Fantasy Stars
Week 5 fantasy football rankings: Cowboys-Packers should be fantasy gold
Oct 6, 2017, 8:20 am
Below are my PPR fantasy rankings for Week 5. Most leagues are using points per reception these days, so take that into consideration when looking at the ranks. Six points are awarded for every receiving and rushing TD, and four points for every passing TD. If you are playing in a non-PPR league, pass-catching running backs lose a bit of value and so do possession receivers. Make sure you check the status of players that have been limited or out of practice.
I will update rankings throughout the week, so make sure you check back before kickoff on Sunday. If you have any start-sit questions, feel free to hit me up at @jordanpfx on Twitter, and I will do my best to get to every question. Include your scoring system with your questions. Good luck!
1 A. Rodgers GB
2 D. Prescott DAL
3 R. Wilson SEA
4 B. Roethlisberger PIT
5 D. Watson HOU
6 E. Manning NYG
7 C. Wentz PHI
8 C. Palmer ARI
9 C. Newton CAR
10 A. Smith KC
11 M. Stafford DET
12 P. Rivers LAC
13 J. Cutler MIA
14 A. Dalton CIN
15 T. Taylor BUF
16 S. Bradford MIN *questionable knee
17 J. McCown NYJ
18 J. Brissett IND
19 J. Goff LAR
20 B. Bortles JAC
21 M. Mariota *questionable hamstring
22 D. Carr *questionable back
1 L. Bell PIT
2 E. Elliott DAL
3 L. McCoy BUF
4 T. Gurley LAR
5 K. Hunt KC
6 J. Ajayi MIA
7 C. Hyde SF
8 D. Murray TEN
9 L. Fournette JAC
10 M. Gordon LAC
11 J. Howard CHI
12 L. Miller HOU
13 B. Powell NYJ
14 F. Gore IND
15 M. Lynch OAK
16 L. Blount PHI
17 J. Mixon CIN
18 C. McCaffrey CAR
19 D. Johnson CLE
20 A. Abdullah DET
21 A. Ellington ARI
22 T. Cohen CHI
23 I. Crowell CLE
24 A. Jones GB
25 W. Gallman NYG
26 L. Murray MIN
27 A. Collins BAL
28 J. Allen BAL
29 E. McGuire NYJ
30 J. Stewart CAR
31 T. Rawls SEA
32 J. Williams GB
33 G. Bernard CIN
34 D. Henry TEN
35 E. Lacy SEA
36 C. Clement PHI
37 J. McKissic SEA
38 J. McKinnon MIN
39 T. Riddick DET
40 D. Foreman HOU
1 A. Brown PIT
2 J. Nelson GB
3 D. Bryant DAL
4 A. Green CIN
5 O. Beckham NYG
6 D. Hopkins HOU
7 S. Diggs MIN
8 T. Hill KC
9 L. Fitzgerald ARI
10 D. Baldwin SEA
11 K. Allen LAC
12 D. Parker MIA
13 T. Hilton IND
14 A. Thielen MIN
15 R. Cobb GB
16 G. Tate DET
17 J. Landry MIA
18 P. Garcon SF
19 D. Adams GB *If he's active I would roll with him
20 K. Benjamin CAR
21 C. Kupp LAR
22 M. Bryant PIT
23 Jaron Brown ARI
24 A. Cooper OAK
25 T. Williams LAC
26 A. Hurns JAC
27 D. Funchess CAR
28 M. Crabtree OAK
29 S. Watkins LAR
30 R. Matthews TEN
31 A. Jeffery PHI
32 B. Marshall NYG
33 W. Fuller HOU
34 J. Maclin BAL
35 K. Wright CHI
36 S. Shepard NYG
37 P. Richardson SEA
38 J. Kearse NYJ
39 J. Nelson ARI
40 R. Anderson NYJ
1 T. Kelce KC
2 Z. Ertz PHI
3 J. Graham SEA
4 C. Clay BUF
5 H. Henry LAC
6 K. Rudolph MIN
7 A. Seferian-Jenkins NYJ
8 M. Bennett GB
9 D. Walker TEN
10 E. Engram NYG
11 J. Witten DAL
12 B. Watson BAL
13 A. Gates LAC
14 T. Croft CIN
15 J. Cook OAK
16 R. Griffin HOU
17 J. Thomas MIA
18 E. Ebron DET
19 D. Njoku CLE
20 M. Lewis JAC
1 Vikings
2 Seahawks
3 Eagles
4 Steelers
5 Ravens
6 Giants
7 Bills
8 Jets
9 Cardinals
10 Rams
11 Lions
12 Chiefs
13 Texans
14 Panthers
15 Bengals
16 49ers
17 Dolphins
18 Packers
19 Titans
20 Colts
21 Raiders
22 Chargers
23 Jaguars
24 Cowboys
1 J. Elliott PHI
2 M. Crosby GB
3 D. Bailey DAL
4 C. Boswell PIT
5 J. Tucker BAL
6 G. Zuerlein LAR
7 H. Butker KC
8 M. Prater DET
9 K. Fairbairn HOU
10 A. Vinatieri IND
11 A. Rosas NYG
12 R. Gould SF
13 P. Dawson ARI
14 R. Succop TEN
15 R. Bullock CIN
17 B. Walsh SEA
18 G. Tavecchio OAK
19 C. Parkey MIA
20 K. Forbath MIN
21 G. Gano CAR
22 J. Myers JAC
The Astros have already been swept in four series this season. They were swept in four series all of last season. As Mexico City says bienvenidos to the Astros this weekend, there are certainly more than a few folks fretting that the Astros are already close to saying adios to playoff hopes. The Astros are not at the point of no return, though one can see it out there on the horizon. It wouldn’t take another month of their garbage level 7-19 performance for the season to be essentially down the drain.
