Chris Godwin
7.7 projected
Your flex tonight. Bad player, worst-of-a-bad-set decision.
No football has been played since Monday night, so this one looks forward: you are 1-3 and drawing the only undefeated team in the league, and your flex spot locks tonight at 8:15 PM ET.
LordHaveMRSA
0.00
UndisputedGiant
0.00
Week 5 has not kicked off. First ball in the air tonight, 8:15 PM ET.
Cam Skattebo
Questionable
Shoulder. Limited in Wednesday practice. Still start him.
Antonio Williams
Top waiver add
Eight targets with Terry McLaurin out. Bid $10.
Where the matchup stands
| LordHaveMRSA | League rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 1-3 | 11th of 12 |
| Points scored | 366.86 | 11th |
| Points allowed | 450.52 | 2nd most |
| Potential points | 450.16 | 11th |
| Lineup efficiency | 81.5% | 10th |
You are 1-3 and sitting 11th of 12. This week you draw UndisputedGiant, who is 4-0 and has scored 548.36 points - the most in the league by nearly 100. He starts Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills), Christian McCaffrey (San Francisco 49ers), CeeDee Lamb (Dallas Cowboys), Davante Adams (Los Angeles Rams) and DK Metcalf (Pittsburgh Steelers). This is the hardest matchup on the Week 5 board and you are not favored.
Two of his starters carry a Questionable tag - Alvin Kamara (New Orleans Saints) and Isaiah Likely (New York Giants) - which is the only crack in it. Your projected lineup adds up to roughly 95 points. You will probably need more than that.
Since the last report
No games Tuesday or Wednesday
The last game in the books is Monday night, when the Atlanta Falcons beat the New Orleans Saints 45-24 - already covered. So here is the look back that matters, because it is the thing costing you the season.
Week 4: you won by 15.86 and left 66.60 points on your own bench
You beat The Daddies 95.36 to 79.50. Your best available lineup scored 161.96. You started Geno Smith (New York Jets) for 8.76 while Drake Maye (New England Patriots) put up 27.16 on the bench. You started Jauan Jennings (Minnesota Vikings) for 1.80 and DJ Moore (Buffalo Bills) for 2.70 while Keon Coleman (Buffalo Bills) went 6 catches, 116 yards and a touchdown for 23.60 on the bench. That is not variance. That is three wrong calls in one week.
You have fixed two of the three
Drake Maye (New England Patriots) and Keon Coleman (Buffalo Bills) are both in this week's starting lineup. Good. That is the right read on both.
The season number: 83.30 points lost to bench decisions
Sleeper tracks your best-possible score. Yours is 450.16 against 366.86 actual - 81.5% efficiency, 10th in a 12-team league. Be honest about the other half of it, though: your potential points also rank 11th. The roster ceiling is genuinely low. Better lineup calls make you competitive, not good.
Your Week 5 lineup and the calls in it
| Slot | Player | Status |
|---|---|---|
| QB | Drake Maye (New England Patriots) | Start. QB8, 19.6 projected, home vs Las Vegas Raiders. Sun 1:00 PM |
| RB | Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams) | Start. RB4, 16.6 projected. Mon 8:15 PM |
| RB | Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) | Start. RB18, 12.7 projected. Questionable - shoulder. Sun 1:00 PM |
| WR | Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams) | Start. WR2, 17.8 projected. Mon 8:15 PM |
| WR | Keon Coleman (Buffalo Bills) | Start. WR41, 6.5 projected. Mon 8:15 PM |
| TE | Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals) | Start. TE1, 14.5 projected. Sun 4:25 PM |
| FLEX | Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) | Start, holding your nose. WR45, 7.7 projected. LOCKS TONIGHT 8:15 PM |
Tonight: leave Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) in the flex
Not because he is good. He is bad. Four games, 16 catches, 142 yards, zero touchdowns, and a season-high of 5.8 fantasy points. He is ranked WR45 and projected for 7.7 at Dallas. The reason he starts is that every alternative is worse: Cooper Kupp (Seattle Seahawks) is WR68 and projected for 5.6, and Jauan Jennings (Minnesota Vikings) is WR67 and projected for 3.5 with one catch in each of his last two games. Your flex is a 7-point slot no matter who fills it. Start the highest number and move on.
