2021 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers for Week 5

“MVP, MVP, MVP” are the chants being cast throughout the fantasy football community upon the development of Cordarrelle Patterson finally getting an opportunity to shine as a versatile weapon in an NFL offense. While the Atlanta Falcons have looked like a team that just learned what the sport of football is, Patterson has been a bright spot this season. Patterson is eligible as a running back on some fantasy football sites and is a wide receiver on others.

Regardless of what position you can use him at, Patterson is simultaneously RB5 and WR6 in half-PPR formats through four weeks, with 66.7 fantasy points. Since he is usable at the wide receiver position on multiple sites, I’ll continue to list him in my weekly wide receiver rankings article. Besides the emergence of Patterson in Atlanta’s offense, check out what other wideouts are on the rise — or on the decline — entering Week 5 of the 2021 NFL season.

Notable Omissions (Previous Rank): D.J. Chark (27), Will Fuller (60), Elijah Moore (64), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (68), Parris Campbell (73), Russell Gage (74)

Notable Additions: K.J. Osborn, Curtis Samuel, Zach Pascal, Randall Cobb, Kendrick Bourne, Amon-Ra St. Brown

Biggest Movers (Increase or Decrease From Previous Rank):

1. Cordarrelle Patterson (+17)
2. Chase Claypool (-16)
3. A.J. Green (+15)
4. Jamison Crowder (+14)
5. Cole Beasley, Jakobi Meyers (+13)

Notes:

• I just wanted to add a quick note about the wide receivers on the Tennessee Titans. Both A.J. Brown and Julio Jones were sidelined with injuries in Week 4 and they carry questionable tags into Week 5. Despite the disappointing starts for Brown and Jones, if either of them can return this week, they have a favorable matchup versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. So even with both of them seeing their rankings decrease a bit in Week 5, there’s a chance that both/one of them can improve their outlook with a stellar outing against their AFC South foes.
• Before the regular season kicked off, there was a large group of people shouting from the rooftops that Mike Davis was a fantastic value at running back in 2021. They reasoned that Davis was going to be a workhorse in Atlanta’s offense under Arthur Smith, who previously had Derrick Henry when he was the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans. Instead of Davis, it’s been Patterson who has been the most explosive option for the Falcons. Patterson has been utilized as a running back and wide receiver due to the lack of firepower Atlanta’s offense has outside of Calvin Ridley and Kyle Pitts. As awesome as it is to see Patterson finally get an opportunity to showcase his talent on offense, I’ll have my hand hovering over my keyboard to prepare myself to adjust his rankings when he comes down to earth.
• It’s going to be tough to trust any of the wide receivers on the Pittsburgh Steelers outside of Diontae Johnson. Johnson excels on short-to-intermediate plays, making him a perfect target for a noodle-armed Ben Roethlisberger. While I expect better days for JuJu Smith-Schuster moving forward, Chase Claypool is going to see his value decrease throughout the season. Claypool is at his best when he’s able to use his big frame to make catches down the field. But whenever your quarterback is incapable of throwing down the field without the ball turning into a balloon, you become an untrustworthy option in fantasy football. Also, it doesn’t help that Claypool is dealing with an injury and has yet to record a touchdown after hauling nine touchdowns in 2020.
• Is A.J. Green actually showing signs of life with the Arizona Cardinals? I’ve always been a massive fan of Green and felt he was underappreciated during his time with the Cincinnati Bengals, but injuries derailed the end of his tenure with the Bengals. But after an offseason to get healthy and a chance to play in an offense where he’ll see less attention with DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk, and Rondale Moore on the field, Green looks like he could be viable in fantasy football in 2021. No, I wouldn’t expect him to be a WR1 or WR2 for an entire season. At the very least, as long as he can remain healthy, Green looks poised to be a flex option with upside for the rest of the season.
• There was a reason why I continued to keep Jamison Crowder on my weekly wide receiver rankings despite him not playing a single game yet, and that was shown in Week 4. Crowder made his season debut for the New York Jets, garnering a team-high nine targets that resulted in seven receptions, 61 yards, and a touchdown versus the Titans on Sunday. With Elijah Moore dealing with an injury and him not showing much in his limited action, Crowder is primed for a large role out of the slot in an offense that will be playing from behind quite often.
• Cole Beasley and Jakobi Meyers tied for the final spot in my ‘biggest movers’ section this week. We now have four weeks of data to work from, which is why there were so many alterations in my rankings this week. Beasley plays in a Buffalo Bills offense that will be throwing it 40+ times nearly every game and he has the second-highest target share on the Bills — behind Stefon Diggs — at 21.2%. As for Meyers, he’s earned the No. 1 spot at wide receiver on the New England Patriots. Meyers is currently WR35 in half-PPR formats and he’s the only wideout inside the top 35 scorers at wide receiver that has yet to score a touchdown this season. Touchdowns aren’t going to be aplenty for Meyers, being that he has yet to record a touchdown in his career, but he has a relatively safe floor in fantasy football right now. It doesn’t help that Meyers is catching passes from a quarterback that isn’t looking to push the ball down the field.