2025 Week 5 DFS Main Slate Breakdown

What is this column? Each week, I’ll list the best and most interesting plays of the week, grouped by position, and ranked (within varying classifications) in some sort of descending order. Keep in mind that we’re focusing only on the players available on the Main Slate. Our focus is mainly on DraftKings, although I have my FanDuel cash core listed at the top. (Assume I’m talking about DraftKings with all references to salary and projected ownership.)

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Anyway, let’s dive in…

Note: Today’s article was broken into three sections: 1) Cash Plays, 2) GPP Plays (>5.5% Projected Ownership), and 3) GPP Plays (<5.5% Projected Ownership). Just because a player was written up in “Cash Plays” does not mean I dislike them for tournaments. Just because a player is drawing >5.5% projected ownership, does not mean I like them more than some of the players drawing <5.5% projected ownership.

TLDR — Cash Core

In order of preference…

DraftKings

QB: Justin Fields

RB: Rico Dowdle, De’Von Achane, Jonathan Taylor, Breece Hall, Rachaad White

WR: Garrett Wilson, George Pickens, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Quentin Johnston, Jaylen Waddle, Michael Pittman

TE: Mason Taylor, Tyler Warren

DST: Saints, Texans

FanDuel

QB: Justin Fields

RB: Rico Dowdle, De’Von Achane, Jonathan Taylor, Rachaad White

WR: George Pickens, Jaylen Waddle, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Deebo Samuel, Garrett Wilson, Jakobi Meyers

TE: Tyler Warren

DST: Texans, Saints

Top Plays (Cash)

Quarterbacks

1. Justin Fields ($5,600) [14%] — We are going to play QBs against the Cowboys every single week. They’ve allowed 31.5 FPG to opposing QBs (no QB to play Dallas has scored less than 25.5 fantasy points), and they rank as the single softest defense by passing YPG allowed (309.3), YPA allowed (9.2), and ANY/A allowed (9.6). Fields currently leads all QBs in FP/DB, and we’ve always known Fields offers elite single-game upside (5 games of 28.0-plus DraftKings points in his last 21 full games, including in 2 of 2 full games this year), so let’s lean into that in the perfect matchup… If he’s looking uber-chalky, you can tell yourself a story to get away from him in tournaments. Namely, that he’s one of the most erratic and volatile QBs in the game, and that this is a rough schematic matchup. Dallas has deployed man coverage on just 5.9% of their plays this year, a league low. Excluding man coverage dropbacks, Fields falls to just 27th in FP/DB (0.30), tied with Spencer Rattler.

Running Backs

1. Rico Dowdle ($4,300) [20%] — Believe it or not, the Panthers (despite all of their extreme negative gamescript) currently rank top-12 in RB carries and RB targets. Or maybe you do believe it, because I spent all offseason talking about how valuable the RB1 role in a Dave Canales offense is (if that offense isn’t total dogshit). And Dowdle is a seriously underrated talent. He’s a significantly better pass-catcher than Chuba Hubbard, and, on a Dak-less Cowboys offense that was about as bad as this Panthers team, Dowdle hit the 100-yard bonus in 4 of his last 6 games last year. Dowdle is a must-play for cash, and a player I’m probably going to hit the lock button on in tournaments as well. YOLO!

2. De’Von Achane ($7,300) [28%] — Achane’s ground-game efficiency has improved, hitting at least 5.0 YPC in 3 of 4 games. Through the air, he averages an absurd 21% target share this year, and now Tyreek Hill is out for the season (freeing up another 24% of Miami’s targets). Carolina is (once again) a bottom-12 defense against opposing RBs, and we know Achane offers awesome big-play upside. In an A+ matchup for a player whose usage rivals only CMC and Bijan Robinson (neither of which are on the main slate), Achane clearly stands out as a top play.

3. Jonathan Taylor ($8,000) [24%] — Taylor flopped in Week 4, and still easily leads all slate eligible RBs in DraftKings FPG (23.6) – he’s scored over 28.0 DraftKings points in 5 of his last 7 games. The Colts have the 3rd-highest implied point total and are 6.5-point favorites against the Raiders. Since 2023, Taylor has seen an 18% boost to his rushing YPG and a 32% boost to his FPG in wins, compared to losses. Otherwise, it’s not the best matchup on paper, but also, I think we should be treating Taylor as though he were 2024 Saquon Barkley.