Do not bench Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) for Brian Robinson (Atlanta Falcons)
This is the trap after Week 4. Brian Robinson's 25.70 was three rushing touchdowns on 62 yards - a touchdown fluke in a 45-24 blowout, not a change in his role. Bijan Robinson (Atlanta Falcons) is healthy and starting ahead of him. Robinson is ranked RB39 and projected for 5.9. Skattebo is RB18 and projected for 12.7 even with the shoulder, and with Malik Nabers and Najee Harris both missing Wednesday practice his workload should be large. Start Skattebo unless Friday's report downgrades him to Doubtful or Out.
Projections below are consensus expert rankings. Three of your seven starters - Kyren Williams, Puka Nacua and Keon Coleman - all play in the same Monday night game, Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Rams. Your week will be decided after almost everyone else's is over.
Injuries, byes and dead weight
DJ Moore (Buffalo Bills) - shoulder, considered doubtful, could miss several weeks
He aggravated the shoulder in Week 4 and reporting has him doubtful with a multi-week absence possible. He scored 2.70 for you in Week 4 and is now occupying a bench spot you need. He is the drop candidate if you want to add anyone this week. The silver lining is that his absence is exactly why Keon Coleman (Buffalo Bills) is startable - Coleman led Buffalo receivers in snaps in Week 4 and Buffalo has no other outside receiver of consequence.
Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams) - pre-hernia, reported October 7
He already missed Weeks 2 and 3 and came back for 9 catches and 125 yards in Week 4. Reporting on Tuesday described a pre-hernia that carries real risk of further missed time. He has no game designation and he is WR2 this week, so he is a must-start. Just know the floor is zero if this flares, and you have nothing behind him.
Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) - shoulder, limited Wednesday
A new injury from a practice collision, not a carryover. Limited participation Wednesday and Questionable. Check Friday's final report before kickoff Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.
Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs) - bye week
Kansas City and Carolina are the two byes in Week 5. Worthy is a bench player this week regardless, so it costs you nothing, but that is two of your eight bench spots doing nothing between him and DJ Moore.
Waivers - you have $59 of your $100 FAAB left
| Player | Why | Bid |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio Williams (Washington Commanders) | Led the Commanders with 8 targets while Terry McLaurin sat. McLaurin (hamstring) and Stefon Diggs (hamstring) both did not practice Wednesday. Rostered in under 7% of leagues. Your receiver room past Nacua and Coleman is Godwin, Kupp and Jennings - this is the clearest upgrade on the board. | $10 |
| Najee Harris (New York Giants) | Free insurance behind Skattebo's shoulder. He is the actual number two in that backfield - not Tyrone Tracy, who has one carry for minus one yard this season and ranks RB69. Harris missed Wednesday for personal reasons, not injury. | $2 |
| Rashid Shaheed (Seattle Seahawks) | WR57, 6.6 projected, and his next three opponents rate among the easiest in the league. A depth flier only - he is not better than Godwin this week. | $1 |
| Oronde Gadsden (Los Angeles Chargers) | The best player available by raw ranking, but you have Trey McBride, who is the number one tight end in football this week. Skip unless you want a trade chip. | Pass |
FAAB is the $100 season-long budget you bid with on waiver pickups. You have spent $41. Waivers in this league clear Tuesday, so the next claim processes Tuesday, October 13 - after Week 5 is over. If a name below is sitting as a free agent right now, you can take him immediately without bidding.
The honest version
You are 1-3 against a 4-0 team that has scored 182 more points than you, and your projected lineup is about 95. The realistic goal this week is to lose small and get to Week 6 at 1-4 with your roster intact, not to pull an upset. What you actually control: start the right seven, which you have mostly done this week, and stop donating 20 points a week to your bench. Fix that and the back half of the season is still live. Do not fix it and the 1-3 becomes 3-10.