Drake Maye
39.46 pts
26 of 34, 374 yards, four passing touchdowns, plus a rushing touchdown. The highest score by any player in the league in Week 5.
You beat the best team in the league. Week 5 is in the books at 140.16 to 114.10 over UndisputedGiant - your highest score of the season by 45 points, and a second straight win.
LordHaveMRSA
140.16
UndisputedGiant
114.10
FINAL - Week 5 complete. Record 2-3, eighth of twelve. Week 6 opponent: vargy (2-3).
Puka Nacua
37.70 pts
Seventeen catches on twenty-four targets for 138 yards and a touchdown on Monday night. Twenty-four targets is a full game plan pointed at one man.
Chris Godwin
7.00 pts
Three catches on three targets for 37 yards. His fifth straight single-digit week. The flex spot is the weakest link on this roster.
Where the matchup stands
Week 5 is final. You scored 140.16 and UndisputedGiant scored 114.10 - and UndisputedGiant came into the week 4-0 and leads the league in points scored. You handed them their only loss. That moves you to 2-3 with two wins in a row, eighth place in a twelve-team league, and 507.02 points scored on the season.
The uncomfortable number is still the one in the other column: 564.62 points allowed, the second-worst mark in the league. You have been out-scored by your schedule, not out-played by it. Three of your five opponents have put up 114 or more on you.
Week 6 pairs you with vargy, also 2-3, but the lowest-scoring team in that group at 463.94 points. On paper this is the most winnable game you have had all year. His starters: Jordan Love (Green Bay Packers) at quarterback, R.J. Harvey (Denver Broncos) and Kenneth Walker (Kansas City Chiefs) at running back, Rome Odunze (Chicago Bears) and Jaylen Waddle (Denver Broncos) at receiver, Tucker Kraft (Green Bay Packers) at tight end, and Omarion Hampton (Los Angeles Chargers) in the flex - the flex is the lineup slot that takes a running back, receiver or tight end.
Two of his players, R.J. Harvey and Jaylen Waddle, play Thursday night. He will have points on the board before your first starter takes a snap on Sunday. Do not read the Friday scoreboard as a deficit.
Your starters in Week 5
Drake Maye (New England Patriots) - 39.46 points
Enormous. 26 of 34 for 374 yards and four touchdown passes, plus seven carries for 25 yards and a rushing touchdown, in a 45-17 demolition of the Las Vegas Raiders. He played all 75 of New England's offensive snaps. This was not a fluke week either - he has gone 5.8, then 27.2, then 39.5 over his last three games. Against consensus expectations in the high teens, this was roughly double. He is your best asset and he is not a question mark anymore.
Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams) - 37.70 points
Twenty-four targets. Seventeen catches, 138 yards, one touchdown, and two carries for nine yards on top. The Rams lost 37-34 to the Buffalo Bills on Monday night and threw it at him on nearly every meaningful snap. He has now gone 27.7 and 37.7 in his two games since returning. Projected in the low twenties, he cleared it comfortably.
Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals) - 21.60 points
Nine catches on ten targets for 66 yards and a touchdown. The most dependable player on your roster: he has drawn ten or more targets in all five games this season and has 90.8 points on the year. No notes, no worries.
Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams) - 19.60 points
Solid, but look under the hood: 16 carries for 49 yards is 3.1 yards a carry, which is bad. He was rescued by a touchdown and by six catches on eight targets out of the backfield. In full PPR - a format where every catch is worth a full point - that receiving work is what makes him matchup-proof. Fine result, ugly efficiency.
Keon Coleman (Buffalo Bills) - 7.70 points
This is worse than the number looks. One catch on two targets for seven yards. He only got to 7.70 because that one catch was a touchdown. Two targets is a disaster - and he got those two targets in a game where D.J. Moore was inactive and Josh Palmer was out. If he cannot command the ball with Buffalo's other receivers unavailable, he does not have a role worth starting.
Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) - 7.10 points
Thirteen carries for 59 yards, two catches for 12 yards, and a lost fumble. He played 56 of the Giants' 89 offensive snaps, a 63 percent snap share - snap share being the percentage of his team's offensive plays he was on the field for. That is a real workload producing nothing. His last two weeks are 7.6 and 7.1 after a 14.1, 9.5 and 13.0 start. The fumble is the part that should worry you, because that is how a committee backfield turns into a benching.
Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) - 7.00 points
Three catches on three targets for 37 yards, plus one carry for three yards. He played 88 percent of Tampa Bay's snaps and was thrown at three times. His five-week line reads 8.3, 8.8, 5.5, 9.1, 7.0 - he has not cleared ten points once and has 38.7 points total. Perfectly consistent, and consistently not enough.
Did your bench beat your lineup?
Almost nothing to correct, which is the good news on a 140-point week. Only one bench player out-scored a starter at the same position, and barely: Tre Tucker (Las Vegas Raiders) put up 7.50 to Chris Godwin's 7.00 in the flex. Half a point. Not a lineup mistake.
Everywhere else the call was right. Tyrone Tracy (New York Giants) scored 5.10 against Cam Skattebo's 7.10 at running back. Geno Smith (New York Jets) scored 9.98, nowhere near Drake Maye. Cooper Kupp (Seattle Seahawks) managed 3.50 on two catches from three targets - a quiet, bad game. Brian Robinson (Atlanta Falcons) was the worst thing on your roster at 1.60, on seven carries for 16 yards and a 22 percent snap share.
Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs) and D.J. Moore (Buffalo Bills) scored nothing - Worthy because Kansas City was on a bye, Moore because he was inactive. Neither zero is a performance.
