Fantasy Football: Week 5 Daily Fantasy Picks

Clayton Martino: DraftKings

Season:

Spent: $29

Won: $55

Last Week:

Entry: $3

Place: 495,964 out of 574356

Winnings: $0

More from Fantasy Football

Certainly my worst week of the year so far. None of my players reached the 20 point mark, and I had four guys score in single digits. I jumped on the Julio Jones train a week too late, and the Thomas Rawls gamble did not pay off in the slightest. Rather than break down my best and worst picks, let’s just move on from this mess and start new this week.

ALSO ON SPIN ZONE: Which QB is falling in our Power Rankings?

Week 5: NFL $1M Kickoff Million $3 Entry

QB Peyton Manning (at Oakland) $7,000

RB Le’Veon Bell (at San Diego) $8,500

RB Danny Woodhead (vs. Pittsburgh) $4,600

WR Kamar Aiken (vs. Cleveland) $3,800

WR Cole Beasley (vs. New England) $3,100

WR Demaryius Thomas (at Oakland) $8,100

TE Rob Gronkowski (at Dallas) $7,500

FLEX Travis Benjamin (at Baltimore) $4,500

DST Houston (vs. Indianapolis) $2,800

The return of the Gronk means big things for my team. Or at least so I hope. As I said a few weeks ago, until he gets hurt or teams figure out how to cover him, he’s going to be on my team every single week.

I elected to go with the Manning-Thomas combo at quarterback/receiver this week. I also considered Brady/Edelman and Palmer/Fitzgerald (and may have other teams with those combos) but after watching Cutler look pretty good against the Raiders last week, I think Manning could have a solid if not spectacular game.

I’m taking a bit of a risk at the other receiver positions with Aiken and Beasley, but this comes down to opportunity more than track record. If Steve Smith is out (and it looks like he will be), Aiken could be considered Flacco’s go to receiver. After watching Rivers shred the Browns last week, he could be in line for a big game.

The Patriots should take care of the Cowboys on Sunday, and will likely jump out to an early lead. This could lead to a lot of passes for Weeden, and somebody has to catch the ball. The Patriots’ secondary isn’t that impressive, so there should be some room for Beasley to make a few plays.

At running back, I really like the Bell/Woodhead combo. The Steelers will likely try to get Bell involved as much as possible with Roethlisberger out (see last week’s 31 fantasy football points for proof). Woodhead continues to be a huge part of the Chargers’ offense – he burned me once when I picked him, hopefully it doesn’t happen again.

Lastly, the Texans’ defense has been mediocre this season. Actually, scratch that. They’ve been bad. But they are facing a 40 year-old quarterback and a Colts team that is a disaster at the moment. If ever there was a time for the Houston defense to come up with a big game, it’s Thursday night.

Jeff Glauser: FanDuel

Season:

Spent: $6

Won: I don’t wanna talk about it

Last Week:

Entry: $1

Place: 46,506 out of 68,966

Winnings: That’s not important right now

Well, that sucked.

After weeks of making seemingly valid excuses of being out of the money ranks (points/standings are at least improving, someone got injured, penalties killed big plays, aliens took over Sam Bradford’s body, et al), I’m tapped out.

But this week? This week, it’s all going to change. No, really. You’ll see.

Best Pick – QB Andy Dalton

By default. But it was actually his lowest point total of the season. Cruel irony, considering the Bengals put up 36 in a route, but only one passing TD. Truthfully, only my kicker Robbie Gould exceeded expectations.

Worst Pick – TE Greg Olsen

I could have gone with “Everyone Else.” But just a week after putting up career numbers, Olsen laid an egg. I’ll forgive him, but only because he’s a fellow Cane.

Week 5: $175K NFL Squib $1 Entry

QB Alex Smith (vs. Chicago) $6900

RB Todd Gurley (@ Green Bay) $6700

RB Devonta Freeman (vs. Washington) $7600

WR Larry Fitzgerald (@ Detroit) $7400

WR Jeremy Maclin (vs. Chicago) $6900

WR Amari Cooper (vs. Denver) $7300

TE Rob Gronkowski (@ Dallas) $8400

K Cairo Santos (vs. Chicago) $4600

D Detroit (vs. Arizona) $4200

Alex Smith isn’t a sexy selection as a fantasy QB, but I’m picking on the Bears a little bit with three Chiefs (in fact, my lineup’s first draft also included Jamal Charles and Travis Kelce, until I remembered that Gronkowski is worth every penny of his salary regardless of what is is). That said, Smith has been quietly efficient and the Bears are tied for the most points allowed (with the Chiefs, naturally).

I’m riding the hot hand with both running backs. A healthy Gurley reminded everyone why he was so dominant in college. Meanwhile, Freeman’s proving he’s no fluke with his second consecutive 35-plus point outing. Here’s to a hat trick!

Fitzgerald seems to have found the fountain of youth this season and has clearly surpassed John Brown as Carson Palmer’s No. 1 receiving option again. Especially with a running game in flux, he should continue his momentum against the Lions.

Sep 28, 2015; Green Bay, WI, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (19) during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Green Bay won 38-28. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

After a slow start to the season, Maclin’s found his groove in his new digs: 19 receptions for 289 yards over the past two weeks. I’m hoping that paring him with Smith will be double the pleasure, double the points! Of course, it would help if he (or any Chiefs receiver) got some more targets in the end zone.

Cooper came back down to earth a little after consecutive weeks over 100 yards, but still caught a TD. Admittedly, he was my last slot to fill and seemed to be the best value available.

Gronkowski is the most dominant receiving tight end in the league and it’s not even close. He’s over six points ahead of the next highest fantasy player at TE; no other position has a gap more than 2.6. He also had a week off to rest up and be even Gronkier this Sunday.

As indicated earlier, I’m expecting the Chiefs to score a lot against Chicago. And considering Andy Reid’s redzone management skills, his kickers tend to remain busy. Hence Santos.

The Lions may be 0-4, but their defense was certainly not the issue last week against the Seahawks (Calvin Johnson’s grip and the referees? Different story).

Next: Week 5 Picks Against the Spread

More from NFL Spin Zone

Home/Fantasy Football