Week 5 Fantasy Flex Rankings

Jacob Camenker

Week 5 Fantasy Flex Rankings image

Each week, fantasy football owners have to make tough start 'em, sit 'em decisions at the flex spot. Most owners have several must-starts locked into the lineup, but flex is usually the place to take a chance on a potential breakout player or to play a guy with an excellent matchup that could exceed expectations. Not every decision works, but the process of comparing RBs, WRs, and TEs and identifying a solid, matchup-based sleeper to throw in the flex is one of the things that makes fantasy football so fun (and frustrating) for owners.

Decision-making in the flex spot becomes even more important when bye weeks begin in earnest. Week 5 represents the first week of planned byes, and the Packers and Lions won't be playing. As a result, Aaron Jones, Davante Adams, Kenny Golladay, Marvis Jones, T.J. Hockenson, Robert Tonyan, Adrian Peterson, and D'Andre Swift will be absent from our rankings. All eight of those players would draw starter consideration from owners in a normal week, so the ranks are thinned a bit making our Week 5 flex rankings even more important than usual.

WEEK 5 FANTASY: SleepersBusts | Start 'em, sit 'em

If you're looking for a replacement for one of those players this week, the Panthers-Falcons game has the makings of a high-scoring affair and could be a matchup to target players in. Other games to target include Seahawks-Vikings and Cowboys-Giants. A sneakier matchup to get in on could be the 49ers-Dolphins game, as a few of the potential flex options in that contest could be available on the waiver wire.

WEEK 5 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiverTight end | D/ST | Kicker

If you need a safe flex option, look for someone who will get guaranteed touches (often a volume RB even if they're in a bad offense). If you're looking more for upside, target a top receiver in a great matchup. And of course, always remember to put the player with the latest-starting game in your flex spot. That way, if there are any unexpected absences in the game your player is involved in, you'll have more options to replace him.

Without further ado, here are our Week 5 flex rankings. 

WEEK 5 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

Week 5 Fantasy Football Rankings: Flex

These rankings are for standard, non-PPR leagues.

