Week 5 Fantasy Football Rankings: WR

Deebo Samuel takes his dual-threat show on the road to Carolina, CeeDee Lamb aims to keep compiling vs. the Rams, and Diontae Johnson adjusts to a new quarterback in Pittsburgh.

Other positions: Quarterback | Running Back | Tight End/Kickers/Defense

Updated 10/9 at 11:45 AM ET.

Added Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jakobi Meyers. Removed Julio Jones and Jarvis Landry.

Week 5 Receivers

RK	Player	Opp
1	Cooper Kupp	DAL
2	Justin Jefferson	CHI
3	Ja’Marr Chase	@BAL
4	Davante Adams	@KC
5	Stefon Diggs	PIT
6	Tyreek Hill	@NYJ
7	A.J. Brown	@ARI
8	Deebo Samuel	@CAR
9	Tee Higgins	@BAL
10	Mike Evans	ATL
11	Mike Williams	@CLE
12	Courtland Sutton	IND
13	CeeDee Lamb	@LA
14	Marquise Brown	PHI
15	Jaylen Waddle	@NYJ
16	Christian Kirk	HOU
17	Amon-Ra St. Brown	@NE
18	Michael Pittman	@DEN
19	Diontae Johnson	@BUF
20	DK Metcalf	@NO
21	Chris Olave	SEA
22	Chris Godwin	ATL
23	Tyler Lockett	@NO
24	Amari Cooper	LAC
25	Garrett Wilson	MIA
26	DeVonta Smith	@ARI
27	Drake London	@TB
28	Terry McLaurin	TEN
29	Brandin Cooks	@JAC
30	Jerry Jeudy	IND
31	Gabe Davis	PIT
32	Curtis Samuel	TEN
33	Allen Lazard	NYG
34	Adam Thielen	CHI
35	Romeo Doubs	NYG
36	JuJu Smith-Schuster	LV
37	Elijah Moore	MIA
38	Brandon Aiyuk	@CAR
39	George Pickens	@BUF
40	DJ Moore	SF
41	Robert Woods	@WAS
42	Hunter Renfrow	@KC
43	Tyler Boyd	@BAL
44	Joshua Palmer	@CLE
45	Marquez Valdes-Scantling	LV
46	Josh Reynolds	@NE
47	Jakobi Meyers	DET
48	Allen Robinson	DAL
49	Corey Davis	MIA
50	Devin Duvernay	CIN
51	Michael Gallup	@LA
52	Nico Collins	@JAC
53	DeVante Parker	DET
54	Chase Claypool	@BUF
55	Darnell Mooney	@MIN
56	Russell Gage	ATL
57	Rondale Moore	PHI
58	Noah Brown	@LA
59	Zay Jones	HOU
60	Mack Hollins	@KC
61	Alec Pierce	@DEN
62	Donovan Peoples-Jones	LAC
63	Nelson Agholor	DET
64	Robbie Anderson	SF
65	Marvin Jones	HOU
66	Kendrick Bourne	DET
67	Ben Skowronek	DAL
68	K.J. Osborn	CHI
69	Richie James	@GB
70	Kalif Raymond	@NE
71	Marquez Callaway	SEA

WR Notes: Cooper Kupp has reached 14 targets in 3-of-4 games. … Not far behind is Justin Jefferson, who cleared 11 in 3-of-4 contests. He has spiked 2-of-4 weeks. Kevin O’Connell is beginning to find the plot. … Perhaps I am being stubborn with Ja’Marr Chase as the WR3 overall. I just know the boom is coming for someone whose underlying usage has not changed. Good as Tee Higgins is, I still believe there is a gulf between the two. The Ravens’ league-worst pass defense through the season’s first month is an excellent proving ground. … Tyreek Hill is going to miss Tua Tagovailoa, though he still managed to connect with Teddy Bridgewater for a 64-yard grab in Week 4. I am betting coach Mike McDaniel can scheme Hill looks with Teddy as easily as he can with Tua. It is possible that the majority of Bridgewater’s split-second decisions go Jaylen Waddle‘s way. Waddle’s groin “injury” is not considered a concern. … Davante Adams has scored 3-of-4 games and drawn 10-plus targets 3-of-4 outings. The ceiling is lower because Derek Carr is not Aaron Rodgers, but the floor remains the same, especially for potentially high-scoring dates like Sunday’s showdown with the Chiefs.

