Week 5 Fantasy WR PPR Rankings: Must-starts, sleepers, potential busts

The yardage and scoring surge that has taken over the NFL has generally been good for wide receivers, but it seems to have leveled the playing field a bit for traditional "PPR wide receivers." While possession receivers still exist, their reception-stuffing ways aren't quite so valuable when other receivers are seeing increases in big plays and touchdowns. As such, our fantasy WR PPR rankings are starting to become more like our standard set, and that's once again true in Week 5. 

In the past, we always elevated receivers like Julian Edelman, D.J. Moore, Jarvis Landry, Golden Tate, and Jamison Crowder in PPR leagues. This season, you could add guys like Diontae Johnson and Russell Gage to the list. And while it's true that some of those guys still rise, most notably Crowder and Johnson, some of the others aren't really living up to their pass-catching hype. Edelman had a monster Week 2, but in Weeks 1 and 3 he had seven total catches. Moore has had four or fewer catches in three of four games, and Landry is yet to top five catches or 61 yards in a game. Tate has turned in output similar to Landry.

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

A 5-50 stat line used to be "good enough" for a WR3 spot in PPR leagues, but it's not anymore. There are too many other receivers blowing up. So, while receivers like Tyler Boyd, Crowder, Johnson, and CeeDee Lamb can maintain consistently high PPR rankings because they're also decent bets for yards and touchdowns, the same isn't necessarily true for the traditional possession types. Ultimately, they move up in our PPR rankings compared to our standard set, but overall they're moving down in both. 

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

That's not to say we're totally out on all of these guys. Moore (@ Falcons) and Edelman (vs. Broncos) have favorable matchups this week that land them in the top 25, and Tate (@ Cowboys) is in a good spot, too. Greg Ward Jr. (@ Steelers) has a tough matchup, but given the Eagles WR injury woes, he might fit the mold as one of those "traditional" PPR receivers worth considering if you just need a high floor for your last receiver spot. 

WEEK 5 DFS TOURNAMENT LINEUPS: FanDuel | DraftKings | Yahoo

Of course, when traditional big-play receivers such as Robby Anderson (@ Falcons) are hauling in five-plus receptions every week and going for 100 yards, who needs little guys over the middle? Guys like him, Terry McLaurin (vs. Rams), and, to a lesser extent, Marquise Brown (vs. Bengals), are becoming more reliable this year. When you combine that with many superstars seeing even higher target shares than usual, you have a rising tide that is lifting most boats -- just not the ones used to being lifted in this format.

WEEK 5 DFS CASH LINEUPS: FanDuel | DraftKings | Yahoo

The Packers and Lions are on bye this week, which knocks out at least a few every-week starters, so be prepared to consider all types of options when looking for replacements.

MORE WEEK 5 DFS: Best stacks | Best values | Lineup Builder

Note: Check back all week leading up to kickoff, as we'll continue to update our WR PPR rankings based on the latest news and injuries. For individual analysis of key WRs, click here.

Week 5 Fantasy WR PPR Rankings

These rankings are for full-point PPR leagues

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