Key Starters and Tough Calls - Week 5 Lineup Spotlights for Fantasy Football Include Woody Marks, Rico Dowdle, Michael Carter, Ladd McConkey, more

Scott Engel features fantasy football lineup starts/sits for Week 5 (2025). He focuses on key NFL players to start when faced with tight Week 5 fantasy football lineup decisions.

Welcome to our Key Starters and Tough Calls rundown for Week 5 of the 2025 season. Scott Engel's Week 5 Lineup Spotlights column includes notable players to start or sit when faced with tough lineup situations. "The King" features players who could be causing fantasy uncertainty.

The fantasy football players presented in this Week 5 article are based on Scott's Premium Weekly Lineup Rankings, now available as part of the 2025 RotoBaller NFL Premium Pass. You can secure access to his full player rankings and also navigate through a complete suite of tools and analysis for in-season usage by opting for a premium RotoBaller subscription. In Week 2, Scott finished as a top 10 ranker on FantasyPros and placed third overall at tight end. He finished eighth at wide receiver in Week 4.

To make the best Week 5 lineup decisions, consult this analysis, the RotoBaller staff fantasy football rankings, and the free Who Should I Start tool for comparing up to four players. The skill position analysis from Scott is based on his Week 5 premium PPR rankings.

• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
• Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
• Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
• FLEX fantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

Running Backs - Fantasy Football Week 5

Woody Marks, Houston Texans

Houston has been searching for a reliable running back since the days of Arian Foster. If Joe Mixon were healthy, the position would have at least been stabilized. But he remains unavailable, and Nick Chubb hasn’t recaptured his better form., which is no surprise.

Marks, who started displaying promise in the preseason, will now get his chance to fully take over as the best fantasy option in the Texans’ backfield this week. After an impressive performance in Week 4, he just has to follow up with another quality performance against the Ravens in Week 5.

Last week, the rookie totaled 119 yards and two TDs from scrimmage vs. Tennessee. He logged more snaps than Chubb for the first time this season.  Marks played on 56 percent of the snaps vs. the Titans, compared to 42 percent for Chubb.

The Ravens are no longer a scary matchup for opposing RBs, as they have allowed seven scrimmage TDs and the most Fantasy Points Per Game to the position this season. Marks does need to show the same type of possible upside he did last week to be a more comfortable fantasy starter, but in a week where so many missing players are creating urgent needs, I am ranking him as a top 20 RB.

In Week 5, I would start Marks over Rhamondre Stevenson. Kenneth Walker III. Jordan Mason and Chase Brown. The Houston RB is ranked just behind Alvin Kamara and J.K. Dobbins. Mark is on the verge of a possible breakout and should be started over most No. 1 RBs that are not dependable or second RBs in timeshare situations.

Rico Dowdle, Carolina Panthers

Dowdle is expected to start against Miami with Chuba Hubbard out in NFL Week 5. I do have him ranked as a top 25 RB because of the projected role and the draw against another losing team. Both Carolina and Miami come into the matchup with 1-3 records.

The former Cowboy does have starting experience with his previous team. While he was inconsistent overall, Dowdle rushed for over 100 yards in four of five games before the final week of last season. He is a determined runner who will fight for yardage.  Dowdle averaged 4.6 yards per carry in 2024.

The Carolina offensive line is coming off a respectable performance, as noted in RotoBaller’s Offensive Line Rankings. Miami ranks 26^th in rushing yards allowed to RBs. Dowdle is a satisfactory lower-end RB2/flex option for this week. I would start him mostly over other RBs with questionable outlooks in terms of workloads, or part-time RBs who may not be No. 1 options for their NFL teams.

I recommend starting Dowdle over RBs such as Kendre Miller, RJ Harvey, and  Sean Tucker. Yet you should also monitor Panthers rookie Trevor Etienne to see how much he cuts into Dowdle’s touches. I have actually added him in some deeper leagues in case Hubbard misses more than one game and Etienne flashes some potential.

Michael Carter the starter?

The Cardinals running back has found himself in front of the running back line after injuries to James Conner and Trey Benson.

"You go from Pat Tillman (Scout Team Player of the Week) to starter the next." pic.twitter.com/HCJ70dYtyr

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) October 1, 2025

Michael Carter, Arizona Cardinals

Carter was a top waiver wire add for Week 5, and many fantasy players must start him because they have to fill a second RB spot or don’t have another appealing flex option. The Arizona RB is surely not a comfortable starting choice, though, because his outlook in terms of touches is uncertain.

Jonathan Gannon has not been fully forthcoming about who the lead RB will be, saying that Carter, Emari Demercardo, and Zonovan “Bam” Knight could all see some work. In interviews with the media this week, though, Carter himself seemed to let it slip that he may be the actual starter against Tennessee.

Based on gathering many reports and insights this week, the best assumption fantasy players can make is that Carter might be the lead runner, and Knight could see some carries as a change-of-pace guy. DeMercardo will at least likely retain his role as the pass-catching RB.

We could be looking at a true committee approach by the Cardinals in a good matchup vs. Tennessee. The Titans rank 29^th in Fantasy Points Per Game allowed to RBs. I rank Carter as a top RB3/flex option because of the potential rushing workload and favorable matchup. If you are desperate for an RB2 play, he is startable.