4. Breece Hall ($5,600) [22%] — Hall earned an 85% backfield carry share in the final three quarters of New York’s Week 3 game after Braelon Allen (who is now on IR) left with an injury. Hall has now exceeded 15.0 XFP in back-to-back weeks and ranks top-6 at the position in target share on the season (15.0%). Minus the red zone (where Allen dominated snaps), Hall has largely dominated in usage (73% backfield XFP%), averaging 11.0 XFP/G (RB14). On top of a great workload, the matchup couldn’t be much better – he draws a Cowboys’ defense that ranks as the 4th-softest schedule-adjusted matchup for opposing RBs this season.

5. Rachaad White ($4,700) [24%] — The 7th-most valuable backfield in football (25.6 FPG) will be without Bucky Irving in Week 5. We are loosely projecting a 65/35 split that favors White, specifically because of his pass-catching ability in a game with projected negative gamescript. We can’t forget how valuable of a pass-catching backfield this is; Buccaneers RBs have combined for the 3rd-most receptions and 4th-most receiving yards in the NFL.

Wide Receivers

1. Garrett Wilson ($6,100) [22%] — I’m not sure any player in Week 5 has a better on-paper matchup than Wilson; Dallas is allowing a truly absurd +21.6 schedule-adjusted FPG to opposing WRs. In other words, a WR room that averages 40.0 FPG would be expected to score 61.6 FPG against the Cowboys based on their schedule-adjusted numbers through the first four weeks. The schematic matchup is less than ideal, but that doesn’t matter much when Wilson has earned a 34% target share and draws the worst pass defense in the NFL.

2. George Pickens ($6,600) [16%] — By all appearances, Pickens stepped into the CeeDee Lamb role last week, catching 8 of 11 targets for 134 yards and 2 scores. Pickens now ranks top-6 at the position in FPG (18.8), although he’s $300 cheaper than Emeka Egbuka this week. The Jets’ defense has been awful this year, but Pickens probably has the toughest matchup of the group, against Sauce Gardner’s shadow coverage. That said, Pickens is an elite man-beater and has been one of the most shadow-immune WRs in football since he came into the league. He’s still a great play. (Honestly, if Pickens doesn’t smash, it’s probably because he picked up 65 yards in DPIs.)

UPDATE: OT Tyler Guyton is OUT. OG Tyler Booker is OUT. OG Tyler Smith is QUESTIONABLE but didn’t practice all week. If Smith is also out, downgrade Pickens slightly while upgrading Jake Ferguson.

3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba ($7,100) [26%] — Coming out of college, I was calling JSN, “Keenan Allen reincarnated.” Since Week 2, I’ve been calling him “Puka 2.0,” because his usage and deployment are 2nd only to Puka Nacua, and now that Malik Nabers is out for the year, there isn’t really a close 3rd. In a perfectly neutral matchup on paper, I’m happy to gamble on JSN’s skills and elite utilization.

UPDATE: CB Jamel Dean is OUT. CB Benjamin Morrison is OUT. This is no longer just a “neutral” matchup but a favorable one, against Zyon McCollum, rookie Jacob Parrish, and a banged-up Tykee Smith (likely moved back to slot CB).

4. Quentin Johnston ($5,700) [14%] — Johnston has hit 70 receiving yards in all 4 games, including a Week 3 game against Patrick Surtain (the most Surtain has given up in over two years). Johnston’s volume continues to rise each week while McConkey’s continues to fall. And believe it or not, QJ ranks behind only Amon-Ra St. Brown, Ja'Marr Chase, and Terry McLaurin (inactive this week) in receiving touchdowns since the start of last season. Basically, if QJ’s name were Marvin Harrison Jr., and we looked at these numbers, we would be willing to pay $2,000 more to roster him. I’m willing to embrace this as the new reality, although the stink of his first 31 career games will keep him lower-owned than he otherwise should be.

5. Jaylen Waddle ($5,400) [13%] — I know that this is an entirely different (much worse) offense now, playing behind a bottom-3 offensive line, but… The only other game Tyreek Hill has missed since joining the Dolphins, Waddle had 6-118-1 in just two quarters and on only 15 routes in a 30-0 blowout. At the very least, he’s a talented player the Dolphins paid a lot of money to, who is in line for more work against an awful defense.

