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Should I start A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Cooper Kupp for Week 5? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
Nothing feels worse than drafting a player that's had great fantasy seasons in the past, hoping they can replicate their previous success, and then being handed a plate full of disappointing, week-losing performances.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and Seattle Seahawks WR Cooper Kupp have done exactly that so far. They all have failed to live up to their expectations before the season, and have many of their fantasy managers in a deep rut.
Players like this are the worst possible assets to have in fantasy football. It feels like a terrible idea to bench them, but when you lose games from their terrible performances, you wish you had in hindsight. So should you start Brown, Smith, and Kupp in Week 5?
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Should I Start A.J. Brown for Fantasy Football?
I was a big proponent of drafting Brown for the 2025 NFL season in fantasy football. The Eagles had a tough schedule on paper, and I figured they'd be forced to pass the ball heavily. Instead, we've seen the opposite -- through four games. Only once was the Eagles offense actually stressed.
Unfortunately the Eagles can get away with hardly doing anything on offense. Came back from down 19 points against the Rams and won.
Jalen Hurts threw for 127.7 yards per game in the 3 other games. In games against bad teams, it's hard to think this doesn't continue.
A.J.…
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 2, 2025
And in that game, Hurts still only threw for 226 yards, though he did throw three touchdowns. The frustrating part is that Brown is playing at a high level. He's still winning a ton of his routes and beating coverages regularly. He just isn't getting the ball, or is getting a bunch of uncatchable targets.
Brown has been the worst pick in the second round so far other than Los Angeles Chargers WR Ladd McConkey. And it's hard to see this changing in the long term. Against the Denver Broncos in Week 5, Philadelphia might actually see a challenge, though.
Brown excels against man coverage, which the Broncos run at a high rate. They'll probably have cornerback Pat Surtain II following Brown around, which is a tough matchup, but Brown is up to the task. He's one of the best WRs in the NFL against man coverage.
AJ Brown: “I think it’s fair to want the ball to get us going. Last week against the Rams, I caught a sluggo, got us going, next play it opened up Dallas Goedert when the safety came to my side and opened him up.. It’s not just for targets or putting numbers up. No. I see us… pic.twitter.com/GEx7hczeSC
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) October 1, 2025
What we hope as fantasy managers isn't what Brown said above. He's being a good teammate. We want him fuming to get the ball as much as possible. But the Eagles have a fantastic defense, and even the Broncos offense might struggle to put up big numbers against them.
Brown still remains a start because of his upside, and can have a big game against any team at any time. But his usage and Hurts' passing volume have been so utterly awful that he can easily bust at any time.
Should I Start DeVonta Smith for Fantasy Football?
Smith has been another casualty of the Eagles barely having to play real football. Their gameplan has been working -- rely on their defense, pick up clutch first downs, rely on Hurts' legs, and keep the chains moving and the clock rolling as much as possible.
Watching Smith run open and seeing Hurts just able to scramble yet again for another first down has been remarkably frustrating. The Eagles have done such a good job of building leads and sitting on them as much as possible, and their defense has played very well.
Jalen Hurts on how DeVonta Smith is handling his lack of targets: “You’d have to ask DeVonta. I think we’re all focused on the work. In terms of feelings, you’d have to ask them how they feel.” pic.twitter.com/7kgsfIyIPR
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) October 1, 2025
The fact is that Philly keeps winning. They have such a good roster talent-wise. Hurts is bottom-6 in the league in average depth of target, opting to work with short passes often and not pushing the ball down the field much. This isn't a benefit to Smith, who is a downfield threat.
I still recommend starting him as a flex against Denver. You just have to pray they can force the Eagles to actually throw it down the field and score on them.
Should I Start Cooper Kupp for Fantasy Football?
Kupp, though he had a remarkable season in 2021 and played very well before his injury in 2022, is now 32 years old and hasn't been a big part of the Seahawks offense. He's been targeted 20 times in four games, averaging five per game, and has caught 15 passes for 162 yards.
Not sure if I've already posted this, but there are a lot of reasons to completely avoid Cooper Kupp in this year's drafts. I wouldn't feel comfortable having him on my roster. Much worse situation, much worse player than 2021-2022 pic.twitter.com/PnmpHkCqIy
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) May 24, 2025
His 16.0 PPR fantasy point performance in Week 2 was nice, but he's had two poor games since then. He's on the tail end of his career, obviously, and Seattle's been playing well on defense, which hasn't forced them into extremely pass-heavy game scripts.
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba has so far been the only Seattle receiver to lock into starting lineups with certainty. They will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5, though, who have played well on offense despite injuries. The game could be pretty competitive.
I'd start Kupp in leagues with 14+ teams or very big starting lineups, like those with three flex spots. Otherwise, I'd leave him on the bench.
Who Should I Start Tool
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 5 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Cooper Kupp. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 5. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 5 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Cooper Kupp. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 5.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Start? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 5 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 5 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 5 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 5 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Cooper Kupp compared to others:
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