There's no such thing as a safe pick in fantasy football, but the Week 5 slate should give avid DFS players a chance to find a lot of success. Because of several big-name injury absences, there are plenty of solid players available for mid-tier costs that could easily outplay their price tags, but to create a strong lineup with enough differentiation, you have to have the right combination of studs to go along with these value sleepers. Our Week 5 DraftKings cash lineup aims to do just that.
Per usual, we took a balanced approach to build this cash lineup. However, this week we did spend down a bit at the QB position to take advantage of a good matchup and spend up at other positions. As a result, our top-two backs and top-three receivers are all priced between $5,800 and $6,800 while the lower-portion of our lineup (TE, FLEX, D/ST) all cost between $4K and $5K. This resulted in us getting a lot of high-floor players with a lot of targets, touches, and good matchups, as well as a solid QB-WR stack.
MORE WEEK 5 DFS: Best stacks | Best values | Lineup Builder
DraftKings Week 5 Picks: NFL DFS cash lineup
QB Teddy Bridgewater, Panthers @ Falcons ($5,900). It's a good week to spend down at quarterback, and Bridgewater is probably the best option for cash games. Bridgewater gets to take on the Falcons, who have allowed the most DK points per game to QBs this season at 35.5 and are dealing with major injury problems in their secondary. Bridgewater has the receiving weapons to take on the Falcons' problem spots, especially after he logged 276 passing yards, 32 rushing yards, and three total TDs against the Cardinals last week.
RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Chiefs vs. Raiders ($6,800). During his young career, Edwards-Helaire has never logged fewer than 16 touches in a game, nor has he logged fewer than the 12.1 DK points he logged against the Patriots last week. He has a high floor and should have a chance to do very well against a Raiders defense that allows the most DK points per game to RBs (38.8).
WEEK 5 DFS CASH LINEUPS: FanDuel | Yahoo
RB Todd Gurley, Falcons vs. Panthers ($5,700). The Panthers allow the second-most DK points per game to RBs at 37.8 and are the only team besides the Raiders to have allowed eight TDs to RBs this season. Gurley should be a big-time TD threat for the Falcons in this contest after logging two against the Packers and four on the season. Gurley is their top red-zone weapon, especially with Julio Jones (hamstring) banged-up, so he should be a safe play in this cupcake matchup.
WR D.J. Moore, Panthers @ Falcons ($6,000). You could really go with any Panthers receiver against the Falcons, but Moore is probably the safest option. Moore is averaging eight targets per game, and while he has only eclipsed 65 receiving yards once this year, he had 12 catches for 176 yards in two games against Atlanta last season. He is a high-floor player, and if he can either rack up receptions, break a long play, or get a TD, he will easily outplay this pricing. The best part is that he may be able to do all three.
WEEK 5 DFS TOURNAMENT LINEUPS: FanDuel | DraftKings | Yahoo
WR CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys vs. Giants ($6,000). Lamb has arguably the highest ceiling of any Cowboys WR. He has seen at least six targets in every game, has at least five catches, and has never logged fewer than 59 yards in a game. He caught his first two professional TDs last week, and if the Giants are too focused on Amari Cooper or Michael Gallup, Lamb could have a big day. If not, he should still put up 10 DK points minimum.
WR Jamison Crowder, Jets vs. Cardinals ($5,800). In his two games played this year, Crowder has logged 27.5 and 20.4 DK points, respectively. The Cardinals are banged up in the secondary and just let the Panthers receivers rack up a lot of yards against them. Crowder should have a chance to win this battle and put up solid numbers even if Joe Flacco starts instead of an injured Sam Darnold (shoulder). He's a good choice to round out a strong, high-floor receiving corps with relatively equal money spent on each receiver.
WEEK 5 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
TE Evan Engram, Giants @ Cowboys ($4,600). I originally had Jonnu Smith here against a Bills defense that gives up more yardage to TEs than anyone else league-wide, but that game may not happen. As such, I'm playing it safe and plugging Engram into the lineup. Engram can, admittedly, be frustrating, but he is averaging 8.5 targets per game from Daniel Jones and is taking on a weak Cowboys defense. He could have his best game of the season and if he can find the end-zone, he'll easily pay off this price tag.
FLEX Curtis Samuel, Panthers @ Falcons ($4,800). Samuel gets a matchup against the No. 31 pass defense. That, combined with his two or three carries per game, give him plenty of upside at a dirt-cheap price this week.
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
D/ST Los Angeles Rams @ Washington ($4,000). We're spending up for one of the top defenses on the slate but with good reason. Washington is averaging the third-fewest points in the league at 19.8, and the team will be putting in Kyle Allen at QB. Allen had 16 picks and was sacked 46 times in 13 games (12 starts) last year. The Rams just limited a better Giants offense to only nine points, and they should have a chance to post some solid numbers even on the road against Washington.