If the Astros were in the American League East, they’d already be ten games out of second place. But they’re not! If in the AL Central they’d be eleven and a half games back of Cleveland. But they’re not! Dozens of teams have rebounded to win divisions from larger deficits much later in the season than the Astros face presently. The Seattle Mariners lead the thus far weak AL West at 13-12. The Astros being six and a half games in arrears of the M’s and six back of the Texas Rangers in late April is far from optimal but nowhere near devastating.
Multiple media outlets have noted how few teams historically have started a season in as stumblebum a fashion as the 2024 Astros and wound up making the playoffs. What every outlet I have seen noting that failed to include: this is just the third season since Major League Baseball added a third Wild Card to each league’s postseason field. So, while 7-19 out of the gate is indisputably awful, it is not the death knell to the extent it has been over generations of MLB.
The issue isn’t where the Astros sit in the standings, it’s that they have played atrocious baseball and aren’t providing reason for optimism that a stark turnaround is imminent. The starting rotation is the best hope. Justin Verlander has made two starts. Framber Valdez rejoins the rotation Sunday. Cristian Javier should be a week or so away. Obviously, Ronel Blanco isn’t going to continue pitching as well as he has through his first four starts. But if he is a good number four starter, that’s fine if the top three coming into the season pitch to reasonably hoped for form.
Hunter Brown simply is not a good big league pitcher. Maybe he someday fulfills his potential, but the data at this point are clear. What can Brown do for you? Not much. Spencer Arrighetti needs better command to be a good big league starter. J.P. France was a revelation over his first 17 starts last season, but since has looked like the guy who posted underwhelming numbers when in the minor leagues. If the Astros wind up with 50-plus starts from Brown/Arrighetti/France their goose will probably be cooked.
The only MLB teams with worse staff earned run averages than the Astros’ horrific 5.07 are the Chicago White Sox (Wait! They have Martin Maldonado!) and Colorado Rockies. At 3-22 the White Sox are on an early pace to post the worst record in the history of Major League Baseball. The Rockies never have a chance to post good pitching stats because of the mile high offensive freak show environment in Denver.
Way to go, Joe
Props to Joe Espada for his conviction in making what he believed to be the right call in pulling Verlander after four and a third innings Thursday at Wrigley Field. Verlander allowed no runs but had reached 95 pitches in just the second outing of the injury-delayed start to his season. Not easy for a rookie manager skippering what has been a Titanic journey thus far to pull a surefire Hall of Famer who was two outs away from qualifying for a win. Many were no doubt poised to destroy Espada had Rafael Montero given up the lead in the fifth. Verlander was angry at being pulled from any chance at his 259th career win. Understood, but the manager’s job is to make the decisions he thinks are in the ballclub’s overall best interest. That Montero and Bryan Abreu combined to blow the lead in the sixth is immaterial.
Then there's the offense…
Six runs total the last four games. Scored more than four runs in just one of the last nine games. Timely hitting largely non-existent.
At last check Alex Bregman still hawks that “Breggy Bomb” salsa. At the plate, he’s been mostly stuck in “Breggy Bum” mode, including zero bombs (home runs). 23 games played without a homer is Bregman’s longest drought since 2017 when he had separate 35 and 27 game stretches between dingers. Bregman has a history of slow first months of the season, but never anything as inept as he’s posted thus far. A litany of lazy fly balls, infield pops, and routine grounders add up to a .216 batting average and feeble .566 OPS. Reference point: Martin Maldonado’s worst OPS season with the Astros was .573. If Bregman was a young guy handed a starting job coming out of spring training, if a viable alternative were available, there’s a chance he’d be a Sugar Land Space Cowboy right now. Bregman’s track record makes it a decent bet that he winds up with decent numbers, but nothing special. Certainly nothing remotely worth the 10 years 300 million dollars or whatever Bregman and agent Scott Boras intend(ed) to seek on the free agent market this coming offseason. Two hits Thursday did get Bregman to the 1000 hit plateau for his career.
Despite arriving south of the border with his batting average at .346, even Jose Altuve has his warts. With runners in scoring position, Altuve has one hit this season. One. In 16 at bats. Small sample size, but it counts. That’s .063. Yordan Alvarez has been no great shakes either, five for 24 (.208) with RISP.
One wonders what would happen if the Astros got a hold of and “lost” Jose Abreu’s passport/visa this weekend in Mexico City and Abreu couldn’t get back into the U.S. after the two-game set with the Rockies.
Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via YouTube: stone cold stros - YouTube with the complete audio available via Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.