Week 5 Preview: Rams, Jaguars, Lions blowup spots?
The crew previews the full Week 5 slate, leading with the high-total Rams/Bills and Lions/Cardinals games before diving into a disastrous Eagles trip to London against a surging Jaguars team. Along the way they hit every fantasy-relevant backfield and passing attack, with recurring themes of pass-funnel offenses concentrating value, bad/balanced offenses capping upside, and messy committee backfields across the league.
This Week 5 preview from the Rotoworld crew tears through a packed slate of marquee matchups, with the central thread being how often offensive dysfunction and messy backfield/receiver timeshares are wrecking fantasy value even on good teams. Denny Carter, Kyle Dvorak, and Patrick Daugherty spend most of the show flagging which usage trends are sustainable versus statistical noise, from Denver's chaotic play-calling change to half a dozen murky committees.
The arguments
Deebo... sorry, Devonta Adams remains startable despite Puka Nacua's return, but the easy production is gone. Denny noted Adams saw 33% of air yards and three touchdowns in Nacua's two absences, but crashed to seven catches for 58 scoreless yards once Nacua returned, with his routes and target share shrinking into a tougher, deeper-target role. Both hosts agreed the Rams' league-leading team air yards can theoretically support multiple weapons, but conceded it'll mostly funnel through Nacua.
Kyron Williams, not Blake Corum, owns the Rams backfield going forward. Denny declared Corum dead for lineup purposes given his 28 routes versus Williams' 99 on the season, while Williams is dominating running back air yards to the point Denny floated top-three-back upside. Kyle agreed Corum is only a bench stash in case of injury, with no real path to playing time on a pass-heavy offense.
The Eagles' collapse (Barkley out, Lane Johnson retired) makes nearly the entire offense unstartable in 12-team leagues. Kyle argued Jalen Hurts isn't a top-12 quarterback right now given the offense's historic badness and reliance on tush-push scoring, while Will Shipley projects as a low-end RB2/flex at best amid a crowded, unproven backfield. Patrick injected the counter-narrative that the Eagles will still win this game in London despite every statistical signal pointing the other way.
Jaguars pass-catchers are capped by one of the league's most run-heavy, low-volume offenses. Denny explained Jacksonville ranks bottom-10 in team air yards and near the bottom in pass rate over expected, making Parker Washington a true WR3 and Trevor Lawrence a top-12 quarterback without real spike-week upside. Kyle agreed the process looks good for Travis Etienne (season-high snap, carry, and route shares) even though results haven't shown up yet, keeping him locked inside the RB20.
Kincaid's slump is correctable with DJ Moore sidelined, while Keon Coleman becomes a legitimate flex. Kyle pointed to Kincaid's route rate collapsing to 56% and near-zero first-read targets the past two weeks, but expects Joe Brady to re-feature him now that Moore is banged up and likely to sit. Both hosts are fine playing Khalil Shakir as a PPR floor play in the same game environment.
Several backfields remain unpredictable hot-hand situations with no real separation. Denny and Kyle flagged Chicago's DeAndre Swift/Kyle Monangai, Green Bay's Caleb Johnson/Marshawn Lloyd, and the Chargers' Hampton/Mitchell/Vidal messes as committees where usage could flip week to week, with Kyle explicitly saying he can't confidently rank any lead back in the Chargers or Packers backfields above a near-even split.
Daniel Jones and the Colts passing attack have lost their downfield burst, but Tyler Warren and Josh Downs remain high-floor PPR plays. Kyle attributed this to Jones' Achilles recovery limiting his arm strength plus Alec Pierce's absence removing intermediate spacing, pointing to Jones' zero TD/one INT mark on deep throws and heavy short-of-the-sticks tendency on third/fourth down. Denny agreed Warren is "the most boring player alive" in terms of ceiling but still startable given target share.
What it means for your roster
- Start Devonta Adams as a WR1/2 borderline play, but temper spike-week expectations with Nacua back; his role is now deeper and lower-volume.
- Keep Blake Corum stashed but benched — only handcuff value unless Kyron Williams gets hurt; Williams is the priority start with near top-three back upside.
- Avoid rostering/starting Eagles skill players outside of Will Shipley as a cautious flex; Jalen Hurts is not a top-12 QB play this week given the offense's collapse.
- Start Dalton Kincaid this week as a get-right spot with DJ Moore likely out; Keon Coleman is now a true flex, and Khalil Shakir remains a PPR floor play.
- Hold Travis Etienne as a top-20 RB despite middling box scores — the underlying usage (snaps, carries, routes) is trending toward a true workhorse role.
- Don't chase Daniel Jones' passing attack for upside — Tyler Warren and Josh Downs are startable PPR floor plays, but ceiling is capped until/if Jones' arm strength returns.
“This is one of the worst setups I've ever seen for a team this week.” — Denny Carter
Players in this episode
↑ Back in the lineup, he's commanding a 29% air-yard share and pushing Devonta Adams into a more contested, lower-volume role.
↑ Bounced back to finish as the QB2 overall last week after a rough start, throwing two deep TDs with elite pressure-to-sack numbers; hosts are buying the rebound.
↑ Dominating running back air yards with 99 pass routes to Corum's 28; hosts think he has outside top-3 RB upside.
↓ Lingering ankle issue and a backfield that prefers Tyler Allgeier on passing downs mean he's a two-down banger no longer a true top-24 role.
↓ Not viewed as a top-12 QB with the offense reduced to tush-push scores and Vegas implying one of the league's lowest team totals.
↑ Season-high snap/carry/route shares and elite efficiency metrics (PFF's No.1 graded runner) suggest a breakout is imminent as a big favorite.
↓ Still a 12-team starter but his easy-button volume evaporates with Nacua active; production craters when Nacua plays.
→ Needed 52 Jared Goff attempts just to get to 100 yards with no explosive plays; still rostered top-24 but hosts want more impact plays.
↑ Second-most running back targets in the league over two games with a 50% target rate on his routes, making him a strong PPR play.
↑ 12th in the NFL in air yards with 53% of the team's air-yard share despite poor QB play from Cam Ward; hosts think he could be fun going forward.
↓ Route rate has fallen below 50% in two of his past three games, making him unstartable as anything but a fringe TE2.
↓ Early-season breakout is being walked back; Liam Coen's low-volume, balanced scheme caps him as more of a true WR3.
↓ Barely involved in the pass game; only worth stashing as Kyron Williams injury insurance, not startable.
→ Route rate dropped to 56% in a two-game slump, but with DJ Moore likely out this is viewed as the week he gets going again.
↓ Posting zero TDs and an interception on deep throws with a high rate of checking down short of the sticks, looking unable to push the ball downfield post-Achilles.
↑ Led the Chargers backfield with 10 carries and 5 catches (a career high) and nine first-read targets over two weeks, viewed as the most talented back in a messy committee.
↑ Running 83% of routes with a rising 23% air-yard share over three games, potentially overtaking Jameson Williams as Dan Campbell's new favorite target.
↑ Has produced 12 catches, 176 yards and a TD in DJ Moore's two early exits and projects as the de facto WR1 this week.
↑ Third in EPA per dropback and No.1 in yards per attempt on deep and intermediate throws, playing like his college self.
↓ Being graded on a curve by Browns media; actually 19th-best QB with poor accuracy and downfield rate, relying on dink-and-dunk first-read throws.