Fantasy Football Week Five: Starts of the Week

It is about that time in the week where you need to lock in who is going to be in your fantasy football lineups going into this weekend’s slate of games in the NFL. Whether you are trying to pick up your first win of the season or continuing your undefeated season it is important to put in the players that will get you the maximum number of points. First, here are the players you should start heading into week five:

Quarterback Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tom Brady is coming off of his best performance of the fantasy football season against the Kansas City Chiefs. The veteran quarterback threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday night. The passing attack was prevalent for the Buccaneers offense as they trailed from start to finish.

Brady will be getting a favorable matchup in week five when Tampa Bay welcome the Atlanta Falcons to Raymond James Stadium. He will be looking to continue a 25 point fantasy outing last week as he will be facing a Falcons defense that allows 18.6 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks.

Brady has shown in the past two meetings between the two teams that he can carve up Atlanta’s defense. In the two meeting last year, he threw for 276 yards and five touchdowns on September 19th. In their second meeting in 2021, Brady threw for 368 yards and four touchdowns.

Running Back James Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars

All of the hype before the fantasy season got kicked off was not surrounding James Robinson, but Travis Etienne. Many people believed that Robinson wouldn’t be healthy until late in the year, due to an achilles injury he suffered in December of the 2021 season.

Robinson has silenced all of the naysayers in the first four weeks of the season by becoming the RB1 for the Jaguars offense. Jacksonville’s running game had a tough time getting going against a physical front of the Eagles defensive line. Robinson accounted for only eight carries and 29 yards on the ground.

The 24-year old back will get an easier test this week as Jacksonville will face off against the Houston Texans. The Texans defense allows the most fantasy points per game (32.78) and rushing yards (564) to running backs. This will be a bounce back game for the Robinson and the Jaguars against one of the worst defenses in the league.

Wide Receiver Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints

Chris Olave continues to have an eye-catching 2022 rookie campaign with the Saints. He was named Rookie of the Month in the month of September for his performance on the field. Olave is coming off a game where he picked up his first career NFL touchdown and racked up 67 yards receiving.

The rookie wide receiver will look to continue his momentum against a Seattle defense that is struggling to defend the pass. Fantasy managers shouldn’t really worry who is under center for New Orleans in this matchup, because Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton have shown that Olave is their go-to target.

The Seahawks defense is coming off allowing 378 yards and four touchdowns to the Lions passing attack. Olave should continue to see increased volume this week as Michael Thomas remains on the injury report heading into this week’s matchup against Seattle.

Tight End Zach Ertz, Arizona Cardinals

Zach Ertz has consistently been one of the top tight ends in fantasy football this year. He has reached the double digits in every game and that can come at a premium at the tight end position.

Ertz will return to Philadelphia to face his former team as he will look to remain a focal point of the Cardinals offense against an Eagles defense that can be challenging to face off against. The veteran tight end will have a tough assignment against a solid Philadelphia defense.

The consistency and the fact that Ertz has cemented himself as one of Kyler Murray’s top targets will be hard to keep him on the bench even with the tough matchup against the Eagles. The Cardinals have been looking for Ertz in the red zone more often than not.

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Tyler Eschette: Sports Scramble Podcast, CFB Coast 2 Coast, SEC Talk, Olde City Sports Network