6. Michael Pittman ($5,100) [11%] — Pittman is priced as the WR27 on DraftKings and is $200 cheaper than Wan’Dale Robinson, despite ranking 12th-best among all slate-eligible WRs in DK FPG (15.6). And he’s also coming off of his best usage game of the season: 10 targets (30.3% share, WR7) and 164 air yards (WR3). I think it’s fair to question his tournament-winning ceiling, but Pittman is no doubt one of the best values on the entire slate.

UPDATE: Pittman popped up on the injury report Thursday with a hamstring injury, but got in a full practice on Friday and no longer carries an injury designation. WR Alec Pierce is still OUT.

Better on FanDuel: Jakobi Meyers (FD: $6,000) [FD: 9%] — Since Davante Adams was traded to the Jets, Meyers averages 9.0 targets (~WR6) and 72.3 YPG (~WR14), and yet he’s priced as just the WR21 on this week’s short slate ($100 less than Wan’Dale Robinson). Due to a lack of touchdowns (mostly), I’m always skeptical of Meyers’ upside, but I could see him having a big game this week. The Colts are giving up a slate-high +4.8 schedule-adjusted FPG to opposing slot WRs, which is where Meyers runs 51% of his routes.

Tight Ends

1. Mason Taylor ($2,800) [4%] — Taylor hit a career-high 33% first-read target share in Week 4, while finishing second on the team in routes (26) and receiving yards (65) behind only Garrett Wilson. This comes only days after Aaron Glenn pledged to get Taylor — a Round 2 NFL Draft pick and Brett Whitefield’s TE4 in this loaded rookie class — more involved, after Taylor spent the first few weeks dealing with an ankle injury. So, yeah, I’m inclined to treat this as real and accept Taylor as the best value TE on the slate, in an A+ matchup against the Malik Hooker-less Cowboys.

2. Tyler Warren ($4,700) [21%] — Warren looks exactly like the elite TE prospect we all should have seen coming. He’s one of only 8 players at any position with 70+ yards in at least 3 games this season. His 263 receiving yards are the most of any TE this year and the most by any TE through their first four career games in NFL history. And now he’s getting goal-line carries too. It feels inevitable that “this year’s Brock Bowers” is going to be $1,400 more expensive in 10 weeks, so yeah, why not play him now, in an ideal schematic matchup against Las Vegas?

GPP Plays (>5.5% Projected Ownership)

Quarterbacks

1. Daniel Jones ($5,800) [9%] — Jones and the Colts offer the 2nd-highest implied total on the Week 5 main slate (27.0), and Jones is averaging the 4th-most DraftKings FPG (20.9) among slate-eligible QBs. And yet, he’s priced as just the QB9 this week. He’s a strong value in a truly elite offensive environment up against one of the biggest pass funnels in the league. He’s a great play.

*tier drop*

2. Justin Herbert ($6,100) [12%] — The league’s biggest pass funnel offense (+10.1% PROE) goes up against one of the biggest pass funnel defenses in the league — the Commanders rank 4th-worst in schedule-adjusted passing FPG (+5.5). Herbert is playing behind the 3rd-highest implied point total of the slate (25.0) and can be easily stacked with any of his 3 WRs, who are all popping as values.

UPDATE: OT Joe Alt is OUT. OG Mekhi Becton is QUESTIONABLE, but practiced in full on Friday. Bump Herbert behind Prescott if Becton is out. Herbert averaged 13.5 pressures per game (17th-most) and 25.4 DK FPG across the two weeks of the season, but 21.0 pressures per game (most) and just 16.6 DK FPG over the last two weeks.

3. Dak Prescott ($6,000) [6%] — Prescott is balling out, ranking top-3 in every accuracy metric Fantasy Points Data has to offer, fresh off a 34.0 DKFP outing against arguably the best defense in football. The Jets are not that. They’re flat-out awful, ranking 6th-worst in FP/DB allowed and 3rd-worst in EPA/DB allowed. Everyone’s flocking to Justin Fields this week, and sure, Fields is the better value. But opposing QBs are highly correlated. So what if this game shoots out — and it’s Breece Hall stealing all the Jets touchdowns while Prescott stacks go nuclear? Or Dallas’ zone-heavy defense stops Fields on the ground, while Prescott stacks go nuclear? I don’t know. What I do know is that this 2025 Dallas offense reminds me a lot of the 2024 Cincinnati Bengals. So, I’m going to want exposure every single week.

