Week 5 Fantasy Football Takeaways: QBs Step Up, Tank Bigsby, Tucker Kraft, Tyrone Tracy Jr. and More

Discussing some fantasy football takeaways from week 5 NFL Sunday games.

Week 5 of the NFL regular season is nearly in the books, but before we get into the Monday night matchup, let’s discuss some fantasy football takeaways from Sunday.

Takeaways from the Thursday night game can be found here.

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QBs Starting to Shine

Kirk Cousins started the week off with a bang, throwing for 509 yards, and then seven other quarterbacks threw for over 300 yards on Sunday. It’s a good sign to see after some poor quarterback play across the first month of play.

Joe Burrow threw for 392 yards and five touchdowns in a losing effort. He’s been a pretty solid fantasy option since week 1, and should remain one of the better ones with the offensive weapons Cincinnati has in place.

Trevor Lawrence finally got going with 371 yards and two touchdowns. It was first time over 220 yards in a game this season, with three games under 200 yards. The matchup was favorable though, so fantasy owners would probably like another good showing or two before feeling confident enough to start Lawrence.

Joe Flacco stepped in for the injured Anthony Richardson and threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns. The Colts lost, but the team’s passing attack looked really good. I don’t think the Colts will bail on Richardson yet, but it’ll probably be easier to bench him if he’s struggling now that the team knows how Flacco can operate the offense.

Dak Prescott threw for 352 yards and two touchdowns to offset a couple interceptions on Sunday night/Monday morning. It wasn’t the prettiest QB showing, but given there’s almost no running game at all in Dallas, expect Prescott to keep throwing a bunch every week - and that alone makes him a solid fantasy starting option, regardless of the matchup.

Lamar Jackson had 348 yards and four touchdowns to help the Ravens rally against the Bengals. It’s probably not the way Baltimore wants to play offensively, but Jackson showed he was capable of guiding the team that way too.

C.J. Stroud threw for 331 yards and a touchdown in the Texans’ win over the Bills. Fantasy owners were hoping for a few more touchdowns, but even without multiple TDs, Stroud showed he’s still capable of big fantasy days. He’s pretty much a lock to start every week.

Caleb Williams was the final quarterback to throw for over 300 yards, tallying 304 to go along with two touchdown passes. After a bit of a rocky start to the season, Williams has settled in a bit and forced himself into the big QB start decision every week.

Mark Andrews Gets Going

Part of Jackson’s big day was getting Andrews involved. The veteran tight end had 55 yards on four catches and five targets, with a long reception of 27 yards.

Andrews did all of his damage in the second half after failing to catch his lone first-half target. It wasn’t a massive performance by any means, but for the few fantasy owners holding out hope on Andrews, it was a step in the right direction.

Andrews will be close to 100% rostered again after his good performance, but I’m thinking fantasy owners might want to see another good performance before he gets back in lineups. Although, we are talking about a former fantasy stud at a weak fantasy position, so maybe Andrews will be starting in just about all leagues again in week 6.

Tank Bigsby Overtakes Travis Etienne?

Jacksonville finally won on Sunday, and backup running back Bigsby was a big part of the win.

Bigsby rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. He had a 65-yard touchdown run in the contest. More notably, Travis Etienne only had six carries for 17 yards.

Etienne did go for 43 yards on six receptions and seven targets, so he at least gave some fantasy owners a decent amount of points. Bigsby caught a 28-yard pass on his lone target. 

Bigsby only had one more snap (23-22) than Etienne, but definitely was the leader in the running game. We’ll need to see another week of play before we can confidently start Bigsby ahead of Etienne in fantasy leagues, but this is definitely something to keep an eye on. Both backs might continue to split the snaps, and both could be decent fantasy assets against the right defenses. 

If Bigsby is still a free agent in your league, do your best to pick him up. If you own Etienne, the time to sell might have already passed, but I’d do my best to try and flip him for a more useful fantasy asset.

Is Bo Nix a Starting Option Going Forward?

The Broncos have won three straight games, and Nix probably had his best game of the season on Sunday.

He was 19-of-27 passing for 206 yards, two touchdowns and no picks. He added nine rushing yards and a score on eight attempts.

Nix hasn’t thrown an interception since week 2, while accounting for five touchdowns over the past three weeks. He’s not putting up eye-popping numbers, but that’s a solid enough stretch to at least consider him as a fantasy streaming option in the right matchups.

Nix has a mix of favorable and tougher matchups coming up. Check back to FantasySP to see if Nix makes sense as a starter going into an upcoming game.

Brandon Aiyuk Finally Stars

Aiyuk spent the offseason trying to get a new deal, finally got one, and then struggled to get going in the first month of the season. He finally broke out in week 5, catching eight of his 12 targets for 147 yards.

Aiyuk had gone for at least 40 yards in the past three games, but hadn’t topped 50 yards. He still hasn’t scored, but the week 5 showing should be enough for fantasy owners to confidently start him going forward.

Aiyuk and the Niners’ pass catchers have a favorable schedule moving forward. While the presence of Deebo Samuel Sr., George Kittle and Jauan Jennings will take away some targets from time to time, Aiyuk showed he can still be a fantasy star. 

If you aren’t a believer in him after one good showing, now would probably be the time to move him, as some fantasy owners will believe he’s at the start of a hot streak.

Tucker Kraft Delivers Again

For a second straight week, Kraft had a good fantasy showing. In week 5, he caught four of his five targets for 88 yards and two touchdowns. 

Kraft now has 10 catches, 141 yards and three touchdowns across 14 targets in the past two weeks. He was a big waiver wire target before week 5, and now should reach 100% owned in fantasy leagues.

He’s worth a start in week 6, even in a tougher matchup against the Cardinals. There’s quite a few favorable matchups awaiting Kraft, so he’s definitely a player to target and play going forward.

Is Tyrone Tracy Jr. the New Lead Back for the Giants?

Devin Singletary missed week 5 with an injury, and Tracy starred in the lead role instead. Tracy had 129 rushing yards on 18 carries, along with a one-yard catch on two targets.

No other New York back had over five carries, showing Tracy is the clear No. 2, at least. Singletary has also had some decent showings this season, but was held to 24 yards on 14 carries in his last game played.

At the very least, Tracy showed he’s a good fantasy starting option if Singletary was ever to miss a game. I expect the two backs to be involved moving forward, which will limit their fantasy ceilings, and because the Giants’ offense hasn’t been super efficient this season, tougher matchups will probably lead to poor fantasy outings. 

Tracy should be added in a bunch of leagues this week, especially if you rostered Singletary. I’d guess that Tracy eventually takes over as the team’s lead back, so he’s worth stashing for the long haul.

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