Week 5 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Play or Bench Tips for Fantasy Football Managers

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Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks will kick off Week 5 of the 2021 NFL season with an NFC West matchup on Thursday night. And at this point in the year, there still aren’t any bye weeks, so all 32 teams will be in action between now and Monday night.

When every team is playing, there can be some difficult lineup decisions to make. Who should be put into your starting lineup, and who should be left on the bench? If you answer those questions wrong, then you could end up with a loss for the week.

With Week 5 about to get underway, here’s some start/sit advice to help with lineup decisions. 

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After a strong showing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4, Jones proved that he’s worthy of starting consideration when he’s given the right matchup. And this week, the Patriots’ rookie quarterback will have just that.

Jones and the Pats are going on the road to face the Houston Texans, who are allowing 22.3 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season, which is the seventh most in the league, per NFL.com. It should be an opportunity for Jones to put up some of his best numbers of the year to this point.

Last week, Jones went 31-for-40 for 275 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He still wasn’t a top fantasy performer, but it was an encouraging showing for the 23-year-old that proved he’s continuing to get better early in his NFL career. Expect an even bigger showing for him in Week 5, when he’ll be a solid streaming option at QB.  

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Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

Gaskin was expected to be a solid fantasy option out of the Dolphins’ backfield this year, but so far, that hasn’t been the case. He has yet to get into the end zone through four weeks, and he hasn’t had more than 76 total yards in a game. And in Week 4, he hit a new low.

In Miami’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Gaskin had only two carries for three yards. It was a tough day for the Dolphins on the ground in general, but it wasn’t a good sign to see Gaskin get only two touches. He no longer seems to be a priority in this offense, considering he has only 29 carries this season.

This week, Miami takes on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have a banged-up secondary and are allowing an NFL-high 327.5 passing yards per game. The Dolphins are likely going to be trailing, too, so they should be passing a lot. Everything is adding up to Gaskin having another quiet week, so it’ll be best to leave him on the bench in fantasy.

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David Becker/Associated Press

When the Raiders lost Nelson Agholor to free agency and didn’t bring in any wide receivers to replace him, it was clear they would need some players already on their roster to step up in 2021. And through four weeks, Renfrow has been among the Las Vegas receivers to do so.

Renfrow, who is a three-year NFL veteran, is developing into a key part of the Raiders’ offense. He’s had at least five catches and at least six targets in each of their first four games, has recorded 249 yards and has scored a touchdown each of the past two weeks.

Las Vegas will be looking to bounce back from its first loss of the year when it hosts the Chicago Bears on Sunday, and quarterback Derek Carr could be airing it out a good bit. That should bode well for Renfrow, who has put himself into fantasy flex consideration because of his consistently solid numbers. He may even be on the verge of a huge game here soon.

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Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

Even though Conklin had a huge showing in Week 3 against the Seattle Seahawks (seven catches for 70 yards and a touchdown), he’s not always going to be that involved in the Vikings’ offense. Last week, he was held to four catches for 18 yards in Minnesota’s loss to the Cleveland Browns.

Like many fantasy tight ends, Conklin’s fantasy relevance may heavily depend on whether he gets into the end zone in a given week, as he may not get a ton of targets with so many other playmakers on the Vikings’ offense. So it may only be wise to start him when the matchup is favorable.

This week, Minnesota is hosting the Detroit Lions. And while that’s a game the Vikings should win, they may have such a big lead that they won’t need to pass the ball much. So unless you have no better options at tight end, it will likely be better to leave Conklin out of lineups.