Fantasy Football WR Report: Stars Align For Steelers, Week 5 Favorable Matchups, More
Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (19) warms up prior to playing the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field.
- The Action Network ranked fantasy football wide recievers across standard, PPR and half-point PPR leagues for Week 5.
- Here's a deeper dive on three WRs you should start, including Adam Thielen and JuJu Smith-Schuster -- plus one star you should consider fading.
Which wide receivers have the most favorable fantasy matchups this week? Whom should you consider sitting?
Here's a breakdown of five notable wide receivers featured in Sean Koerner, Chris Raybon and Matthew Freedman's Week 5 fantasy football rankings.
The No. 1 WR
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers
Despite JuJu Smith-Schuster's emergence, Brown's 13.3 targets per game are the second-highest mark in the league.
Brown is the unanimous No. 1 receiver among our rankers in Week 5, which isn't surprising given the Falcons' porous defense. He boasts the highest median and second-highest median projection in the FantasyLabs Player Models.
The Most Favorable Matchups
Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
Jones is dominating target share for the Falcons, representing 33% of the overall market share of targets, which is slightly more than Mohamed Sanu (17%) and Calvin Ridley (15%) combined.
Maybe Julio can even score a touchdown in this game considering the Steelers have allowed 12 passing touchdowns through four games this year.
Jones cracks the top five between Koerner, Freedman and Raybon.
Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings
Thielen's 56 targets and 14 targets per game both lead the league this season. He faces a vulnerable Eagles secondary this week, primarily running most of his routes against slot cornerback Sidney Jones, who grades as PFF's No. 54 corner in coverage.
The Vikings aren't going to be able to run against the Eagles and Kirk Cousins leads the league in pass attempts, so Thielen should be heavily targeted in this one.
Thielen sports an average rank 7.7 among our rankers and presently owns the sixth-highest median projection in the FantasyLabs Player Models.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers
Brown and JuJu are forming a nasty duo for the Steelers. Smith-Schuster's 12.3 targets per game narrowly trail Brown. But JuJu is dominating red-zone usage for the Steelers, representing 54% of the target share in the red zone, compared to 21% for Brown.
The Falcons funnel production to the middle of the field and slot cornerback Brian Poole has given up 17 receptions, 156 receiving yards and three touchdowns this season. Poole checks in as PFF's No. 122 corner in coverage.
Matchup Downgrade
A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals
Green is expected to be shadowed by defensive back Xavien Howard this week, who has been stellar in coverage this year in giving up just two receptions and 56 receiving yards per game. That said, Howard hasn't faced a receiver of Green's caliber yet this season, so this will be a major test for the Dolphins' No. 1 corner.
Green still checks in with an average rank of 8.7 between Koerner, Freedman and Raybon.
Want another edge? Be sure to keep up with the week's news on FantasyLabs.
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