Week 5 Thursday Night Fantasy Football Starting Options | Are Baker Mayfield and Kirk Cousins Good Options? What about Rachaad White, Bucky Irving, Darnell Mooney, Kyle Pitts and Others?

Week 5 of the NFL regular season gets kicked off with a Thursday night clash between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons.

Let’s go over the top fantasy football starting options for the contest, as we do before every primetime game here at FantasySP.

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Quarterback Fantasy Outlooks

Baker Mayfield will lead Tampa Bay, while Kirk Cousins guides Atlanta.

Mayfield is off to a good start this season, completing 70.5% of his passes for 984 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s added 65 rushing yards and two scores on 12 rushes.

Cousins has completed 64.7% of his passes for 864 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. He isn’t a rushing threat post-injury, going backward two yards on six attempts.

It’s a favorable matchup for both quarterbacks in this one. Atlanta’s defense allows opposing quarterbacks to score 19 fantasy points per game, while Tampa Bay’s defense gives up 18 points. Mayfield is projected for 15 fantasy points in our week 5 projections, while Cousins sits at 14 points.

Based on the similar matchups, I’d base my start decision on what we’ve seen this season. Mayfield is my preferred choice over Cousins. Both of these quarterbacks should be part of start decision stories, so check back on Thursday for that.

Running Back Fantasy Outlooks

Rachaad White and Bucky Irving have settled into a split backfield in Tampa Bay. Bijan Robinson leads the Atlanta backfield, but an injury might open things up for Tyler Allgeier.

Robinson has been limited in practice this week with a hamstring injury, but believes he’s ready to play. He’s got 70 touches to just 30 for Allgeier through four weeks. Robinson has rushed 55 times for 224 yards, but just one score, while adding 135 receiving yards on 15 catches and 16 targets.

Allgeier has 27 rushes among his touches, going for 166 yards. He has 32 receiving yards on three catches and targets. 

The status of Robinson will determine Allgeier’s fantasy value in this contest, but even if Robinson does play, it’s a short week, so I expect Allgeier to get a good amount of touches.

White has 55 touches to 41 for Irving on the season, but over the past two weeks, each back has 23 touches. White has 41 rushes for 115 yards and no scores, along with 133 receiving yards on 14 catches and 16 targets. Irving has 203 rushing yards and a score on 35 attempts, along with 34 receiving yards on six grabs and eight targets.

The matchup for the Atlanta backs is far more favorable, as the Tampa Bay defense allows 25 fantasy points per week. Atlanta’s defense allows opposing backs to score just 17 points per game.

Of course, Robinson is the top fantasy back in this game, with 18 projected PPR fantasy points. White is projected for 10 points, while Irving is at eight. Allgeier is set at six points.

The injury to Robinson and split backfield in Tampa Bay makes all the backs in this contest questionable fantasy plays. I think you still have to roll with Robinson if he’s out there - unless a report says he’s going to be severely hampered.

White and Irving are really flex options in standard leagues, but being that you want to keep those slots open for the Sunday/Monday games, I’d try to only play them if you have a ton of other question marks among your RBs. Both are solid fantasy starting options in deeper leagues. Allgeier is also a decent deep league starter, but probably should be avoided in standard leagues - I’d start him if Robinson is out.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks

There’s some good fantasy wideouts in this game.

Tampa Bay will rely heavily on Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, while Drake London will lead Atlanta.

Godwin has 322 yards and three touchdowns on 27 catches and 34 targets this season. Evans is at 214 yards and three scores on 18 grabs and 29 targets.

Jalen McMillan and Trey Palmer have both caught a touchdown, but have already been ruled out for the game.

Darnell Mooney actually leads the Falcons with 225 receiving yards. He also has a touchdown on 15 catches and 24 targets. Mooney has at least six targets in three straight games.

Ray-Ray McCloud is another option. He’s got 163 yards, but no scores, on 15 catches and 22 targets this season. McCloud has at least five targets in three games this season, with three in the other game.

Despite the good matchups for quarterbacks, the matchups for the receivers are average. Atlanta’s defense allows 32 fantasy points per game, while Tampa Bay surrenders 27 points per contest.

I was a bit surprised to see Godwin as the highest-projected receiver in this one. He’s at 15 PPR points, while Evans is at 14. London is projected for 12 points. Mooney sits at 10 points and is the last receiver to appear in our projections.

Godwin has played well enough and has been consistently involved enough to start every week now. The average matchup doesn’t change my mind.

I do value Evans more, and despite a bit less yardage, think he also should be starting every week. I have him as the top fantasy wideout in this contest.

I’d avoid any other Bucs’ wideouts, even with McMillan and Palmer out.

I still am most confident with London among the Atlanta wideouts, and while I’m not super confident in him, think he still should be starting every week. 

Mooney is a sneaky standard league option, and one who should get some starts with four NFL teams on bye weeks. He definitely should be starting in deeper leagues.

McCloud is another decent deep league option. He’s been battling an ankle injury though, so keep an eye on his game status.

Tight End Fantasy Outlooks

Kyle Pitts and Cade Otton are the top tight ends in this game.

Pitts has turned in more uninspiring fantasy work this season, with just 105 yards and a touchdown on eight catches and 15 targets. He went without a catch on three targets in week 4.

Otton leads the Bucs’ pass catchers with 228 offensive snaps, but only has 104 yards on 14 catches and 21 targets. He has no scores this season, but 17 targets over the past two weeks.

The tight end fantasy matchups are both pretty average, with both defenses giving up eight fantasy points per week. Both Pitts and Otton are projected for seven PPR fantasy points.

I actually prefer Otton over Pitts in this one. A lot of that has to do with a couple wide receivers being out for Tampa Bay, meaning Otton should be more involved. Evans and Godwin will still lead the way. 

Pitts is hard to play after what he’s done so far this season. This might be the final straw for fantasy owners if they do indeed start him.

Kicker/Defense Fantasy Outlooks

Chase McLaughlin kicks for Tampa Bay, while Younghoe Koo is Atlanta’s kicker.

McLaughlin has made all seven of his field goals and 10 of his 11 extra points this season. Koo is 9-for-9 on his field goals and 6-for-6 on his extra points.

Koo is projected for seven points, while McLaughlin is at six points.

The over/under for the game is 44, which is a pretty average mark amongst all the week 5 games. I too see a game in the 20s/high teens, meaning each team should get some kicking chances. I’d be fine starting either kicker.

Tampa Bay’s injury report also has Antoine Winfield Jr. out, making life a little tougher on the Bucs’ defense. Linebacker Troy Andersen is the lone Atlanta player on the injury report, but his loss would be a massive one.

Tampa Bay’s defense allows 335.3 yards per game, while Atlanta checks in at 336.5. Atlanta allows 21.3 points per game, while Tampa Bay is at 19.5. The Bucs have five takeaways and three giveaways, while the Falcons have four takeaways and three giveaways.

The defenses are fairly average, but Atlanta is projected for eight points. Tampa Bay is set for seven points. I actually like the Bucs’ defense more in this one, but am not super high on starting either D/ST. There’s worse matchups out there, but I’d also think you could find a more favorable D/ST matchup to take advantage of this week.