Top 10 Week 5 Fantasy Takeaways: Austin Ekeler, Leonard Fournette in Top Form

Taysom Hill goes nuts, but most tight ends continue to disappoint.

The fifth week of the fantasy season brought us more unpredictable totals from unlikely players (hello, Taysom Hill), but it also saw some of the top running backs make a statement in the stat sheets. We also experienced another sideways week at the tight end position, as no-names continued to produce while the players we drafted as starters floundered. I’m looking at you T.J. Hockenson and George Kittle.

Fantasy fans also saw the continued success of one of the most surprising players in the league at quarterback, while another signal-caller who was a fantasy star last season might be on the verge of becoming waiver-wire fodder. Those are among what I believe are the top 10 fantasy football story lines from this week that will no doubt affect your starting lineup decisions moving forward.

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Austin Ekeler puts a statistical shock into the Browns. For the second straight week, Ekeler put the Chargers and fantasy managers on his back. The talented runner rushed for 173 yards and one score while also posting four catches for 26 yards and a second touchdown in a win over Cleveland. All told, Ekeler posted 35.9 fantasy points. That bested the 34.9 points he scored in Week 4. After somewhat of a slow start, Ekeler has once again proven he’s an elite fantasy runner.

• MMQB: Week 5 Game Balls

Lombardi Lenny becomes Fantasy Fournette this week. Ekeler wasn’t the lone running back to have a big week, as Fournette also produced 35.9 fantasy points versus the Falcons. He was a pass-catching machine, posting 10 receptions for 83 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for 56 yards and another score in the contest. Fournette has now scored a combined 54.3 fantasy points in his last two games, and an upcoming matchup against the Steelers is a favorable one.

Taysom Hill goes absolutely bananas against the Seahawks. Folks, I didn’t see this one coming (Hill was my sit of the week at tight end), but the versatile jack of all trades busted out against the Seahawks. He rushed for three touchdowns, threw for a touchdown, recovered a fumble and had a 25-yard kickoff return. All told, he scored 34.1 fantasy points. Though I do think his role could diminish when Jameis Winston returns, Hill will no doubt be one of the top adds off the waiver wire.

Christian McCaffrey looks like Christian McCaffrey. The Panthers aren’t a very good offense, but at least CMC is getting heavy usage as a receiver lately. That wasn’t the case in the first three games, where he had 10 catches for just 57 yards. He’s seen a combined 16 catches over the last two weeks, however, and that has equated to a combined 49.2 fantasy points. That’s the kind of production fantasy fans are looking for from the fantasy superstar. If you’re concerned about McCaffrey’s recent lack of durability, now is the time to sell high on him. 

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Apparently, Geno Smith is now the real fantasy deal. I said I’d give Smith props if he had a big day in New Orleans, and that’s exactly what he did. The veteran threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns against the Saints, and he might have had a fourth score if not for a holding penalty. In all, Smith put up 24 fantasy points and has now scored more than 50 combined points in his last two games. He’s been better than the quarterback he replaced in Seattle, Russell Wilson, and should be owned in all leagues. Those are your kudos from this fantasy analyst.

It's now time to freak out about Najee Harris. The Steelers offense is a disaster, and it’s shown in the totals of Harris the past two weeks. In that time, he’s seen a combined 32 touches and is averaging a brutal 2.9 yards per rush.  More importantly, Harris has scored 14 fantasy points in those two games. He’s now morphed into a matchup-based starter, which is a huge fall from the must-start status he earned as a rookie. I’d try to trade Harris, but you likely won’t get much.

Gabe Davis goes off in a win over the Steelers. Speaking of Pittsburgh, their defense gave it up to Davis and the Bills. He caught just three passes in the game, but two of them went for long touchdowns (one for 98 yards, another for 62 yards). It was a very Randy Moss-esque stat line, and it made fantasy managers who started him look brilliant. His next contest is against the Chiefs, whom Davis beat for four touchdowns in the 2021 postseason. Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Josh Allen. He scored more than 30 points in the first half and finished with 35.2. He has scored 30-plus points 12 times in his last 38 games.

Breece Hall is coming into his own in fantasy land. Hall had two catches, 197 scrimmage yards and scored one touchdown against the Dolphins, finishing with 27.7 fantasy points. He could have been even better, too, as Hall was tackled at the 1-yard line twice and was vultured by Michael Carter both times. The rookie has passed his backfield mate in terms of snaps and touches and should remain in fantasy lineups as a No. 2 runner in Week 6 against the Packers.

Matthew Stafford could be droppable in leagues. Stafford was one of the top fantasy quarterbacks in the league last season, but that hasn’t been the case through five weeks in 2022. He’s getting destroyed by aggressive defenses behind a Swiss cheese offensive line, which has caused him to produce more turnovers than touchdowns. After being crushed by the Cowboys, Stafford has now failed to score more than 10.3 fantasy points in all but one game this season. In what’s been a difficult campaign to predict, I’d rather have Geno Smith than Stafford now.

George Kittle is no longer a must-start player. The tight end position is terrible, and Kittle’s lack of production isn’t helping matters. He scored just 7.7 fantasy points against the Panthers and has put up fewer than eight points in six straight games dating back to last season. Fantasy managers who have Zach Ertz, Tyler Higbee or even David Njoku should consider sitting Kittle. Another note on tight ends … non-fantasy starters Taysom Hill, Evan Engram, Adam Trautman, Daniel Bellinger, Cade Otton, Zach Gentry and Eric Saubert are in the top 12 heading into the Sunday night game in Baltimore. Things are tough on these fantasy streets!

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Notes

• Fantasy fans finally got a nice stat line from Alvin Kamara, who posted six catches and 194 total yards against the Seahawks. The six receptions were the most he’s had in a single game since Week 7 of last season, and part of that had to do with the fact that Andy Dalton was under center. If you can sell high on Kamara after this impressive performance, I’d certainly listen to offers.

• Remember when Trevor Lawrence had three touchdown passes against the Chargers? Well, he’s been awful ever since. In his last two games, he’s had two touchdown passes and a combined seven turnovers in losses to the Eagles and Texans. His poor play has also halted the value of Christian Kirk, who was on fire in the first three weeks but has just three catches for 71 yards in his last two games. They’ll look to turn things around against the AFC South-rival Colts next.

• The Dolphins lost Teddy Bridgewater (concussion, elbow) against the Jets, leaving third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson to play most of the team’s loss to the Jets. With Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) already out and Tyreek Hill (foot) leaving the stadium in a walking boot, the Dolphins could be at a huge disadvantage next week against the Vikings. If Thompson were thrust into a starting role, it would be a huge downgrade for both Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

• Rashaad Penny left Sunday’s game against the Saints with a fractured tibia, leaving rookie Ken Walker to take over as the team’s lead back. He looked good in the role, scoring on a 69-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. He figures to be the biggest add in fantasy football heading into Week 6 as Seattle’s new lead back, as Penny is out indefinitely and won’t be back anytime soon.

• Brian Robinson made his NFL debut this weekend, and it was bad news for the value of Antonio Gibson. While neither made a major fantasy impact, the rookie saw nine touches compared to six for Gibson. With J.D. McKissic (five touches) also in the mix, it’ll be tough to trust Commanders runners on a regular basis. I’d still be looking to add Robinson if he’s available, however.

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Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on Sports Illustrated and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Click here to read all his articles here on SI Fantasy. You can follow Michael on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram for your late-breaking fantasy news and the best analysis in the business!