Fantasy WR PPR Rankings Week 5: Who to start, sit at wide receiver in fantasy football

Wide receivers often produce monster performances in PPR leagues, and they can do so without many splash plays. Our Week 5 fantasy WR PPR rankings are factoring in performances from the first four games, with a little more weight given to the most recent performances. Deciding who to start and who to sit at wide receiver can be a much different process in standard vs. PPR, especially after a month of subpar outings from a few stars and notable games from a few potential breakouts.

We'll have to continue to evaluate Pittsburgh's defense, but they still should be a top unit in the NFL. Unfortunately, the offense has put them in bad spots. That said, Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick (@ Steelers), who have been up and down this year, could be looking at quiet weeks. It remains to be seen who will start at QB for Denver, but Teddy Bridgewater (concussion) is better for both in terms of efficiency. Brandin Cooks (vs. Patriots) seemed to be matchup-proof prior to his down performance against the Bills, and we could see much of the same going against the Pats. However, the bad weather in Buffalo last week might have been at least part of the reason Cooks was held down.

WEEK 5 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

Tyler Boyd (vs. Packers) and Tee Higgins (if healthy) should have nice chances at big weeks. The Packers haven't been able to stop the pass, and Jaire Alexander will likely be tasked with shadowing Ja'Marr Chase. With all of the productive options Joe Burrow has, he could look Higgins' and Boyd's way often if Alexander is shutting down Chase. In the Cardinals-49ers game, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Rondale Moore, and Christian Kirk all look like solid options, though Kirk loses value in PPR with A.J. Green emerging as a more frequent target. The NFC West is going to produce shootouts all year long. Outside of the Rams, the entire division has weak secondaries. Corey Davis (vs. Falcons) had a decent game against Tennessee, and while the Falcons' defense continues to improve, they still don't scare us off any WRs. Jamison Crowder is also a borderline WR3 in PPR in that game after his impressive season debut.

WEEK 5 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

DeVonta Smith and Jalen Reagor (@ Panthers) are often found on the start-or-sit bubble, and even though the Panthers' defense was torched against Dallas, it's the first time we've seen it happen this year. It's safe to say anyone of the Eagles' offense is worrisome, and only Smith is worth trusting this week. The Steelers duo of JuJu Smith-Schuster (vs. Broncos) and Diontae Johnson (vs. Broncos) seem to have their ceilings capped Big Ben, and they shouldn't be in line for huge games. However, because we're talking about PPR here, they have to warrant some kind of starter consideration -- especially if Chase Claypool (hamstring) is out again. Kenny Golladay (@ Cowboys) finally put up a decent line against the Saints, but Dallas cornerback, Trevon Diggs is beginning to look like one of those "shutdown" defensive backs. Of course, a lot is up in the air with New York's offense, as Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton both missed last week because of hamstring injuries. We can't say who Diggs will be covering, so for now, consider Golladay and Shepard in play as WR3s until further notice.

WEEK 5 DFS LINEUPS: FanDuel | DraftKings | Yahoo

We'll monitor Claypool heading into next week, but we do know Rashod Bateman (vs. Colts), Tre'Quan Smith (@ Washington), and T.Y. Hilton (@ Ravens). Indianapolis is starving for WR production, and Hilton could return right away to being a target machine. None of these guys will be must-starts right away, but in deep leagues, you may be desperate for a wild card at WR. Any of these guys could fill that role. The same goes for Curtis Samuel (vs. Saints), who made his season debut last week. He should be particularly good in PPR going forward, especially with TE target-machine Logan Thomas (hamstring) banged up.

MORE WEEK 5 DFS: Best stacks | Best values | Lineup Builder

Several other players really get bumps in PPR leagues, including Emmanuel Sanders and Cole Beasley (@ Chiefs), Laviska Shenault (@ Titans), Randall Cobb (@ Bengals), DeVante Parker (vs. Broncos), Hunter Renfrow (vs. Bears), and Deonte Harris (@ Washington).

WEEK 5 FANTASY: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em

Hopefully, you're happy with your WR production after the first month of the season, but as always, there's a ton of under-the-radar value deep in the rankings, especially as we get a clearer picture of the position as a whole.

Note: We'll be updating our WR PPR rankings throughout the week, so check back for the latest player movement. For individual analysis of key WRs, click here.

​Fantasy WR PPR Rankings Week 5: Who to start at wide receiver

Rankings based on full-point PPR scoring