Fantasy Football Upside in Week 5 (2022)

October 8, 2022 Team Fantasy In Frames
Fantasy Football Upside for Week 5 Fantasy In Frames

Welcome to our team’s weekly article on Fantasy Football Upside in player performance for the upcoming week!

Each week we’re going to list players that we believe will outperform their Fantasy Pros half-PPR Expert Consensus Rankings, thereby giving you the advantage in setting your lineups for each week’s slate of games. So sit back, relax, and enjoy reading our article on Fantasy Football Upside in Week 5!

Quarterback

Teddy Bridgewater

Thru 4 weeks, my fantasy football upside plays for this article have been bad. For the 4th straight week, the QB I selected, last week Ryan Tannehill, my QBs selected for this article have finished 19th,18th,18th, and 20th. Not a lot of upside with those finishing positions for the Quarterbacks I hoped would be a QB1 for the week.

Thank goodness our DFS plays on The Daily Fix Podcast have been straight-fire, or I might be removed from the Fantasy In Frames team altogether, lol. However, this week I feel more bullish about my pick outside the Top 12 to finish the week as a QB1, than any thus far this season. 

That is because I am going with Teddy Bridgewater of the Miami Dolphins, versus the New York Jets.

Last week Teddy in just over 2 quarters of play, was the 24th QB for the week. If you gave him just under half of those points in the second half, he would have finished QB 9, ahead of Justin Herbert. Teddy has started over 30 games at QB over the past 3 seasons, his completion percentage has been between 66.9% to 69.1% each year, and has thrown 42 touchdowns to 20 interceptions. Bridgewater is a very competent Quarterback who can be accurate and beat teams over the top, and has running capabilities as well. In the last 2 seasons, he has rushed for 385 yards and 7 touchdowns. 

The main reason I am so giddy about Teddy B versus this Jets D is the fact the secondary has been burnt by every quality receiver they’ve played but Diontae Johnson. In week 1, Rashod Bateman put up 60 yards and a touchdown, to go along with Duvernay catching two touchdown passes. Week 2 Amari Cooper of the Browns caught 9 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. Week 3 Tee Higgins had 100 over 100 yards receiving, Ja’Marr Chase caught a touchdown, and Tyler Boyd had 90 yards receiving with a touchdown as well. Last week rookie George Pickens went over 100 yards receiving versus this secondary; 70 of those yards came in the second half with rookie QB Kenny Pickett getting his first regular-season NFL action. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are two of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL, and I find it hard to believe they will not have serious success against this secondary. Finally, the best part about Teddy is that we know the Dolphins will not be able to rely on the run, even on a bad defense. Through 4 games, the Dolphins’ rushing attack only has 232 yards on 67 carries, at a measly 3.4 yards per rush attempt.

Running Back

Rachaad White

The objective of chasing upside is to highlight a running back ranked beyond the top 24 that you may not think to start, but you should. That means I usually pick a running back ranked around RB30. I wanted to dig deeper this week. Rachaad White, FantasyPros ECR RB42, should be in your starting lineups if you have at least two flex spots.

Rachaad White had a slow start to his rookie season through the first three weeks. As a rookie playing behind an established veteran, there is nothing wrong with that. However, his workload shifted positively in Week 4. White had a season-high 38% snap share. Typically, that’s not impressive, but the game flow use was the encouraging part. White is known for being a skilled pass-catching running back. That was on display catching all five of his targets for 50 yards. The encouraging part was that he wasn’t just on the field for third downs. He played entire drives and stayed on the field near the goal line and scored from the one yard-line. Fournette would play two drives then White would get a drive for himself. Neither Fournette nor White ran well against the Chiefs, but White is earning more playing time.

 The Buccaneers play the Falcons this week. According to PFF, the Falcons are the 25th-graded run defense and 19th-graded overall defense. Rachaad White could have 10+ opportunities with at least half of them as targets, which are statistically more valuable than carries. We already know he will stay on the field in the redzone and the goal line. Rachaad White still has risk, and his value will increase as the season continues, but this week you can chase the upside with White in your flex spot in a good matchup.