Rank Player
1 Alvin Kamara, RB, Saints vs. Chargers
2 Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Cowboys vs. NYG
3 DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Cardinals @ Jets
4 Tyreek Hill, WR, Chiefs vs. Raiders
5 Dalvin Cook, RB, Vikings @ Seahawks
6 Josh Jacobs, RB, Raiders @ Chiefs
7 Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, Chiefs vs. Raiders
8 Adam Thielen, WR, Vikings @ Seahawks
9 Amari Cooper, WR, Cowboys vs. Giants
10 Derrick Henry, RB, Titans vs. Bills
11 James Robinson, RB, Jaguars @ Texans
12 Todd Gurley, RB, Falcons vs. Panthers
13 Michael Thomas, WR, Saints vs. Chargers
14 Chris Carson, RB, Seahawks vs. Vikings
15 Jonathan Taylor, RB, Colts @ Browns
16 George Kittle, TE, 49ers vs. Dolphins
17 Allen Robinson, WR, Bears vs. Buccaneers
18 Mike Evans, WR, Buccaneers @ Bears
19 Keenan Allen, WR, Chargers @ Saints
20 Stefon Diggs, WR, Bills @ Titans
21 DK Metcalf, WR, Seahawks vs. Vikings
22 Kareem Hunt, RB, Browns vs. Colts
23 Calvin Ridley, WR, Falcons vs. Panthers
24 Tyler Lockett, WR, Seahawks vs. Vikings
25 Raheem Mostert, RB, 49ers vs. Dolphins
26 Mike Davis, RB, Panthers @ Falcons
27 Robby Anderson, WR, Panthers @ Falcons
28 Travis Kelce, TE, Chiefs vs. Raiders
29 Kenyan Drake, RB, Cardinals @ Jets
30 Odell Beckham Jr., WR, Browns vs. Colts
31 David Johnson, RB, Texans vs. Jaguars
32 DJ Chark, WR, Jaguars @ Texans
33 D.J. Moore, WR, Panthers @ Falcons
34 DeVante Parker, WR, Dolphins @ 49ers
35 David Montgomery, RB, Bears vs. Buccaneers
36 James Conner, RB, Steelers vs. Eagles
37 Joe Mixon, RB, Bengals @ Ravens
38 JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Steelers vs. Eagles
39 Cooper Kupp, WR, Rams @ Washington
40 Mark Andrews, TE, Ravens vs. Bengals
41 Will Fuller V, WR, Texans vs. Jaguars
42 CeeDee Lamb, WR, Cowboys vs. Giants
43 Miles Sanders, RB, Eagles @ Steelers
44 Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington vs. Rarms
45 Joshua Kelley, RB, Chargers @ Saints
46 Antonio Gibson, RB, Washington vs. Rams
47 Darren Waller, TE, Raiders @ Chiefs
48 Ronald Jones II, RB, Buccaneers @ Bears
49 A.J. Brown, WR, Titans vs. Bills
50 Tyler Boyd, WR, Bengals @ Ravens
51 Darius Slayton, WR, Giants @ Cowboys
52 Diontae Johnson, WR, Steelers vs. Eagles
53 Devonta Freeman, RB, Giants @ Cowboys
54 Melvin Gordon, RB, Broncos @ Patriots
55 Tyler Higbee, TE, Rams @ Washington
56 Le'Veon Bell, RB, Jets vs. Cardinals
57 Jonnu Smith, TE, Titans vs. Bills
58 Mark Ingram, RB, Ravens vs. Bengals
59 Darrell Henderson, RB, Rams @ Washington
60 Devin Singletary, RB, Bills @ Titans
61 Marquise Brown, WR, Ravens vs. Bengals
62 Jamison Crowder, WR, Jets vs. Cardinals
63 Justin Jefferson, WR, Vikings @ Seahawks
64 Zach Ertz, TE, Eagles @ Steelers
65 Eric Ebron, TE, Steelers vs. Eagles
66 Phillip Lindsay, RB, Broncos @ Patriots
67 T.Y. Hilton, WR, Colts @ Browns
68 Julian Edelman, WR, Patriots vs. Broncos
69 Damien Harris, RB, Patriots vs. Broncos
70 Robert Woods, WR, Rams @ Washington
71 Jerick McKinnon, RB, 49ers vs. Dolphins
72 Jerry Jeudy, WR, Broncos @ Patriots
73 Brandon Aiyuk, WR, 49ers vs. Dolphins
74 Deebo Samuel, WR, 49ers vs. Dolphins
75 Russell Gage, WR, Falcons vs. Panthers
76 Latavius Murray, RB, Saints vs. Chargers
77 Evan Engram, TE, Giants @ Cowboys
78 Hunter Henry, TE, Chargers @ Saints
79 Golden Tate, WR, Giants @ Cowboys
80 Greg Ward Jr., WR, Eagles @ Steelers
81 Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Saints vs. Chargers
82 John Brown, Bills @ Titans
83 Myles Gaskin, Dolphins @ 49ers
84 Scotty Miller, Buccaneers @ Bears
85 N'Keal Harry, Patriots vs. Broncos
86 Cole Beasley, Bills @ Titans
87 Malcolm Brown, Rams @ Washington
88 Christian Kirk, WR, Cardinals @ Jets
89 Jarvis Landry, WR, Browns vs. Colts
90 Zack Moss, RB, Bills @ Titans
91 Hayden Hurst, TE, Falcons vs. Panthers
92 Mike Gesicki, TE, Dolphins @ 49ers
93 Gus Edwards, RB, Ravens vs. Bengals
94 Zach Pascal, WR, Colts @ Browns
95 Curtis Samuel, WR, Panthers @ Falcons
96 Sammy Watkins, WR, Chiefs vs. Raiders
97 Olamide Zaccheaus, WR, Falcons vs. Panthers
98 Laviska Shenault Jr., WR, Jaguars @ Texans
99 James White, RB, Patriots vs. Broncos
100 Justin Jackson, RB, Chargers @ Saints
101 Tre'Quan Smith, WR, Saints vs. Chargers
102 Tim Patrick, WR, Broncos @ Patriots
103 Mecole Hardman, WR, Chiefs vs. Raiders
104 Michael Gallup, WR, Cowboys vs. Giants
105 Jordan Akins, TE, Texans vs. Jaguars
106 A.J. Green, WR, Bengals @ Ravens
107 Tee Higgins, WR, Bengals @ Ravens
108 JK Dobbins, RB, Ravens vs. Bengals
109 Hunter Renfrow, WR, Raiders @ Chiefs
110 Jared Cook, TE, Saints vs. Chargers
111 Chase Edmonds, RB, Cardinals @ Jets
112 Brandin Cooks, WR, Texans vs. Jaguars
113 Dion Lewis, RB, Giants @ Cowboys
114 Dalton Schultz, TE, Cowboys vs. Giants
115 Mo Alie-Cox, TE, Colts @ Browns
116 Jeff Smith, WR, Jets vs. Cardinals
117 Kalif Raymond, WR, Titans vs. Bills
118 Henry Ruggs III, WR, Raiders @ Chiefs
119 Greg Olsen, TE, Seahawks vs. Vikings
120 Jalen Guyton, WR, Chargers @ Saints

Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.