Injuries and roster health
D.J. Moore (Buffalo Bills) - OUT in Week 5, shoulder
An AC joint sprain in his shoulder, originally suffered in Week 2 against the Detroit Lions and re-aggravated in Week 4. He practiced on a limited basis before Monday night, carried a questionable tag, and was then ruled inactive at kickoff. Reporting says it is not considered a long-term issue, but it is clearly lingering. He has a decent chance to play in Week 6 at the Las Vegas Raiders - except that Buffalo has a bye in Week 7, which gives them every reason to rest him one more week. Buffalo's first Week 6 injury report lands Wednesday afternoon. Treat him as a bench stash, not a plan.
Everyone else - clean
No other player on your roster carries an injury designation this morning. No one on your roster is on a bye in Week 6 either: the teams off this week are the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings, and you own nobody on any of them. For once the schedule is not the problem.
Week 6 lineup - the two calls that matter
| Slot | Player | Call |
|---|---|---|
| QB | Drake Maye (New England Patriots) vs. New York Jets | Start. Projected 20.7 and trending far above it. |
| RB | Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams) vs. Arizona Cardinals | Start. Projected 21.8, the highest on your roster. |
| RB | Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) vs. New Orleans Saints | Start, by default. Projected 13.7 and you have no alternative - Tyrone Tracy projects 1.0. |
| WR | Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams) vs. Arizona Cardinals | Start. Projected 23.0. |
| WR | DECISION: Keon Coleman or Xavier Worthy | Lean Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs). See below. |
| TE | Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals) at Los Angeles Rams | Start. Projected 16.5, ten-plus targets every week. |
| FLEX | DECISION: Chris Godwin or Tre Tucker | Lean Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), narrowly. See below. |
Five of your seven spots are automatic. The other two are live decisions, and the first deadline is Thursday at 8:15 PM US Eastern when the Seattle Seahawks visit the Denver Broncos - Cooper Kupp is your only player in that game, and he is on your bench, so nothing forces your hand before Sunday.
The reasoning on both decisions
Second receiver: start Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs) over Keon Coleman (Buffalo Bills)
Projections have it Worthy 9.87 to Coleman 7.57, and the story behind the numbers widens the gap. Coleman just drew two targets in the single best situation he will get all year, with Buffalo's other receivers out. If D.J. Moore returns this week, Coleman's share shrinks from that. Worthy comes off a bye with Kansas City's receiving room banged up, at home against the Los Angeles Chargers, and his season has been 4.8, 13.5, 4.0, 11.0 - the same volatility as Coleman but with a higher top end and a clearer role. Neither is exciting. Worthy is the better coin. Check Buffalo's Wednesday injury report before you lock it: if Moore is ruled out again, Coleman gets one more week of inflated opportunity and the call gets close enough to leave alone.
Flex: keep Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) over Tre Tucker (Las Vegas Raiders)
This one is genuinely close and the honest read is a coin flip. Projections say Godwin 10.08, Tucker 9.00. Tucker has the higher ceiling - he hit 22.9 in Week 2 and drew eight targets in Week 4 - while Godwin has not reached ten points in a single game. But Godwin's floor is remarkably firm at five to nine points every week, and Tucker has a 4.7 in his log. You are facing the lowest-scoring opponent on your schedule. You do not need a ceiling this week; you need to not get a four. Take the floor. If you want the swing instead, Tucker is the right swing - just do it knowing you are choosing variance you probably do not need.
Waivers - one add worth making
| Player | Why | Bid |
|---|---|---|
| Dameon Pierce (Philadelphia Eagles), running back | The one real target. Saquon Barkley is week-to-week with a hamstring injury, Will Shipley is out with a foot injury, and Tank Bigsby is also hurt. Pierce took 11 carries in his first game as an Eagle. The catch: Barkley is 'hopeful' for Week 6 and head coach Nick Sirianni has hinted he will play, so you are buying the contingency, not the starter. | $6 of $53 |
| Kimani Vidal (Los Angeles Chargers), running back | The cheaper fallback if Pierce costs more than he should. He leads the Chargers in rushing but splits a three-way committee with Omarion Hampton and Keaton Mitchell, behind a struggling offensive line. A dart throw. | $2 |
| Kendrick Bourne (Arizona Cardinals), receiver | Only if you disagree with me about your receiver depth. Marvin Harrison Jr. was traded to Houston, making Bourne the second receiver in a pass-heavy offense; he had five catches for 70 yards on eight targets last week. Tough Week 6 draw against the Los Angeles Rams. | $3, or pass |
You have $53 of your original $100 FAAB left - FAAB being the season-long budget you bid from on waiver pickups. Your roster is lopsided: seven receivers and four running backs, and two of those backs (Tyrone Tracy and Brian Robinson) are producing nothing. The add should be a running back.
Worth knowing: MarShawn Lloyd (Green Bay Packers) was the most-added player in fantasy football over the last 48 hours by a wide margin, but he is already rostered in your league. So is Tyler Higbee (Los Angeles Rams). Those ships have sailed.
The drop, and the monster game you missed
Drop candidate: Brian Robinson (Atlanta Falcons)
Seven carries, 16 yards, 1.60 points, and a 22 percent snap share. He has 50.1 points on the season and 25.7 of those came in one Week 4 game - strip that out and he has given you 24.4 points in four games. He is the clear roster cut to make room for a waiver add.
Best game by a player you do not own: DeMario Douglas (New England Patriots)
Four catches on five targets for 65 yards and two touchdowns - 22.50 points - and he is a free agent in your league. He catches passes from Drake Maye, whom you already start, which makes him a correlated upside play: in weeks New England's offense explodes, you would be collecting twice. Pat Freiermuth (Pittsburgh Steelers) also went for 21.50 with two touchdowns and is available, but you have Trey McBride and no reason to care. If you are only making one claim, make it Dameon Pierce. Douglas is the one to make if you would rather bet on the offense you already own.