NFL Fantasy Football Week 5: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em And FanDuel Picks

Editor's Note: A new $2,000,000 one-week fantasy football league has opened on FanDuel for Week 5. First place wins $150,000 on Sunday. Join now!

Welcome to Week 5.

Sorry for the delay, but real life work got in the way this week.

For standard leagues, I'll pick some players outside the top 10 and 15 who I think will play well as well as some higher rated players who I see underachieving using the ESPN rankings. I've got my FanDuel picks at the bottom.

Last week, I went 14-6 in underachievers and overachievers, and my worst week yet in FanDuel. Let's get to it.

Underachievers

• Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning: He has been average at best, and I do not consider him a weekly start at this point.
• Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson: They usually struggle a bit on the road, and I'm especially wary with them going across the country in a short week with an awful O-line.
• New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees: His arm looked very weak, and now he's going outdoors on the road against a tough Philadelphia Eagles defense.
• St. Louis Rams RB Todd Gurley: He looked great last week, but it was more about the O-line which opened gaping holes. So while the Packers aren't great defending the run, he is not the 3rd down back. If they fall behind big, it will be Benny Cunningham time.
• Oakland Raiders RB Latavius Murray: I would not start any players against the Denver Broncos' defense.
• San Francisco 49ers RB Carlos Hyde: The New York Giants are in the top 5 in all rushing defense categories, and the I expect the 49ers to be trailing all game.
• Chicago Bears WR Alshon Jeffrey: It sounds like he could be returning after missing time for a hamstring injury, but I need to see him do well before starting him in any lineups.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans: It's not just about injuries anymore, but about quality of play. He is grossly underachieving. Another case of needing to see it before starting.
• Oakland Raiders WR Amari Cooper: As I said above, I am benching all Oakland Raiders this week.
• Chicago Bears TE Martellus Bennett: The Kansas City Chiefs are a top 3 team defending the tight end.

Overachievers

• New York Giants QB Eli Manning: The San Francisco 49ers are going across the country where they play much worse on the road.
• Kansas City Chiefs QB Alex Smith: He almost threw for 400 yards last week and now gets maybe the worst secondary in the NFL in the Chicago Bears.
• Tennessee Titans QB Marcus Mariota: He has been a top 10 QB thus far. This weekend, he gets the very overrated Buffalo Bills pass defense at home.
• Cincinnati Bengals RB Giovani Bernard: I see them having issues in running with Jeremy Hill and will utilize the short passing game.
• New England Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount: It will be blowout time which almost guarantees a TD and 15 rushes.
• Washington RB Matt Jones: This is a long shot bye week play, but I think they could run the ball 40 plus times.
• Tennessee Titans WR Kendall Wright: The Buffalo Bills are struggling against slot receivers, so this is a nice play.
• Washington WR Pierre Garcon: He should get all the pass opportunities with TE Jordan Reed out.
• Atlanta Falcons WR Leonard Hankerson: I see a very high scoring game. Start as many as you can on each side.
• Buffalo Bills TE Charles Clay: The Titans are bottom 5 defending the tight end. Who else is QB Tyrod Taylor supposed to throw to this week?

Here are my FanDuel picks for the week where I will give some higher and lower salaries I like at each position. As you will see, I will be focusing on the defenses to pick on:

QB

• Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan, $8,300: This should be a shootout. I see him as best high priced play.
• San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers, $7,500: A mid-priced salary against a very shaky Pittsburgh Steelers pass defense.
• Kansas City Chiefs QB Alex Smith, $6,900: This is my best cheap play due to the Chicago Bears awful pass defense.

RB

• Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell, $9,100: This is the place to put your money as the San Diego Chargers have really struggled strong the run this year.
• Green Bay Packers RB Eddie Lacy, $7,600: This is when he started breaking out last year in week 5, and the St Louis Rams have not been great defending the run.
• New England Patriots RB Dion Lewis, $6,900: This is a bargain in a game in which the Patriots may score 50 points.
• Jacksonville Jaguars RB T.J. Yeldon, $6,600: He is in the top 5 in RB carries, and the Bucs' defense is not good at all.
• Washington RB Chris Thompson, $5,100: This is the best cheap play if you are spending a ton in other areas.

WR

• Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones, $9,200:  He is bouncing back in a perfect match up.
• San Diego Chargers WR Keenan Allen, $7,700: Another game I see going up and down the field.
• New England Patriots WR Julian Edelman, $7,700: As steady as it gets.
• Kansas City Chiefs WR Jeremy Maclin, $6,900: In the top 5 in NFL targets. A huge bargain under seven grand.
• Jacksonville Jaguars WR Allen Robinson, $6,300: He has been inconsistent, but this is a pure upside play at this price. Go big!
• Atlanta Falcons WR Leonard Hankerson, $6,000: I am getting as many guys in what should be the highest scoring game of the week.
• Chicago Bears WR Eddie Royal, $5,500: Jay Cutler seemed to look for him a ton last week.
• Washington WR Jamison Crowder, $5,200: He has had 16 targets the past two weeks and is my best longshot play.
• Philadelphia Eagles WR Nelson Agholor, $5,200: This is a tourney play.

TE

• New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski, $8,400: This is a great week to Gronk!.
• Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce, $6,500: I am expecting a huge passing day in Kansas City.
• Denver Broncos TE Owen Daniels, $4,900: This is my cheap play, especially with the Raiders being the worst team in the NFL defending the tight end.

Thank you for reading and have a great week, feel free to ask any questions here or on Twitter.