Tight Ends for Week 5
Among established tight-ends the best value for money is veteran Jason Witten/$9841DAL. Dallas hosts Denver and it is very likely QB Tony Romo/DAL and the Cowboys will turn to the passing game early and often in what figures to be a shootout. With WR Miles Austin/DAL unlikely to play, Witten becomes the key target underneath for the Cowboys.
Greg Olsen/$8782/CAR and Jared Cook/$7817/STL are my next best plays. Both are consistent players without great upside. Vernon Davis/$8520/SFN is a riskier play but has tremendous upside, even against the Texans. Julius Thomas/$10085/DEN has seen his targets diminish and he has settled in as the number four Broncos receiver. Jimmy Graham/$14475/NOS is bound to have an off day eventually but is still a reasonable play if you can save money at other positions. Antonio Gates/$12017/SDC has more downside this week than usual and should be avoided.
Defenses for Week 5
The Saints/$2229 defense, despite putting up excellent numbers and plenty of takeaways, gets little respect and is priced in the bottom half of the league once again. Among more expensive defenses, the Chiefs/$5292 are poised for a good game against the Titans and their backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick/TEN. I also like the Cardinals/$2884 to contain the Panthers and the Patriots/$4306 to minimize the damage done by the Bengals.
As far as overrated defenses are concerned, I present the San Diego Chargers/$4501. The Raiders have a solid ground game and enough receivers to make things interesting, and Raiders QB Terrelle Pryor/OAK is all but assured of playing. I also would advise against the Bengals/$4332 defense at home against the Patriots. Cincinnati will be hard pressed to either force turnovers or sack QB Tom Brady, and that’s how the big fantasy points accumulate for defenses.
I’ve given you a good start towards building all-conquering lineups. All that remains is to put your fantasy football skills to the test and register for the qualifiers as often as you can. Good luck to all!
Robert Dudek covers the NFL and MLB daily leagues at Sports Leagues Daily. You can follow him on Twitter @robdudek ; retweets and replies are always appreciated. If you haven’t signed up at DraftStreet, what are you waiting for? Jump in and get your daily fantasy fix.