UPDATE: OT Tyler Guyton is OUT. OG Tyler Booker is OUT. OG Tyler Smith is QUESTIONABLE but didn’t practice all week.

Running Backs

1. Javonte Williams ($6,200) [9%] — Williams has the 4th-best workload among RBs (18.2 XFP/G), yet he is priced as the RB10 on an 11-game slate. He’s earned at least 15.3 XFP in every game, and 86% of backfield XFP inside the 10-yard line. Plus, the Cowboys (somehow) tout the 4th-highest implied team total (25.0) on the main slate, up against a Jets defense that ranks as the slate’s biggest run funnel by PROE (-4.0%). It’s a great setup for Williams, but ownership remains lower than it should be due to offseason priors.

UPDATE: OT Tyler Guyton is OUT. OG Tyler Booker is OUT. OG Tyler Smith is QUESTIONABLE but didn’t practice all week.

2. Omarion Hampton ($6,500) [20%] — In Hampton’s first game without Najee Harris, he led all Week 4 RBs with an 87% snap share and earned 92% of backfield carries and a 12% target share. In fact, no other Chargers RB has even earned a touch since Harris went down. A true bell cow workload is a rarity at $6,500 – especially in an offense with the 3rd-highest implied total (25.75) on the slate.

UPDATE: OT Joe Alt is OUT. OG Mekhi Becton is QUESTIONABLE, but practiced in full on Friday. Bump Hampton down if Becton is out, but it’s not the end of the world if he is — Hampton is averaging 6.0 targets, 5.5 receptions, and 48.0 receiving YPG over the last two weeks.

3. Jahmyr Gibbs ($7,700) [21%] — Gibbs' workload (17.1 XFP/G) and his snap share (63%) are both easily career highs in any sustained stretch with a healthy David Montgomery. The Lions own the highest implied total (29.5) of the Week 5 slate, and Cincinnati ranks as the 3rd-softest schedule-adjusted matchup for opposing RBs this year (+7.6 FPG). Gibbs is no doubt an amazing play; the only problem is I’m not sure I like him significantly more than Montgomery, who is $2,500 cheaper. But this is a spot where both RBs could easily smash.

4. Ashton Jeanty ($6,700) [8%] — Jeanty, arguably the greatest prospect since Saquon Barkley, just scored 37.5 DKFP last week. Geno Smith has been awful all year, and Jeanty is just about the only thing working in this offense. So, why not give him another 25 touches this week? Granted, last week’s matchup was great, but maybe this one isn’t too bad either (at least after controlling for gamescript and volume) — the Colts rank 5th-worst in YBCO/A allowed. At the very least, he’s a pretty great leverage play.

UPDATE: The Raiders’ league-worst offensive line should look even worse this week, as LT Kolton Miller (their only good OL) will be out with an ankle injury.

Better on FanDuel: Michael Carter ($4,000) [6%] — The Arizona backfield is a difficult projection this week with James Conner and Trey Benson on IR. But getting this right could pay dividends — the Cardinals are 7.5-point favorites against a Titans’ defense that’s allowed the 8th-most schedule-adjusted FPG to opposing RBs. Carter spelled Conner on early downs last season (20 carries to Demercado’s 2 from Week 12 on), while Demercado primarily handled 3rd downs (52% snap share). We are projecting the early-down role in Week 5 to go (primarily) to Carter, which sets him up as a strong min-priced value.

Better On FanDuel: Cam Skattebo (FD: $6,200) [FD: 16%] — Skattebo has averaged 18.6 FPG (~RB8) on 20.3 XFP/G (~RB3) over the past two weeks, and he just earned a 75.4% snap share in his first game without Tyrone Tracy. I’m not sure how many people get here on a loaded RB slate, but the usage is so damn good, and Jaxson Dart has (likely) added some tangible juice to this offense. Although the flip side of that is also, maybe Dart doesn’t target Skattebo as much as Russell Wilson, while also vulturing touchdowns on the ground.

