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Should I start Trevor Etienne, Zavier Scott, Ollie Gordon for Week 5? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
Unfortunately, it's really not hard to get into running back hell quickly in fantasy football. If you drafted Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (calf), Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving (foot), or Arizona Cardinals tailback James Conner (ankle), you might be in a world of trouble right now.
Losing a starting running back is very tough. There are simply fewer fantasy-relevant RBs than there are WRs, so losing players at that position is disproportionately bad for your team. You might not have any other NFL team's starting running back on your roster due to other injuries and bye weeks.
Backup RBs can sometimes have good games, but it's tough to predict when that will happen. It's especially relevant in deeper leagues, though, where starting the wrong backup can cost you your week. So, should you start backup running backs from the Panthers, Vikings, or Dolphins? Let's dive in.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
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- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Should I Start Trevor Etienne for Fantasy Football?
Carolina Panthers running back Trevor Etienne will serve as the RB2 in Week 5 due to Hubbard's injury. He's set to back up RB2 Rico Dowdle. Dowdle hasn't played particularly well this season, but he has a nice, easy matchup against the Miami Dolphins coming up.
Miami doesn't have a great offense, and they just lost their best wide receiver, Tyreek Hill (knee), to a multi-ligament tear in his knee. They'll be reeling from that loss. The game should be competitive, so the Panthers probably won't be forced into a pass-heavy game script without much rushing volume.
#Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard, who has been dealing with a calf injury the last couple of weeks and hasn't practiced this week, is expected to miss Sunday's game against the #Dolphins, per me and @MikeGarafolo. Rico Dowdle is the team's backup. pic.twitter.com/alRA3uQaQV
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 3, 2025
Dowdle actually has a similar skill set to Hubbard. Part of the motivation for signing him was that Dowdle having that similar style of play, and similar strengths, wouldn't force the offensive play-calling to drastically change with him in the lineup.
It's thus hard to see Etienne getting much work unless the game ends up being a blowout. Outside of extremely deep leagues, it doesn't make much sense to start Etienne.
Should I Start Zavier Scott for Fantasy Football?
Minnesota Vikings running back Zavier Scott has served as his team's RB2 after the injury to Aaron Jones Sr. (hamstring). In just one contest, Scott scored 16.4 PPR fantasy points, logging just one rushing yard but catching six passes for 43 yards and a touchdown.
Against the Cleveland Browns, who have one of the best rushing defenses in the NFL and one of the best overall, starting Scott is risky. The Browns could feast on a Vikings offensive line decimated by injury. They have multiple starters out with multi-week ailments.
Vikings ruled out these players for Sunday’s game in London against the Browns:
🏈QB J.J. McCarthy
🏈G Donovan Jackson
🏈C Ryan Kelly
🏈OT Brian O'Neill
🏈OL Michael Jurgens
🏈OLB Andrew Van Ginkel— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 3, 2025
This game could be a hideous defensive battle without much scoring. It's hard to see Scott having rushing value. But the elite Browns rush defense could bottle up lead back Jordan Mason, leading Scott to get more snaps and thus more dump-offs.
He's a decent, but very risky start in very deep leagues as a flex option.
Should I Start Ollie Gordon II for Fantasy Football?
Gordon will face the struggling Carolina Panthers run defense in Week 5. While he's not expected to get much work, there's a decent chance he could vulture a touchdown run from lead Dolphins running back De'Von Achane. Gordon scored such a TD in Week 3 against the Buffalo Bills.
But in a game that should be competitive -- Miami doesn't really win games by blowout -- we should expect Achane to get a ton of volume. This is especially true since Miami will be without its top WR. At least the Dolphins should find themselves at the goal line a few times.
Rookie Ollie Gordon II finds the end zone for his 1st NFL TD!
MIAvsBUF on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/MrxKlhdcGa— NFL (@NFL) September 19, 2025
It would be a big stretch to project him for double-digit PPR fantasy points, though, as he doesn't have a receiving role, making him a very risky start. As with the other players, I would only recommend starting him in very deep leagues.
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 Trevor Etienne, Zavier Scott, and Ollie Gordon II. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 1. 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 - Trevor Etienne, Zavier Scott, and Ollie Gordon II. 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 that 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 Trevor Etienne, Zavier Scott, and Ollie Gordon II compared to others:
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