Back down to earth the past two weeks, Stefon Diggs’ only real concern for Week 5 is that 14-point favorite Buffalo takes its foot off the gas too early against the Steelers. That has not traditionally been Josh Allen and Sean McDermott‘s M.O. … Behind Diggs, Gabe Davis (ankle) has resumed practicing in full. Hopefully the past three weeks were just an injury speed bump. They still require Davis to be put on WR2 probation. … I will keep A.J. Brown ahead of Deebo Samuel because of how high AJB’s floor has been through the season’s first month. Brown has yet to catch fewer than five balls or post fewer than 69 yards. The Cardinals are a sensible spot to expect a blow-up effort. … Mike Evans’ Chiefs eruption was one of the easier Week 4 boxes to check. More surprising was Chris Godwin‘s 10 targets as he tries to fight his way back into WR2 shape. That robust usage was enough for me to return Godwin to the top 24, especially since the Bucs seem to be losing patience with the ground game. … Keenan Allen has yet to resume practicing since aggravating his hamstring injury. It is looking like another 10-plus look week for Mike Williams.

Both Amon-Ra St. Brown (ankle) and D.J. Chark (ankle) appear to be on the wrong side of questionable, creating some last-gasp WR4 appeal for Josh Reynolds against the Patriots’ tough pass defense. … CeeDee Lamb has reached at least 6/75 in three straight contests. The Rams have actually been mediocre in coverage, earning Pro Football Focus’ No. 19 overall grade. Lamb’s ceiling has been in short supply with Cooper Rush, but the floor remains quite nice. … With Darius Slay (forearm) practicing in full, target-magnet Marquise Brown is going to have his toughest test of the young season. He did manage to draw 17 looks against Jalen Ramsey‘s Rams in Week 3. The ball will find its way into Brown’s hands one way or another. The ceiling just might be capped. … Eliminated by the Eagles’ elite pass defense in Week 4, expect Christian Kirk to be liberated by the Texans. Lovie Smith‘s defense is actually playing solid coverage, but game script is enabling enemy wideouts to get home. … Injury issues and Matt Ryan have conspired to create a slow start for Michael Pittman. The Broncos’ Patrick Surtain-keyed coverage is another red flag for Week 5.

What is the state of the Steelers’ receiver corps post-Mitch Trubisky? We can certainly expect Kenny Pickett to venture further down the field, but that hardly means he’s a deep-ball aficionado. That figures to be especially true vs. the Bills’ elite pass defense. Diontae Johnson seemed to try the Steelers’ patience with his latest dropathon, but it stands to reason Pickett is going to need Diontae’s easy targets in his first career start. … As for George Pickens, you do not ignore 100-yard games by a rookie, even against the Bills. With the current WR4 logjam wanting for upside, I will give Pickens a rankings leg up on the Tyler Boyd tier. … Corey Davis was the Jets’ leading receiver in Zach Wilson‘s Week 4 debut, but impressive rookie Garrett Wilson actually played more snaps and ran more routes. He commanded a 22 percent target share. Although he posted a 2/41 dud in, you know, the stats that actually matter, there is reason to believe Garrett’s ascension will continue under Zach. … As for rookie wide receivers and their quarterbacks, there is no question Chris Olave would benefit from the return of Jameis Winston (back). Winston, however, has yet to resume practicing. The good news in fantasy is, Andy Dalton didn’t tank Olave in Week 4, while Michael Thomas (ankle) also remains sidelined.

DK Metcalf finally broke through in Week 4. It came against the league’s worst defense. The Saints and Marshon Lattimore are anything but. It could be a return to 6/60ville. … Falcons coach Arthur Smith has ratcheted Marcus Mariota‘s attempts down from 33 to 26 to 20 to 19. That’s a trend, and bad, bad news for Drake London. The Week 5 silver lining is that there is no way the Falcons can limit Mariota to fewer than 25 passes and be competitive against the Bucs. … 2022 is shaping up as a full-blown fiasco for Terry McLaurin. An inept Carson Wentz has targeted Curtis Samuel more than his should-be No. 1 wideout in all four contests. The Titans are bleeding fantasy receiver points, but there isn’t much reason to believe Wentz is going to suddenly unlock McLaurin. Jahan Dotson‘s (hamstring) likely absence does provide a Week 5 boost. … Rashod Bateman (foot) is trending in the wrong direction. Devin Duvernay is the only Ravens wideout worth even a WR5 dart throw in Bateman’s likely absence. … Are Allen Lazard and Romeo Doubs both settling in as WR3s? Lazard is coming off the biggest day all season by a Packers wideout while Doubs has reached eight targets in back-to-back starts. … What reason is there to expect different D.J. Moore and Allen Robinson results?