs, Bills vs. Steelers
4 Tyreek Hill, Dolphins @ Jets
5 Davante Adams, Raiders @ Chiefs
6 Mike Evans, Buccaneers vs. Falcons
7 Justin Jefferson, Vikings vs. Bears
8 Tee Higgins, Bengals @ Ravens
9 A.J. Brown, Eagles @ Cardinals
10 CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys @ Rams
11 Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions @ Patriots
12 Jaylen Waddle, Dolphins @ Jets
13 Chris Godwin, Buccaneers vs. Falcons
14 Chris Olave, Saints vs. Seahawks
15 Mike Williams, Chargers @ Browns
16 Courtland Sutton, Broncos vs. Colts
17 Amari Cooper, Browns vs. Chargers
18 DeVonta Smith, Eagles @ Cardinals
19 Christian Kirk, Jaguars vs. Texans
20 Deebo Samuel, 49ers @ Panthers
21 Michael Pittman Jr., Colts @ Broncos
22 Gabriel Davis, Bills vs. Steelers
23 Drake London, Falcons vs. Browns
24 Brandin Cooks, Texans @ Jaguars
25 Marquise Brown, Cardinals vs. Eagles
26 Curtis Samuel, Commanders vs. Titans
27 Diontae Johnson, Steelers @ Bills
28 DK Metcalf, Seahawks @ Saints
29 JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chiefs vs. Raiders
30 Garrett Wilson, Jets vs. Dolphins
31 Terry McLaurin, Commanders vs. Titans
32 Jerry Jeudy, Broncos vs. Colts
33 Robert Woods, Titans @ Commanders
34 Tyler Lockett, Seahawks @ Saints
35 D.J. Moore, Panthers vs. 49ers
36 Elijah Moore, Jets vs. Dolphins
37 Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers @ Panthers
38 Allen Lazard, Packers vs. Giants
39 Zay Jones, Jaguars vs. Texans
40 Adam Thielen, Vikings vs. Bears
41 Jakobi Meyers, Patriots vs. Lions
42 Tyler Boyd, Bengals @ Ravens
43 Darnell Mooney, Bears @ Vikings
44 Joshua Palmer, Chargers @ Browns
45 Devin Duvernay, Ravens vs. Bengals
46 Isaiah McKenzie, Bills vs. Steelers
47 Julio Jones, Buccaneers vs. Falcons
48 Corey Davis, Jets vs. Dolphins
49 Allen Robinson II, Rams vs. Cowboys
50 DeVante Parker, Patriots vs. Lions
51 Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Titans @ Commanders
52 Noah Brown, Cowboys @ Rams
53 Michael Gallup, Cowboys @ Rams
54 Mack Hollins, Raiders @ Chiefs
55 Hunter Renfrow, Raiders @ Chiefs
56 Josh Reynolds, Lions @ Patriots
57 Greg Dortch, Cardinals vs. Eagles
58 Romeo Doubs, Packers vs. Giants
59 Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Chiefs vs. Raiders
60 Russell Gage, Buccaneers vs. Falcons
61 Jarvis Landry, Saints vs. Seahawks
62 Nelson Agholor, Patriots vs. Lions
63 Nico Collins, Texans vs. Jaguars
64 Rondale Moore, Cardinals vs. Eagles
65 Donovan Peoples-Jones, Browns vs. Chargers
66 Mecole Hardman, Chiefs vs. Raiders
67 George Pickens, Steelers @ Bills
68 Richie James Jr., Giants vs. Packers
69 Demarcus Robinson, Ravens vs. Bengals
70 Jamal Agnew, Jaguars vs. Texans
71 Marvin Jones Jr., Jaguars vs. Texans
72 Robbie Anderson, Panthers @ 49ers
73 Christian Watson, Packers vs. Giants
74 Kyle Philips, Titans @ Commanders
75 Alec Pierce, Colts @ Broncos
76 K.J. Osborn, Vikings vs. Bears
77 Chase Claypool, Steelers @ Bills
78 Olamide Zaccheaus, Falcons vs. Buccaneers
79 Darius Slayton, Giants vs. Packers
80 K.J. Hamler, Broncos vs. Colts
81 Skyy Moore, Chiefs vs. Raiders
82 Jauan Jennings, 49ers @ Panthers
83 DeAndre Carter, Chargers @ Browns
84 Quez Watkins, Eagles @ Cardinals
85 Ashton Dulin, Colts @ Broncos

Week 5 WR PPR fantasy projections, rankings from Draft Sharks

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Nick Musial

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Nick Musial is a Content Producer at The Sporting News. He recently joined the team after studying sport management and journalism at the University of Kansas. Nick’s an avid sports bettor who’s always looking for value.