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Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide receivers for Week 5

Ranking the best wide receivers by matchup and opportunity for Week 5.

By Matias Wodner
NFL: Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The wide receiver position has solidified itself in fantasy football, and it’s becoming more clear than ever that a wide receiver-heavy approach early in drafts is the way to go. Unless you drafted Julio Jones. In that case, I’m very sorry.

With pass-catchers, and good ones at that, at a premium, it’s never been more apparent that the NFL has become a pass-happy league. It’s a transition that has been happening for quite some time. This transition has blessed us with elite athletes that can jump higher than anyone to catch passes or run faster than anyone on short routes. It’s a sight to behold.

Let’s see which studs will have a great, adequate or poor Week 5.

Week 5 - WR Rankings

Rank Player Team Opponent Notes
Rank Player Team Opponent Notes
1 Mike Evans TB NE NE gives up the 4th-most fantasy points to WRs. WRs run free in their secondary and Evans is a star.
2 Jordy Nelson GB @DAL No better TD bet in the league than Jordy and DAL has coughed up 5 TDs to WRs this yr.
3 Antonio Brown PIT JAX Has been maddeningly inconsistent due to Big Ben's struggles. Tough matchup but at home (safe haven for points).
4 Brandin Cooks NE @TB TB has gotten wrecked by smaller WRs. Cooks should have a field day against TB CBs.
5 A.J. Green CIN BUF BUF has been stout vs. WRs but Green is on fire and he will be fed constantly with Eifert/Ross out in close game.
6 Dez Bryant DAL GB AJG tattooed GB secondary (W3) and Dez poses a similar threat. In 2 high-scoring games this yr, Dez has 29 TGTs.
7 Stefon Diggs MIN @CHI Keenum and/or matchups don't affect him. CHI has given up a 25/344/4 stat line vs. WR1s through 4 weeks.
8 Odell Beckham Jr. NYG LAC TGT numbers are definitely there but yardage hasn't been. Casey Hayward is a tough task for OBJ.
9 Chris Hogan NE @TB TB is beat up on defense and Hogan has 2nd-most RZ TGTs in the entire league.
10 Larry Fitzgerald ARI @PHI League-leader in RZ TGTs gets arguably the worst secondary in football.
11 DeAndre Hopkins HOU KC Leads league in TGTs by 9. Moves around enough to avoide Peters a lot and KC has been middling against WRs.
12 DeVante Parker MIA TEN TEN can't cover anyone and Parker has been a solid WR2 despite Cutler's struggles.
13 Randall Cobb GB @DAL Cobb has double digit points (PPR) in all 3 games played and DAL has given up 18/209/2 to slot WRs the last 2 weeks.
14 Pierre Garcon SF @IND Outside of games against Patrick Peterson and SEA, Garcon has 13/223. IND gets torched by WRs with or without Vontae.
15 Doug Baldwin SEA @LAR Didn't practice today, which isn't comforting, but if he's a full-go then he needs to be started in a solid matchup.
16 DeSean Jackson TB NE NE has given up double digit WR duos in each of the past 3 weeks. They can't cover anyone, especially D-Jax.
17 Keenan Allen LAC @NYG NYG secondary is a buzzsaw but you can bank on TGTs. Just temper expectations in a bottom-5 matchup.
18 T.Y. Hilton IND SF Had a feeling Hilton would score in an easy matchup vs. CLE in W3 and I feel the same way this week.
19 Adam Thielen MIN @CHI CHI gave up 4/44/1 to Cobb in slot last week while Thielen is 13th in NFL in TGTs.
20 Golden Tate DET CAR It appears Tate will be the poster boy for "boom-or-bust". CAR has given up 5 WR TDs over the last 2 weeks.
21 Tyreek Hill KC @HOU Him and Tate are the exact same fantasy assets. A dome game is enticing. Have fun riding the roller coaster.
22 John Brown ARI @PHI Jaron has been the more consistent option but this is the game where John can burn a secondary for huge plays.
23 Jarvis Landry MIA TEN This is a game where Landry might catch 15 passes. TEN can't defend the pass.
24 Devin Funchess CAR @DET With Slay likely occupying Kelvin, Funchess could be in line for another nice day.
25 Rishard Matthews TEN @MIA This is a prime matchup for TEN's WR1 but his appeal would be torpedoed if Cassel starts.
26 Martavis Bryant PIT JAX Bouye can be outrun but Big Ben has to be able to hit Bryant on long passes. Ben is killing him at the moment.
27 Alshon Jeffery PHI ARI Can you even bank on TGTs with Patrick Peterson shadowing him? This will be a bumpy ride.
28 Cooper Kupp LAR SEA The slot is most vulnerable for SEA, so Kupp might have a decent game.
29 Amari Cooper OAK BAL Maybe E.J. Manuel can get him back on track? Right? Someone? Anyone?
30 Jaron Brown ARI @PHI ARI has no run game, which is why Palmer leads the NFL in yards. Jaron has 29 TGTs over last 3 weeks.
31 Tyler Lockett SEA @LAR The best big-play threat on SEA's offense, Lockett has been inconsistent but has streaming appeal vs. LAR.
32 Sterling Shepard NYG LAC Shep has been very efficient and LAC is best attacked through the slot/middle.
33 Kelvin Benjamin CAR @DET A trip to Slay Island won't be fun but Cam will lob it up to him regardless throughout the game.
34 Michael Crabtree OAK BAL Crabtree scored 3 TDs vs. BAL last yr but that was with Carr and when he was fully healthy.
35 Marvin Jones Jr. DET CAR Jones hasn't surpassed 42 yards once this season but CAR has given up 5 WR TDs over the last 2 weeks.
36 Tyrell Williams LAC @NYG Should see Eli Apple more than Janoris Jenkins, which would be very good news. But I think Rivers implodes in this game.
37 Allen Hurns JAX @PIT Lee is banged up, leaving Hurns as literally the only WR. Hurns is shcokkingly 4th in the NFL in RZ TGTs.
38 Adam Humphries TB NE He's been a bigger part of the passing offense than expected and TB will have to throw early and often.
39 Sammy Watkins LAR SEA Welcome to the Sammy Watkins Rams Experience: It's Not Fun!
40 Will Fuller HOU KC A 2-TD game shouldn't be expected often but he's already back to being the #2 option in the offense.
41 Danny Amendola NE @TB Amendola has been awesome when healthy this season. He'll be used often in a potential shootout.
42 Mike Wallace BAL @OAK Wallace finally got the ball in W4 and went 6/55/1. He's been getting open, Flacco is just bad.
43 Brandon Marshall NYG LAC He looks legitimately bad while dropping a bunch of passes. Good news is the Giants throw endlessly.
44 Robby Anderson NYJ @CLE If any WR is going to score in this game, it'll be Anderson on a deep heave.
45 Ricardo Louis CLE NYJ With Britt sidelined, Louis will assume the role as "CLE's #1 WR", whatever that entails.
46 JuJu Smith-Schuster PIT JAX Clearly PIT's #3 and slot WR, JuJu isn't getting enough targets to feel too confident about.
47 Kendall Wright CHI MIN Someone has to catch Mitchell Trubisky's passes, right? Am I right?
48 Zay Jones BUF @CIN J Matt's injury means Zay is now BUF's #1 WR. Make of that what you will.
49 Paul Richardson SEA @LAR He's been somehow very consistent but Lockett looks better and Baldwin/Graham should be closer to full health.
50 Jeremy Maclin BAL @OAK Joe Flacco sucks and it makes me sad for Maclin.

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