Kareem Hunt

I just can’t quit you, and if your name is Kareem Hunt, then you are the person I am referring to. Unfortunately, Kareem Hunt has had three disappointing outings in as many consecutive weeks.  However, this is not for lack of opportunity, it simply just hasn’t happened for Hunt, and I believe this will be the week.  His chances have not diminished, evidenced by his continuing to receive around a 50% snap share and totaling 15, 15, 16, and 13 opportunities in weeks one through four. While Hunt is the Browns RB2 you would have to squint hard to tell that if you look at 10 zone rushing attempts where Nick Chubb has received 8 and Hunt is right on his tail with 6.  The talent of Hunt is well known as he could be the starting running back for what might be 27 NFL teams, but the Browns are one of the five that are not.  

I throw all of these numbers at you to set the narrative that Kareem Hunt is not an afterthought in this offense; he simply hasn’t caught the breaks that are necessary to catch to be a high-performing fantasy running back.  Hunt is receiving only two fewer opportunities per game than in weeks 1-7 in 2021 when he was the RB8.  These past three weeks have sufficiently deflated Hunt’s fantasy value to the masses. Nevertheless, he remains a solid flex play and RB2 start for those of you who went zero RB to start the year or have been bit by the injury bug. Big picture, Hunt is a buy-low in season-long formats as his health is protected by having The Hulk as the RB1 on his team.  

If, after reading this, you are still reeling about if you want to start Kareem Hunt or someone like Tyler Allgeier, remember the matchup.  A Chargers team that does not have Joey Bosa allows the 4th most fantasy points to the running back position four weeks into the year, finishing behind only the Texans, Lions, and Seahawks. So if you have Kareem Hunt toiling on your bench, put him into the game and let boobie spin!

Wide Receiver

Romeo Doubs

It’s not often that Aaron Rodgers finds a rookie WR he trusts, but that appears to be a trend that former Nevada pass-catcher Romeo Doubs is bucking. The fourth-round pick has outshone fellow rookie WR Christian Watson, who was taken two rounds ahead of Doubs and is establishing himself as the new number-one target in Titletown. Doubs currently leads Green Bay in targets, receptions, yards and TD receptions and will be up against a Giants pass defense that ranks 31st in yards allowed.

Curtis Samuel

The former Panther is off to a hot start this season. Samuel leads the league in snaps from the slot, and that is advantageous when your QB seems to have zero protection from his offensive line. The former Buckeye sits inside the NFL’s top-10 in receptions and should see his fair share of targets on Sunday as the Commanders take on the Tennessee Titans without 2022 first-round receiver Jahan Dotson.

Tight End

Tyler Conklin

The barren wasteland of tight end continues to become even bleaker. The position has seen several further injuries in recent days meaning there are limited upside options outside the top ten in FantasyPros’ ECR.

One player who does fit the bill once again, however, is Jets tight end, Tyler Conklin. As I wrote two weeks ago, Conklin has cemented himself as the TE1 after moving to New York in the off-season, seeing a consistent snap share and targets each week. In his first week back post-injury, Wilson continued to utilize Conklin in the passing game, with the tight end seeing a further five targets against the Steelers. He turned this into three catches for 52 yards. Conklin now ranks 7th in targets at the tight-end position with 29. He also leads the team in receptions with 21 and is only behind Garrett Wilson in targets.

This week the Jets face division rivals the Miami Dolphins, a favorable matchup on paper for tight ends this season. Over the first four weeks of the season, the Dolphins have allowed the sixth-most points to the position in half-PPR scoring, according to FantasyData. With this matchup, and given the Jets remain one of the most pass-heavy teams in the league, Conklin provides fantasy managers with a high-upside option again this coming week.

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Thanks for reading our Fantasy Football Upside in Week 5 article.

Don’t forget to check out our weekly rankings here!

Now go out there and crush your matchups this week!