It's Sunday - Funday and we have football ready to kickoff in a few hours. I am personally excited for this weekends action as we have several games with high totals which should lead to offensive showdowns. As of this writing, there are 5 games with totals exceeding 50 points. If you haven't already, please check out this weeks articles on the QB and RB positions. Enough said, lets get into Week 5 WRs.
Each week we take a step back to review the upcoming weeks matchups and crunch the numbers to develop a series of position specific articles related to top daily fantasy sports plays. Whether you are playing on FanDuel, DrafKings, or even configuring your season long NFL lineups, these articles should serve as a reference tool and helpful guide to choosing the best players. I've shortened these articles to give you only the necessities and bottom-line reasoning as to my top choices. This is a no bullshi*t article and by that I mean the players and plays I suggest are those that I will be using in my personal lineups. Nothing is excluded. We intend to win. The goal is to make great lineups, win money, and share our success stories. If you are new to my blog or daily fantasy sports in general, I encourage you to check out my DFS Introduction post which provides some general context on what DFS is and how to play. Spoiler alert, if you like playing fantasy sports and winning money, DFS is the platform for you. Also, if you haven’t already, feel free to follow my referral links and sign up for Fanduel and Draftkings. Each provides its own set of bonuses for new users.
With that being said, here are my top plays at the wide receiver position for Week 5. Enjoy, upvote, and comment on your weekly outlook.
$8,500 / at PIT / PIT + 3
One of the best receivers in the game vs. one of the worst secondaries in the game. Sign me up. The Pittsburgh Atlanta game currently has a Vegas total of 57.5, so offense should be plenty. Julio Jones has yet to score a TD this year but has been nothing short of elite to start the season. Just last week vs. the Bengals he had 9 receptions on 12 targets for 173 yards. The targets are plenty, the yards are plenty, throw in some TDs and Julio will break a slate. Pittsburgh secondary and defense in general has been getting destroyed by opposing offenses via passing. Mahomes, Fitzpatrick, and Flacco all put up crooked numbers through the air and I have little doubt they will be able to improve against Matt Ryan and Atlanta's offense. Julio likely will be high owned today but for good reason. The Steelers simply won't be able to stop him and I have faith he will be scoring his first and maybe second TD of the season this weekend.
$7,500 / vs. ATL / PIT + 3
I'm headed right back to the same game but on the other side of the ball. Again, this game has a really really high total and if history tells us anything, it will be mostly through the air. I wrote up Big Ben in my QB article and if I expect big things from him, we need to find the guys he will be flourishing with. This week, for the most part, I am taking Smith-Schuster over Antonio Brown. He has simply looked better in my eyes and more consistent in the 4 games we have watched. Juju has a total of 49 targets compared to date and up until last weekend, had 3 straight games over 100 yards. Although Brown has more targets, he has yet to exceed 100 yards. TDs will be coming for Juju as he has been targeted 13x in the red zone (amazing 8 targets Week 2). I'm not saying Brown isn't a good play but if I am picking between the two, Juju is my guy for a significant savings and more consistent play.
$7,800 / vs. OAK / LAC + 5
Keenan Allen in general is 0ne of my favorite receivers in the game today. His health is always a concern but when he is playing healthy, he and Phillip Rivers are one of the best QB/WR combos in the game. This weekend he and the Chargers face the Oakland Raiders whom Phillip Rivers has a nice history of success against in the past. The last game in which they played was Week 17 of 2017 and Keenan Allen went of with 9 catches on 12 targets for 133 yards and a TD. Admittedly, Allen hasn't been the receiver we all expect since Week 1. He has DraftKing totals of 12, 6, and 13 but I am blaming that in large part on nagging injuries. The matchup is ideal however and history is on the side of the Chargers passing attack. According to Rotogrinders, Oakland is the 9th worst team in terms of fantasy points surrendered to WRs in 2018, giving up a total of over 42 points per start (DraftKings totals). Keenan Allen eats up a large amount of the Chargers receiver usage, so I am putting my money on him having another big game against the Raiders this weekend.
Stefon Diggs - $7,000 - Vikings
Corey Davis - $6,400 - Titans
Doug Baldwin - $5,000 - Seahawks
Taywan Taylor - $4,000 - Titans
That about wraps up our WR picks for Week 5. Good luck out there and lets win some money!
