Fantasy Football: 5 Major sleepers with tasty Week 5 matchups

Five fantasy football sleepers that deserve consideration for your Week 5 lineup.

We are now about one-quarter of the way through the 2020 NFL season, and with every week comes a lot of new fantasy football storylines with Week 4 being no exception. Unfortunately, we saw both Nick Chubb and Austin Ekeler go down with injuries, with both expected to miss extended periods of time.

There are also numerous underperforming players that fantasy managers may finally be forced to cut ties with, such as Kenyan Drake and D.J. Moore, who are RB34 and WR35 on the year, respectively. The Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions are also on bye in Week 5.

All this considered, you may be forced to take a more unorthodox approach while forming your lineup this week. Here are five fantasy football sleepers with great matchups that have a chance to make an impact in your Week 5 lineup.

Note: All fantasy stats and info via Fantasy Pros.

Week 5 Fantasy Football Sleeper No. 5: QB Teddy Bridgewater, Carolina (vs. Atlanta)

Teddy Bridgewater carved up the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4 to the tune of 276 yards and two touchdowns, adding 32 yards and another touchdown on the ground. It is clear that Carolina is forming its offensive identity even without Christian McCaffrey and that Bridgewater is more than capable of leading.

In Week 5, he gets a dream matchup against an 0-4 Falcons team that boasts the league’s worst pass defense. With his rushing upside, Bridgewater should be treated as a QB1 in Week 5.

Week 5 Fantasy Football Sleeper No. 4: QB Kirk Cousins, Minnesota (vs. Seattle)

Cousins and the Vikings as a whole have had a rough 2020 thus far, with their Week 4 victory against Houston being the lone bright spot. However, they get a matchup against a pitiful Seattle defense that has yielded the QB8, QB2, QB4 and QB12 so far.

With Seattle also boasting the league’s second highest-scoring offense, Cousins will be forced to air it out whilst playing from behind. Cousins currently sits as the QB25 on the season, though his performance this week should bring that number up, if only for one week.

Week 5 Fantasy Football Sleeper No. 3: RB James White, New England (vs. Denver)

In Week 4, James White caught seven receptions on eight targets but only turned them into 38 yards. However, with it looking likely that Cam Newton will miss Week 5 due to his COVID diagnosis, the Patriots starter projects to be Brian Hoyer or Jarrett Stidham.

With White always being appealing as a check-down for less talented quarterbacks, he offers FLEX appeal in full PPR leagues with RB2 upside if he can find the end zone.

Week 5 Fantasy Football Sleeper No. 2: WR Justin Jefferson, Minnesota (vs. Seattle)

Justin Jefferson has been one of the more surprising offensive rookies so far this year and has posted back-to-back 100-yard performances. Now he draws a matchup with the worst defense in the NFL where his team should be playing from behind. Jefferson showed the world that he has incredible upside in Week 3 when he finished as the WR2 and therefore should be viewed as a high upside WR2 this week.

Week 5 Fantasy Football Sleeper No. 1: WR Tee Higgins, Cincinnati (vs. Baltimore)

Tee Higgins has also put together a solid rookie season thus far and, even though he has not put up any big games, he has firmly taken over the WR2 spot on the Bengals from A.J. Green. He has seen 16 targets in the past two weeks and should see similar volume in a game where they should be playing from behind against a Baltimore defense that has been vulnerable thus far.

I would not be rushing to slot him into your lineup over proven players but if you are in need of a spot start, he offers a strong floor with high touchdown upside and should be rostered in all leagues.