Wide Receivers

1. Nico Collins ($6,800) [13%] — Collins is a top-5 WR in the NFL, held back by poor QB-play, poor play-calling, and a dysfunctional offensive line. Those will always be issues, but probably least so this week against the worst defense in football. With Marlon Humphrey, Chidobe Awuzie, Kyle Hamilton, Odafe Oweh, Roquan Smith, Nate Wiggins, Jaire Alexander, and Nnamdi Madabuike all hurt to varying degrees, this might be the best matchup Collins will have in years. I really don’t think that’s too much of an exaggeration.

UPDATE: S Kyle Hamilton and OLB Odafe Oweh are both QUESTIONABLE. Everyone else listed above is OUT. If Hamilton misses this week, I’m going to hit the lock button on Collins and increase my exposure to C.J. Stroud.

2. Chris Olave ($5,200) [14%] — Olave ranks top-5 among all players and behind only Puka Nacua among WRs in XFP/G (18.7). And yet, he’s priced as just the WR26 this week, $100 cheaper than Wan’Dale Robinson. Yeah, yeah, I know — if XFPs were real-FPs, we’d all be rich. But — especially up against a Giants defense giving up the 2nd-most FPG to opposing WRs (41.7) — this is still way too juicy for me to pass up.

3. Tetairoa McMillan ($5,700) [9%] — McMillan is priced as just the WR18 on this week’s short slate, although he ranks 2nd in air yardage share (57.0%) and 10th in target share (26.7%) over the last two weeks. He’s also — I think — already a top-12 WR just on talent. Sure, Bryce Young stinks, and this offense looks dysfunctional, but that shouldn’t matter as much this week, against a Miami defense that ranks ahead of only the Cowboys in EPA/DB allowed.

4. Amon-Ra St. Brown ($7,900) [19%] — Puka Nacua is the only WR with more receptions than St. Brown. St. Brown also ranks 1st in receiving touchdowns over the past two seasons, with +5 more than anyone not-named Ja’Marr Chase. And now he faces the worst defense in football, behind a Week 5-high 29.5-point implied total.

*tier drop*

5. Deebo Samuel ($6,300) [16%] — Jayden Daniels is back, and Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown are both out. So, expect Samuel to get force-fed volume — somewhere between 7-10 targets and 2-3 carries. It’s a rough on-paper matchup, but the schematic is dreamy — Samuel’s TPRR jumps to 32% against two-high coverage.

Better on FanDuel: Chris Godwin (FD: $5,900) [FD: 10%] — Godwin saw 10 targets (25% target share) and 139 air yards (8th-most on the week) in his 2025 debut but managed only 26 receiving yards. That wasn’t surprising; I assumed he’d be less than 100% following offseason surgery. But our charters told me he actually looked pretty good, but was just a little rusty (with a few easy drops) and got pretty unlucky on some near incompletions. In an ideal schematic matchup, he’s a really interesting (albeit unsexy) option this week.

Tight Ends

1. Jake Ferguson ($4,800) [16%] — The 2025 Dallas Cowboys look like the 2024 Cincinnati Bengals, and 2025 Jake Ferguson looks like 2024 Trey McBride. CeeDee Lamb is out this week, George Pickens has a tougher matchup against Sauce Gardner’s shadow coverage, and Ferguson ranks behind only Puka Nacua in receptions. In a top-5 matchup against the Jets (+4.2), Ferguson is my favorite GPP TE play of the week.

UPDATE: OT Tyler Guyton is OUT. OG Tyler Booker is OUT. OG Tyler Smith is QUESTIONABLE but didn’t practice all week. If Smith is also out, downgrade George Pickens slightly while upgrading Ferguson.

*pretty big tier drop*

2. Sam LaPorta ($4,200) [7%] — LaPorta has seen only 4 targets in 3 straight games, but he does have the best matchup of the week, up against a Bengals defense that is giving up a league-high +4.6 schedule-adjusted FPG to opposing TEs. This was the case last year as well; Cincinnati’s linebackers and safeties are so awful that it makes sense for every team to want to get their TEs more involved that week. Ultimately, he’s not the most exciting play in the world, but he’s still a top value at the position.

