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Week 5 Free Agent Focus

Andy Dalton, QB, Bengals

Blind-bid recommendation: 4-8%

Dalton quietly entered Week 3 as a top-10 fantasy QB. We’ll see how he fares in Pittsburgh on Monday night, but he’ll be a nice Week 5 spot starter at home for a Cardinals pass defense that’s been getting lit up without CB Patrick Peterson.

Jacoby Brissett, QB, Colts

Blind-bid recommendation: 2-3%

It certainly wasn’t his best showing, but Brissett came away from Sunday’s loss to the Raiders with 265 yards and 3 TDs passing, plus 19 yards rushing. He’s now thrown multiple scores in all 4 games to open the season.

Brissett will be on the Week 5 spot-start radar with his volume likely to be up against the Chiefs.

Jordan Howard, RB, Eagles

Blind-bid recommendation: 45-55%

You score 3 TDs, you get a mention here.

On top of the TD barrage, Howard led the Eagles with 15 carries and 87 rushing yards in Thursday night’s win over the Packers. He also caught 3 of 4 targets for 28 yards. Neither Miles Sanders nor Darren Sproles saw a single target in the game.

Howard’s opportunities (carries + targets) have now gone 9, 9, 12 and 19 over the first 4 weeks. Sanders' have gone 13, 14, 17, 11. We'll see where this backfield goes, but it's tough not to bet on Howard at least leading the touch count in Week 5 against the Jets.

Howard hit Sunday owned in 59% of ESPN leagues. It should be more than that.

Ronald Jones, RB, Buccaneers

Blind-bid recommendation: 40-50%

Jones controlled the Tampa Bay backfield more in Week 4 than he has at any other point, beating Peyton Barber in snaps for the 1st time in his career, according to ESPN Stats.

Jones handled 65.5% of the RB carries, taking 19 attempts for 70 yards and a TD. That marked just 3.7 yards per rush, but it crushed Barber’s 9-19-1 line (2.1 per carry). Each back saw just 1 target, with Jones catching his for 12 yards. (Barber had no receptions.)

Jones still trails Barber by a few carries for the season but has beaten him in that category in 3 of 4 games. Jones also leads Barber in yards per rush, 4.7 to 3.4. Can we finally count on Jones here? We’ll see. But he shouldn’t still be available in 59% of ESPN leagues.

Up next: a solid matchup with the Saints. Football Outsiders rated them 4th worst in run defense entering Week 4.

Jordan Wilkins, RB, Colts

Blind-bid recommendation: 10-25%

He’ll be the favorite for carries in Indianapolis if Marlon Mack’s ankle injury costs him time. Wilkins has been good in limited action this season, taking 12 carries for 97 yards.

The Colts get a bad Chiefs run defense in Week 5.

Golden Tate, WR Giants

Blind-bid recommendation: 25-35%

We’ll mention him here because he’s available in about half of ESPN leagues. Tate is set to return from his 4-game suspension this coming week and should step right into an every-down role for a Giants passing game that’s been sparked by rookie QB Daniel Jones.

Mohamed Sanu, WR, Falcons

Blind-bid recommendation: 10-20%

Sanu racked up 9 catches for 91 yards amid a team-high 12 targets in Sunday’s ugly loss to the Titans. That followed a decent start to the season, which included lines of 5-57 in Week 1 and 6-75 in Week 3.

Now the Falcons head to Houston and Arizona the next 2 games to face beatable secondaries. Sanu should be a solid PPR option for those contests -- especially with our 1st 4-team bye in Week 6.

Geronimo Allison, WR, Packers

Blind-bid recommendation: 10-20%

He’s been dumped in lots of leagues after a slow start. Allison posted a 3-52-1 line in Thursday night’s loss to the Eagles. More importantly, Davante Adams’ toe injury could elevate Allison to a top-2 WR spot. That’s significant because he played less than 50% of the offensive snaps as the #3 WR over the first 3 weeks.

Chris Herndon, TE, Jets

Blind-bid recommendation: 8-15%

Herndon has 1 game left to serve on his suspension (the Jets had a Week 4 bye). But we’d consider adding him now. He posted an impressive 39-502-4 line as a rookie last year and should return to a big role for the Jets, who are expected to get QB Sam Darnold back in Week 5 or 6.

Jimmy Graham, TE, Packers

Blind-bid recommendation: 5-12%

In his 2 healthy games this season, Graham has posted lines of 3-30-1 and 6-61-1. He finished 2nd on the Packers with 9 targets on Thursday night and should continue to play an increased role if WR Davante Adams’ toe injury costs him more time.

Titans D/ST

Blind-bid recommendation: 2-5%

This top-6 fantasy defense through the season's 1st quarter heads back home for a matchup with Buffalo, which might be starting Matt Barkley at QB. (Josh Allen suffered a concussion Sunday.) Barkley was fine for his 1 game last year, but he has tossed 10 TDs vs. 18 INTs for his career.

Tennessee will also be a decent option at Denver in Week 6.

Panthers D/ST

Blind-bid recommendation: 1-2%

Sure, Leonard Fournette just ate up a huge 225 yards on the ground against the Broncos. But his offense also allowed 5 sacks among 12 total QB hits to a Denver defense that entered the week with 0 sacks. Carolina heads into Week 5 playing the run a lot softer than the pass, but the Panthers just held the Texans to 10 points at their place. That followed holding the Bucs and Cardinals each under 290 total yards.

Carolina also has a shot at being usable against the Bucs in Week 6, then at San Francisco and back home for the Titans after a Week 7 bye.

Eagles D/ST

Blind-bid recommendation: 1-2%

The Week 5 matchup against the Jets will be better if Luke Falk remains in Sam Darnold's place. But Philly's defense should carry upside back home Sunday even if Darnold returns to the lineup. The Eagles haven't been terrific on D to begin the year, but have managed 2 games of 2+ takeaways and hit Week 5 allowing the league's 4th fewest yards per carry. Le'Veon Bell has arguably been the Jets' best offensive player so far.

Deep-League Options:

Gardner Minshew, QB, Jaguars

Blind-bid recommendation: 8-10%

He continued his excellent play at Denver, completing 19 of 33 passes for 213 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs — and leading his team on a game-winning FG drive late in the 4th quarter. He now has 5 TDs vs. 0 INTs in his 3 starts.

We don’t love Minshew on the road in Carolina next week. But he could be a spot-start option as the byes get heavier the following 3 weeks vs. New Orleans, at Cincinnati and vs. the Jets.

Chase Daniel, QB, Bears

Blind-bid recommendation: 4-5%

We’ll see exactly how much more time Mitchell Trubisky will miss with his left shoulder injury. But assuming he’s unable to play next week, Daniel will at least be a 2-QB league option in a plus matchup against the Raiders. He completed 22 of 30 passes (73%) for 195 yards (6.5 YPA), 1 TD and 0 INTs in Sunday’s win over the Vikings. Daniel totaled 515 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs in 2 starts last year.

Ricky Seals-Jones, TE, Browns

Blind-bid recommendation: 2-3%

He flashed in the big win over the Ravens with a 3-82-1 line. He scored a 9-yard TD in the 1st quarter and later busted off a 59-yard catch and run.

Seals-Jones finished with just 3 targets, so we can’t yet rely on him in fantasy lineups. But he’s worth a stash in deeper leagues if you’re hurting at TE (like a lot of folks are).

Alex Korff, Product Manager

Alex is an engineer by trade and focuses a lot on the game theory and the “value” of players. He spends most of his time in spreadsheets and building new fantasy football tools.