Fantasy Football Rankings For Week 5: Bhayshul Tuten Upgrades In Early Look At Week 5 Ranks

We're a quarter of the way through the season and have four data points at our disposal. With bye weeks officially beginning this week, let's take an early spin through Matthew Freedman's fantasy football rankings for Week 5 and see who the biggest standouts are.

Week 5 Fantasy Football Rankings Early Look

Kyren Williams | RB | Rams

Last Week: RB16
Week 5 Rank: RB5

Kyren Williams captured the No. 1 spot in Dwain McFarland's Week 5 Utilization Report after posting his best week of the season in Week 4. He played on 82% of the snaps (season-high), commanded 73% of the rush attempts (season-high), ran 69% of the routes (tied for season-high), and posted 31.7 half-PPR points, good for an RB1 overall finish. That marks back-to-back weeks with a Utilization Score of 91 or higher, as his snap share, rush share, and other underlying metrics have trended up as the season has gone on. Blake Corum is always a risk to siphon touches, but if Sean McVay is dedicated to his hot-hand approach, Williams' hands are scorching.

The Rams draw an exciting matchup against the Bills in what should be a back-and-forth, high-scoring game. If the Rams trail in this game, we should continue to see Williams dominate the pass-game usage, and if they get out ahead, he should be able to carve up a Bills defense that is surrendering the 5th-highest fantasy boost to RBs this season (+3.5 points per game).

Bhayshul Tuten | RB | Jaguars

Last Week: RB20
Week 5 Rank: RB15

Speaking of running backs trending in the right direction, Bhayshul Tuten feels like he is on the cusp of a breakout despite his surface-level box score leaving more to be desired. He's seen meaningful increases each week of the season in the most important underlying metrics, pointing to a slow takeover of the Jaguars' backfield:

Snaps: 48% -> 49% -> 49% -> 57%
Rush Attempts: 54% -> 54% - > 54% -> 68%
Routes: 32% -> 38% -> 28% -> 41%
Targets: 5% -> 7% -> 8% -> 9%
Utilization Score: 51 -> 59 -> 64 -> 66

While his RB27 finish in Week 4 was his lowest mark of the season, everything is trending in the right direction. He's still losing goal-line work (no carries inside the five-yard line in Week 4), but his slow uptick in pass-game involvement shows that LeQuint Allen isn't taking all of that production away, and he's continuing to get more of the base work as each week progresses.

He now gets to face off with a Philly team in disarray that has allowed the 7th-most rushing yards per game (106.3) and a massive amount of opportunities per game (31.8, 2nd-highest) to RBs this season.

Emanuel Wilson | RB | Seahawks

Last Week: RB29
Week 5 Rank: RB18

The Seahawks backfield has been a nightmare for fantasy football this season, and the Joe Mixon signing yesterday will only muddy the waters more as we await Zach Charbonnet's return, but Emanuel Wilson has solidified himself as the most valuable piece in the room as things stand. He drew a legitimate workhorse role last week with Jadarian Price on IR, commanding 70% of the rush attempts on 59% of the snaps with a 21% target share (0.44 targets per route run) on a 35% route share. All of this resulted in a box score boom of 25.5 half-PPR points (RB6) and an 88 Utilization Score.

With George Holani still only mixing in as a change-of-pace option (23% rush attempts, 31% routes in Week 4), Wilson is positioned to lead the backfield again in Week 5 against a Niners defense giving up the largest opportunity boost (+5.6) and 6th-highest fantasy boost (+2.3) to opposing running backs this season.

Josh Downs | WR | Colts

Last Week: WR14
Week 5 Rank: WR22

Josh Downs is the only player in this column that I am highlighting with a lower Week 5 ranking than where he was ranked in Week 4, but he still sits as a back-end WR2 with upside, and the concern stems not from Downs himself, but from the offensive environment overall.

The Colts were gifted a golden opportunity against the Commanders in London last week to absolutely smash in the pass game. Going into last week, Washington had been surrendering the 5th-highest fantasy boost (+4.1) to receivers, and the Colts had the 6th-highest projected team total (25.95 points) in Freedman's NFL Betting Game Model. On top of the matchup, Downs was positioned for a massive role with both Alec Pierce and Keenan Allen sidelined.

While there were very bullish signals—Downs posted a season-high route rate (95%)—he finished merely as the WR78 on the season with 3.1 fantasy points on a measly 12% target share as the Colts hammered the Commanders on the ground. It was easily Daniel Jones' worst showing of the season, as he posted season-lows in aDOT (4.6 yards), completion percentage (56%), and yards per attempt (4.2), showing the fragility he brings to the table for these receivers, having not finished better than QB28 in any week this season.

Still, Downs should have the chance to bounce back in Week 5 should Allen miss again and is a borderline WR2 who, to me, profiles more as a strong FLEX play.

Romeo Doubs | WR | Patriots

Last Week: WR42
Week 5 Rank: WR27

From a wide receiver dropping 8 spots to one steaming up 15 (!) spots in the rankings week over week, Romeo Doubs (and the Patriots pass game, in general) finally got off the schneid in Week 4. While Doubs' route rate was his lowest of the season (68%), his target share (27%) and targets per route run (0.28) were his highest marks of the season, and his 16.4-yard aDOT on the year shows a lot of big-play upside.

He posted 20.8 half-PPR points on a 91 Utilization Score for a top-10 WR finish and gets the chance to follow it up against a Raiders team that ranks in the top half of the league in receiving yards allowed to opposing wide receivers (+2.9) in a game where Freedman's game model has the Patriots projected for the fifth-most points on the slate (25). He's a serviceable FLEX with upside and could establish himself as a trustworthy WR3 if Drake Maye continues to string together strong performances.