*tier drop*

3. Zach Ertz ($3,800) [8%] — Noah Brown and Terry McLaurin are both out, and Jayden Daniels is now back; Ertz averaged 6.5 targets and 13.0 FPG in Daniels’ two full games to start the season. Look for Ertz to get plenty of volume this week, in a TE funnel matchup and in a game that offers the 2nd-highest over/under of the slate. And, believe it or not, I think Ertz actually has a ceiling — he’s scored at least 24.0 DKFP in 2 of his last 9 games.

4. Juwan Johnson ($3,900) [8%] — Johnson leads all TEs in snaps (would lead all WRs), ranks 3rd in targets (would rank 14th among WRs), 3rd in receptions (would rank 10th among WRs), 3rd in XFP (would rank 27th among WRs), and 7th in FPG (12.1, would rank 30th among WRs). And yet, somehow, his salary is just in the $3K range, priced as just the WR44.

UPDATE: Double-check our projections Sunday morning; we may have to knock Johnson down if Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau are back. Johnson himself is also QUESTIONABLE with an ankle injury.

GPP Plays (<5.5% Projected Ownership)

Quarterbacks

1. Jared Goff ($6,500) [3%] — We don’t normally target Goff on the road, but the Lions are sporting the slate’s highest implied total (29.5) against a Cincinnati defense that ranks bottom-5 in every key defensive statistic. And despite the narrative of aggressive home/road splits for Goff (which is true), he’s scored over 28.0 DraftKings points in three of the five road games he’s played as a Lion with an implied total of 27.0 or higher. It worked out really well for us in Week 2, I can’t help but want to go back to the well with Jared Goff onslaughts again this week.

*tier drop*

2. Jaxson Dart ($5,300) [5%] — Dart’s debut was highly encouraging from a fantasy lens – he went 13 for 20 for 111 yards and a TD, but also added 10 rush attempts on the ground for 54 yards and a score. 7 of those carries were designed (Drake Maye has 6 designed carries in 4 games). And he gets a matchup with a New Orleans defense that’s allowed the 6th-most FPG (23.8) to opposing QBs (including Kyler Murray, Mac Jones, and Sam Darnold) this season.

*tier drop*

3. Bryce Young ($4,900) [2%] — Young is terrible, but the Miami defense is almost certainly worse. I know this is gross, but the matchup is elite, he’s super cheap and easy to stack with some combination of Tet McMillan, Rico Dowdle, and Tommy Tremble. And we have seen some upside from Young… Here’s a mind-blowing stat for you — Young has scored over 26.0 DraftKings points in 3 of his last 7 games.

Better on FanDuel: C.J. Stroud (FD: $6,700) [FD: 4%] — I would only ever play Stroud (who looks broken, behind an all-time bad OL) if he was in a perfect matchup, and well, what do you know? The Ravens are the worst offense in football by an absolute landslide, with Marlon Humphrey, Chidobe Awuzie, Kyle Hamilton, Odafe Oweh, Roquan Smith, Nate Wiggins, Jaire Alexander, and Nnamdi Madabuike all hurt to varying degrees. Stroud is a “better” value on FanDuel, but depending on who is out for the Ravens’ defense (for instance, Kyle Hamilton), I could see myself having heavy exposure to Stroud on DraftKings as well.

Running Backs

1. Woody Marks ($5,400) [5%] — Marks is obviously the best RB on the Texans, seeing his snap share jump at least 10% every week, to a high of 59% in Week 4. In Houston’s 26-0 Week 4 victory, he handled 57% of the backfield’s carries, a 17.9% target share, and the backfield’s only attempt inside the red zone (which he punched in for an 18-yard TD). Compiling 119 YFS, nearly 2X Nick Chubb’s season-high, why wouldn’t you keep feeding him the rock? Sure, last week’s matchup against the Titans was great, but this week’s matchup might be even better. The Ravens are giving up a league-high 34.4 FPG to opposing RBs, and, without Lamar Jackson (and every starting defensive player on the injury report), this is a rare game in which the Texans are favored.

