Week 5 Start & Sit Decisions and Much Silliness
Chris Harris and Scott Pianowski work through five tricky Week 5 start/sit calls—Jacoby Brissett, Bucky Irving, TreVeyon Henderson, Alvin Kamara, and Trey Harris—while also previewing the Thursday night Buccaneers-Cowboys matchup. The episode closes with Harris and Jake Trowbridge building their DraftKings main-slate lineups, both leaning into the Cardinals-Lions shootout for stacks and value plays.
This episode pairs Chris Harris with Yahoo's Scott Pianowski for a Week 5 start/sit walkthrough built around five genuinely hard calls, then closes with a DraftKings main-slate strategy session with Jake Trowbridge. The through-line across both segments is that 2026 fantasy football is defined by uncertainty at the margins — backup quarterbacks, timeshare backfields, and a wide receiver pool so flat that ranking players 8 through 40 is close to arbitrary.
The arguments
Jacoby Brissett is playable only because of schedule, not talent. Pianowski argues the Cardinals-at-Lions matchup is so favorable (Detroit's secondary is banged up and every Lions game turns into pinball) that Brissett becomes startable over shaky weapons-limited starters like Jaden Daniels or Jordan Love, even though Brissett himself is mediocre. Harris pushes back by framing it as a "which regret can you live with" question, landing Brissett at QB6 on his board versus Pianowski's QB8, with both agreeing Joe Burrow's receiver situation (Chase's concussion, Higgins' limitations) makes this week's QB streaming unusually fluid.
Bucky Irving's workload has quietly eroded and nobody's talking about it. Pianowski notes Irving went from seven catches in Week 1 to zero targets last week, with Tampa funneling goal-line work to Sean Tucker and Kenneth Gainwell instead. Both hosts still expect Irving to play (Tampa's clear "mandate" to feature him), but agree his touchdown equity and PPR floor are compromised with undrafted rookie Jalen Daniels at quarterback, landing him at RB23 (Pianowski) in that range.
New England's backfield has no trustworthy third option behind Stevenson. Pianowski, leaning on Harris's Patriots fandom, dismisses Trevon Henderson as a confident play — no goal-line work, no passing-game role, and poor patience/vision on tape — ranking him RB34. Harris goes further, calling Henderson possibly fundamentally unskilled at reading blocks, and both prefer deferring to Rhamondre Stevenson's health, with Pianowski willing to even flip David Montgomery ahead of Henderson if Stevenson sits.
Alvin Kamara is a shaky-closer play you start but don't watch. Facing a brutal Vikings matchup, Pianowski compares Kamara to a struggling relief pitcher who loads the bases before escaping — ugly process, acceptable box score via scattered catches and potential goal-line touches. Both hosts rank him in the RB26-27 range, with Harris noting a blown wheel-route touchdown look against Atlanta as evidence Kamara has lost explosiveness, though the matchup alone (not talent) is what's suppressing the ranking.
The Vikings defense is the only unit scary enough to downgrade opposing skill players across the board. Both hosts agree no other defense currently earns that treatment — they specifically rule out Houston, Denver, and even Seattle (Pianowski still plays all his 49ers normally) as not rising to that level, with the exception that Seattle's matchup with Brock Purdy is close enough that Pianowski ranks Brissett ahead of Purdy this week.
Wide receiver depth has collapsed into undifferentiated mediocrity. Harris says he built his rankings from an empty spreadsheet and hit a wall after WR7, arguing he has no real conviction that his WR14 is meaningfully better than WR44. Both use Trey Harris (Chargers) as the case study — a player neither trusts given the Chargers' winless, bottom-five offense, but who's rostered anyway (WR42-43 for both) simply because volume must go somewhere, with McConkie's health status unlikely to move Harris's ranking either way.
What it means for your roster
- Start Jacoby Brissett over your banged-up starter (Jordan Love, injured Jaden Daniels situations) if you need a Week 5 streamer — the Lions matchup is the deciding factor, not Brissett's talent.
