Fantasy Sleepers Week 5: Golden Tate In A Dream Matchup

If you are in need of a fill-in option due to a bye week or injury, this is your chance to find some potential sleeper options to stun your opponent. This is also a spot to see what some of the best FLEX options are for Week 5. With a lot of injuries already sinking lineups, you are going to need to dive into deeper names that you might not be familiar with. To help set those lineups, head on over to our rankings and projections pages.

Quarterback

Teddy Bridgewater – QB – Carolina Panthers

Teddy Bridgewater has just four passing touchdowns, but has produced over 1,100 yards and has completed over 100 passes so far this season. He has been great but that big multi-touchdown game hasn’t happened yet. This is certainly a week where the breakout could happen as the Falcons have allowed 13 passing touchdowns in four games and over 1,400 yards. They have also allowed three touchdowns on the ground. Opposing quarterbacks have averaged 32.5 fantasy points per game against this Falcons defense. Carolina has a monster implied total this week and the Falcons are capable of course of turning this one into a shootout.

Running Backs

Damien Harris – RB – New England Patriots

With Sony Michel on the IR, Damien Harris stepped in and rushed for 100 yards on 17 attempts. While he still didn’t see a full dose of snaps it was clear he would be involved when on the field. This spot isn’t the greatest but he is still involved in a good rushing attack that will be key this week in what should be a grind it out style game. The Broncos run defense is not bad, but they have allowed two hundred-yard rushers this season and have faced two offenses that didn’t commit to running much against them with Tampa and New York over the last two weeks.

Devonta Freeman – RB – New York Giants

We have seen the Giants offense implode week in and week out but the same goes for the Dallas defense. So far this season they have allowed a 120-544-4 line to running backs and the 12th most fantasy points to the position. Freeman saw 15 touches last week against a good Rams defense and if he can get 5-6 targets out of the backfield, which seems likely this week as they should be chasing the game, Freeman has some PPR value. Given all of the running back injuries, Freeman makes sense as a plug and play option.

Wide Receivers

Golden Tate – WR – New York Giants

Both Golden Tate and Darius Slayton get a major bump in the matchup this week. The schedule has not been kind to the Giants but they have an easier task this week. This should be a good game flow type game against the Cowboys as well. They are allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers this season. Not a big surprise as it is partially tied to the volume against but also the secondary is young and needs time to gel. Tate is an excellent option as the Giants are still without Sterling Shepard.

T.Y. Hilton – WR – Indianapolis Colts

Obviously, T.Y. Hilton is not a usual candidate to be a sleeper, but he ranks 76th in PPR scoring with Danny Amendola and Willie Snead. Hilton has been quiet as the Colts have a slow offense that is a bit more run-heavy as well. This game has a chance to break open a bit and the Browns have allowed the third-most fantasy points to wide receivers. This goes back even further as opposing WR1s have posted big games against the Browns. Marquise Brown went for 5-101, Tyler Boyd, 7-72-1, Terry McLaurin 4-83-0, and Ameri Cooper going for 12-134-1. Hilton is in a good spot and one to slide back into the lineup.

Tee Higgins – WR – Cincinnati Bengals

The Baltimore secondary is very good, although they have been banged up. With much of the focus still being on Tyler Boyd and AJ Green, Tee Higgins is a sneaky start again this week. He has 6, 9, and 7 targets over the last three weeks and has produced 16 and 9 fantasy point games in the last two. In a week where byes have begun and the schedule is in question, Higgins is worth a look in a WR3 spot or as a deep FLEX play.

Russell Gage – WR – Atlanta Falcons

Julio Jones remains questionable, but Russell Gage is going to be in play regardless. Obviously, if Jones is out, Gage is going to see a bump in targets. It is a great spot for every wide receiver in this game and the Panthers secondary is one to target despite them not allowing a ton of fantasy points so far this season. Gage has a 19-208-1 line through three games, as he basically missed one after leaving the game with a concussion. In a high scoring shootout, Gage has a lot of potential this week.

Tight Ends

Eric Ebron – TE – Pittsburgh Steelers

Philadelphia has really struggled against tight ends this season, allowing 26-276-5 to them already on the year. Eric Ebron came alive last week and I like that to continue. The Steelers offense hasn’t completely broken out but we sure are seeing better numbers compared to last year. Ebron was one of those names I believed to need a few weeks to get involved in the offense and start clicking. We have to take that into consideration this year with new names because of the irregular offseason.

Austin Hooper – TE – Cleveland Browns

This also goes for Austin Hooper who finally caught a touchdown pass and was involved in the offense last week. While the Colts have held tight ends to the fewest fantasy points this season, they have yet to face a team that really emphasizes the tight end in their offense nor have they faced a talented one. This game has sneaky shootout potential and Hooper could be a way to get exposure to it this week. If you are streaming a tight end or need to fill-in for an injured one, keep an eye on Hooper.