2. David Montgomery ($5,200) [2%] — As alluded to earlier, Jahmyr Gibbs is a great play, but I’m honestly not sure he’s a better play than Montgomery. (To be honest, this could be one of only a few spots all year you could consider playing both RBs together on a lineup.) This is a homecoming game for Montgomery; “an extra special” game for Montgomery. (How much do you want to bet Dan Campbell knows this and has factored this into the game plan?) Even if you’re not buying into that narrative, Montgomery is deserving of more work — he’s been more efficient than Gibbs on the ground (5.7 YPC vs. 4.7) and through the air (5.0 YPT vs. 3.8). And we have seen the usage start to tilt more in Montgomery’s favor (60/40 last week, down from 70/30).

Wide Receivers

1. Troy Franklin ($4,000) [2%] — Courtland Sutton has been the pinnacle of consistency, but he has a brutal matchup against Quinyon Mitchell’s shadow coverage. Franklin, meanwhile, leads the league in screen targets (9, +3 more than the next-closest player not named Ja’Marr Chase). And he’s led the team in targets in two of their last three games. Since Week 2, he leads in route participation (79.6%), first-read target share (24.6%), and XFP/G (13.9). He’s legitimately one of my favorite plays on the entire slate.

2. Jameson Williams ($4,900) [6%] — Williams led all WRs in air yards last week (214, +42 more than the next closest) and saw 8 targets — his most since last season. And yet… he finished with just 5.6 fantasy points, two weeks after scoring 18.8 fantasy points on only 4 targets. That’s the nature of his role: a massive 20.9 aDOT (WR2) with near-zero screens or other “easy looks”, paired with only a 17.5% first-read target share (WR57). So, you’re going to get weeks like last week. But also weeks where he catches all of his deep targets and breaks the slate. Ultimately, he’s just a great GPP play every week, and I can see Detroit trying to get him going in this pillow-soft matchup.

*tier drop*

3. Tre Tucker ($4,700) [1%] — The dude dropped a 40-burger literally just two weeks ago, and no one wants to play him against an awful Colts secondary that (nearly) just gave up a 40-burger to Puka Nacua? Joe Dolan and Director of ASS Steven O’Rourke both singled him out as a great play this week, and I have to say I agree.

4. Pick Your Favorite Low-Owned Punt WR:

A) Elic Ayomanor ($4,100) [1%] — Ayomanor — a Brett Whitefield favorite — has been outplaying Calvin Ridley (bottom-3 in ASS) since Week 1. And then, last week (Bo Hardegree’s first game calling plays), he finally out-targeted him, drawing 19.2% of the targets and 50.9% of the team’s air yards. It feels as though we’re at the start of a bull run here……..IF this offense isn’t just totally dead. To be fair, it does look totally dead. But this could be a spot to see some signs of life — Arizona’s defense can’t get pressure, so maybe Cam Ward actually has some time in the pocket this week.

UPDATE: WR Calvin Ridley is QUESTIONABLE with knee and elbow injuries.

B) Jake Tolbert ($3,600) [4%] — CeeDee Lamb and KaVontae Turpin are both out this week, and George Pickens has a tougher matchup against Sauce Gardner’s shadow coverage. Tolbert, fresh off a 4-61-0 line, gets blessed with an A+ matchup behind a top-5 implied total and a $3K-range salary. He’s a really strong punt.

C) Darius Slayton ($4,300) [2%] — In the two games Nabers missed last year, Slayton averaged 11.0 targets per game (36.5% first-read target share) and 89.5 receiving YPG (2.49 YPRR). Up against a Saints defense giving up +11.1 schedule-adjusted FPG to opposing outside WRs (3rd-worst), there are far worse GPP plays than gambling on “the Malik Nabers role” being a thing.

D) Malik Washington ($3,900) [3%] — Washington is averaging 4.0 targets and 2.0 carries over his last two games, and could be in line for more work with Tyreek Hill out, in a perfect schematic matchup against the Panthers.

Tight Ends

1. Tommy Tremble ($2,900) [2%] — As we said last week: whenever Ja’Tavion Sanders or Tommy Tremble is out, the other TE becomes a bell cow for the Panthers. With Sanders sidelined, Tremble’s snap share spiked to 75% (up from 49%). He caught 5 of 7 targets for 42 yards and a touchdown — and came inches from a second score, plus had another 4.9 fantasy points wiped out by penalty. Even with Xavier Legette returning, I still think Tremble rivals Ferguson, Taylor, and Warren as the best TE play of the slate.