- Downgrade Bucky Irving to flex-only confidence in PPR formats; the receiving-work evaporation plus Jalen Daniels at QB caps his ceiling even though he remains the clear early-down back.
- Bench Trevon Henderson if Rhamondre Stevenson is active — both hosts have no confidence in Henderson's role or vision; Stevenson (and even declining David Montgomery) are the safer plays.
- Play Alvin Kamara against Minnesota with low expectations — don't bench him for matchup fear, but don't expect an efficient game; he's a touches-and-touchdown bet, not a big-play threat anymore.
- Treat any Vikings-opponent skill player with extra caution, but not full fade — Minnesota's own offensive limitations mean garbage-time/keep-pace opportunities remain live for the opponent.
- In DFS GPPs this week, differentiate inside the Cardinals-Lions game rather than avoiding it — both hosts built around that matchup (Brissett/Michael Wilson vs. Jameer Gibbs/Amon-Ra/Trey McBride) and argue the specific player selection within that game is your actual edge, not whether you're exposed to it at all.
“I think he might really stink.” — Scott Pianowski
Players in this episode
↑ Trowbridge pays up big ($9,800) to roster him in the Lions-Cardinals shootout for DFS.
↑ Rostered by Trowbridge in DFS as a value piece in the Lions-Cardinals game after saving cap space by avoiding McBride.
→ Sit/start uncertainty tied to receiver health (Chase's concussion protocol, Higgins limited), making his floor shakier than usual.
→ Frustrating with only 3 targets last week versus Lamb's 21, but hosts believe Dallas/Dak want to keep him engaged and expect more balanced target share (10-12 for Lamb, 5-7 for Pickens) going forward.
→ Considered as a stack piece with Brissett in DFS builds but ultimately passed on by Harris due to expected high ownership.
↑ Trowbridge rosters him in DFS as a contrarian, low-ownership pick vs. Minnesota based on consistent 10-12 target usage.
↓ Role has eroded with zero targets last week as Tucker and Gainwell vultured touchdowns; hosts worry about negative game script Thursday vs. Dallas and question his receiving work without Baker Mayfield.
↓ Not expected to be close to 100% health-wise, limiting confidence even if he plays, reinforcing the Harris dart-throw approach instead.
→ Drafted as the clear starter but hurt by rookie QB Jalen Daniels' rough debut; hosts rank him outside top 30 WRs for Week 5 with hope he rebounds if Daniels improves.
↓ Not the goal-line or passing-game back; Pianowski thinks he 'might really stink' based on tape, lacking patience/vision, and both hosts want out of using him if Rhamondre Stevenson plays.
↑ Playing at an MVP level but faces tough road matchup at Seattle, the one defense other than Minnesota that gives hosts pause; debated vs. Brissett for ranking purposes.
↑ Compared favorably to Henderson for ability to squeeze extra yards after contact; expected to retain lead role if healthy for Week 5.
→ Constantly on the injury report but keeps producing enough when on the field that hosts still rank him in the mid-20s at WR.
↑ Both hosts rostered him last week successfully and again target him in DFS against the Saints' weak run defense.
→ Considered less impacted by the QB downgrade than Egbuka but still ranked in the 40s due to Tampa's offensive struggles.
↓ Efficiency has cratered (7 carries/23 yards) and a red-zone wheel route was blown up by a linebacker, suggesting he's lost explosiveness; still gets volume/scores but matchup vs. Minnesota is brutal.
→ Has been Chargers' yardage leader recent weeks as the healthiest receiver, but hosts distrust the winless Chargers offense and Herbert's poor play despite Harris being a token DFS/FLEX dart throw.
→ Hosts debate starting him over established QBs like Jordan Love, Jaden Daniels, or Drake May purely due to the elite matchup vs. Detroit's banged-up secondary, despite mediocre overall play.
↓ Considered but dismissed since DJ Moore's return to health makes Coleman hard to justify starting.
→ Undrafted rookie backup thrust into starting role after injury; struggled in first start, hosts hope for incremental improvement to help Tampa's receivers.