This story is one that can bring great joy or sorrow trying to find the best Sleepers & Duds for our lineups in Week 5.
But it’s the joys and sorrows in real life that keep us grounded when our fantasy teams prevail or falter.
It’s been a humbling month and a half into the fantasy season as I have celebrated my son and daughter-in-law’s wedding last weekend, but have dealt with a death in the family and a death of a former colleague since the end of August. It just shows us that this great game fantasy football is just a small part of our lives.
But we still go on in life and head into each week of the fantasy season trying to find that endless joy!
Let’s get into this week’s Sleepers & Duds!
QB Sleepers
Sam Darnold, Seattle
Darnold may not put up godly numbers in the passing game for the Seahawks, but he’s efficient.
He is currently second in the league in yards per pass attempt at 9.0 yards per attempt, where the league average is around 7 yards per attempt.
Now the Buccaneers enter the game as a Top 10 team in fantasy points allowed to QBs at 19.0 points a game, according to Blitz Sports Media fantasy points allowed by position.
And Tampa Bay will be without cornerbacks Jamel Dean and Benjamin Morrison.
QB Duds
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay
Mayfield is on the other side of the contest against the Seahawks and he faces one of the league’s top secondaries.
Plus, Mayfield has struggled in his career vs. Seattle. He has averaged only 198 passing yards while throwing for only 1 touchdown and tossing 4 interceptions.
His top WR Emeka Egbuka has been playing banged up for the last two weeks, and veteran Chris Godwin struggled in his first game back after last year’s gruesome ankle injury.
RB Sleepers
David Montgomery, Detroit
Montgomery is in a prime spot to earn some garbage time stats as the Lions head to Cincinnati as 10.5-point road favorites. And the Lions also have an implied team total of 30 points.
Detroit is averaging 36.7 points since its opening day loss to Green Bay. There should be plenty of offense for the Lions to distribute to their elite backfield.
Plus, the Bengals are a bottom 10 run defense in the NFL, giving up 135.8 rushing yards a game this season.
RB Duds
Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas
Jeanty finally had his breakout performance in last week’s three-touchdown game for the Raiders, but now he faces the Colts’ Top 10 rush defense. Indianapolis has limited running games to only 96.0 yards a game.
And the Colts have been stingy in fantasy points allowed to RBs this season. The Colts give only 16.1 fantasy points a game, according to our Blitz’s fantasy points allowed by position.
And before last week’s big outburst, Jeanty was only averaging 8.57 PPR points a game
WR Sleepers
Luke McCaffrey, Washington
This call is more of a gut feeling with the Washington WR corps depleted.
Terry McLaurin (quad) and Noah Brown (groin/knee) are both missing the Commanders’ game at the LA Chargers.
And Deebo Samuel Sr. is dealing with a heel injury.
But McCaffrey has played well enough the last two weeks to make this not a complete gut call. He has averaged 12.4 points the last two weeks, including two TDs. With bye weeks starting and a plethora of injuries around the league, McCaffrey could be a great fill-in this week.
WR Duds
Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay
If I’m staying away from Mayfield, Egbuka’s success could take a hit too.
The Seahawks give up only 24.4 fantasy points to WRs combined, and Egbuka’s two biggest receptions the last two weeks account for 58 percent of his 186 receiving yards.
The longest completions the Seattle has given to WRs this season has been a 45-yarder by Ricky Pearsall and a 22-yarders by Calvin Austin III. Now they have struggled vs. receiving running backs. Jaylen Warren (65 yards), Christian McCaffrey (25) and Kyle Juszczyk (25) each have a reception of 25 or more yards.
TE Sleepers
Darren Waller, Miami
One game off the injury list, and Waller is making noise in Miami.
The veteran TE who came out of retirement to join the Dolphins and played a big role in their first win of the season. He had three catches for 27 yards and two Red Zone touchdowns.
And with Tyreek Hill out for the rest of the season, Waller could play a bigger role in the offense. He had a 16 percent target share in the Monday night game and it should increase as he gets into game shape.
Carolina is a bottom 5 team in TE fantasy points allowed this season at 10.3.
TE Duds
Brock Bowers, Las Vegas
Last year’s tight end darling has struggled this season as a knee injury has slowed him down the last two games.
Bowers led the Raiders in target share last season at almost 26 percent but has seen his numbers drop down to 22 percent this season.
And now he is facing a Colts defense that has limited TE fantasy scoring to 11.2 points a game
Now is the time to join our team here at Blitz Sports Media! We are offering 15 percent off of memberships using the code winnow as we offer three levels, including our premium Hall of Fame level. Check it out! This will be the area I will be also provide my spreadsheet each week for each position in DFS.
Plus, don’t forget to check out our affiliates for some bonus cash with our promos.
– Follow me on X (formerly Twitter) @fantasyfbguru2 or on Bluesky @fantasyfbguru2.bsky.social and don’t forget to check our main page with coverage of college football, NFL, fantasy football and a few best bets added.