I recommend going with Carter over a disappointment such as Chase Brown or Tony Pollard, and he should be started over most No. 2 RBs in a timeshare. As noted in this RotoBaller player news update,  Carter played on approximately 75 percent of the snaps between Weeks 17 and 18 last season, rushing for 5.4 yards per carry in one game and rushing for a TD in another outing.

Wide Receivers - Fantasy Football Week 5

Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders

Meyers has mostly disappointed those who drafted him over the first four weeks. He did catch eight passes for 97 yards in the season opener. In the last three games, though, he did not reach the 70-yard mark, and in the last two, Meyers totaled seven receptions for 93 yards.

The Raiders’ projected No. 1 WR hasn’t visited the end zone yet, either. Many who drafted Meyers were optimistic that Geno Smith would develop a consistently productive on-field rapport with his new pass-catcher. But the Raiders’ passing game is inconsistent, and Meyers is unreliable for fantasy purposes.

This is a week when you can give Meyers another shot as a WR3 starter, especially when needing to plug a lineup hole. Brock Bowers is out, and Smith needs to rely on Meyers in a favorable matchup. Indianapolis ranks 29^th in FFPG allowed to WRs and 28^th in receptions allowed to the position. Expect at least an adequate statistical floor from Meyers in Week 5.

A Career Low for Ladd McConkey, Time to Panic? https://t.co/4capZC6jsn

— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) September 30, 2025

Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers

McConkey is looking like one of the biggest busts in fantasy football after four weeks. Quentin Johnston and the resurgent Keenan Allen have overtaken him as the best fantasy producers at WR for the Chargers. But there is still time for a McConkey turnaround. Or is there?

In Week 4, McConkey had a great “get right” matchup against the New York Giants. It seemed sensible to leave him in lineups. But he thanked those who started him with his worst performance yet, catching one pass for 11 yards on six targets. So how could we possibly be confident in starting him in Week 5?

Surely, McConkey will stir more fantasy anxiety if you start him this week. If you lower expectations, tough, and consider him as more of a fantasy WR3 right now, he still deserves consideration as a top 30 fantasy WR for Week 5.

In the season opener, McConkey finished with 13.4 PPR points, so he is still capable of delivering quality fantasy performances. A sample size of three down outings doesn’t mean he is off the fantasy radar just yet. Because opposing defenses now realize Johnston and Allen deserve prime attention, and Justin Herbert likely wants to keep McConkey happy and busy enough, there is hope for Week 5.

Washington will be focused on the other top two WRs in the Chargers' passing game in coverage, and that’s when Herbert can go away from what he has put on film so far this season and rediscover McConkey. I strongly believe he is too good to be left out of the receiving mix yet again. I rank Mcconkey 27^th at WR this week, over the likes of Tee Higgins, Brian Thomas Jr., and Jordan Addison.

Darius Slayton, New York Giants

The arrival of Malik Nabers signaled the end of mediocrity among the Giants’  pass-catching corps. Now that he is out for the season, there is a strong fear that mediocre production will now return. Wan’Dale Robinson was never a consistently productive fantasy player in past seasons, and Slayton was seemingly capable of just occasional spike weeks.

But that was the outlook with the Giants’ version of Daniel Jones guiding the offense, and rookie Jaxson Dart has already inspired some needed enthusiasm. With their new starting QB, New York upset the previously undefeated Chargers in Week 4.  If Dart can consistently move the offense, Slayton’s outlook may improve, and he has a good matchup for fantasy production this week.

Dart passed for 111 yards in his pro debut.However, he gets a better draw against the lowly Saints to possibly open up the passing game more. This is a good week to stream Slayton against New Orleans’ 27^th-ranked pass defense. You have to carefully pick your spots to start Slayton, but this is one of them.

Quarterback and Tight End - Fantasy Football Week 5

Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts

The ex-Giant is firm proof that just a few weeks into the season, much has changed in terms of how players are viewed. Keep that in mind when you draft next year. In the summer, Jones was not even drafted in many leagues. For Week 5, I rank him as a top 5 fantasy QB.

Sure, his world could start to shatter at any time later in the season, but I don’t see that happening against the Raiders this week. Las Vegas ranks 20^th in FFPG allowed to QBs, and Jones has shown in the past that he can be a quality fantasy option over an extended period. In 2022, Jones finished as a top 10 fantasy QB.

Right now, you can have a lot of confidence in starting Jones at QB. Even though he has to prove himself more with the Colts, he will continue to display fantasy promise because of his rushing potential. Jones passed for 270-plus yards in three of the first four weeks this season and rushed for three TDs in the first two games.

If that old clichéd bubble is going to burst, it’s not going to be in Week 5. The only QBs I am definitely starting over Jones this week are Josh Allen, Justin Fields, and Dak Prescott. I essentially have him tied with Justin Herbert and slightly ahead of Jared Goff.

Justin Fields on Mason Taylor's development pic.twitter.com/TYqGfvLe59

— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 1, 2025

Mason Taylor, New York Jets

At some point, or at least in occasional instances, someone other than Garrett Wilson must show up as a pass-catcher for the Jets. This week, we will find out who that “someone” will be, and I am expecting it to be Taylor against the NFL’s worst pass defense.

The rookie posted his best numbers yet at Miami last week. Taylor caught five of seven targets for 65 yards, with a long reception of 27 yards. He could be on the brink of emerging as a higher-end fantasy TE2, and that is where i rank him this week, inside the top 15 at his position.

More Fantasy Football Analysis

Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!