Fantasy Football Risers and Fallers - Week 5

October 7, 2026

Andrew Ball's fantasy football risers, fallers, sleepers, and busts heading into Week 5 of the 2026 season. He identifies players with rising and falling fantasy values.

We're now one month into the fantasy football season, and some trends are revealing themselves.

Still, the fantasy football landscape changes in a flash. This could just be the beginning for some of this week's risers and fallers.

The players in this weekly article aren't necessarily the week's best and worst performers. Instead, we'll talk about what Week 4 means for the rest of the season.

Week 5 Fantasy Football Risers

Keon Coleman, WR, Buffalo Bills

There's a bit of déjà vu at the top of this week's risers.

Keon Coleman made his WR1 case when DJ Moore exited in the Week 2 Thursday Night Football win over the Detroit Lions. Moore's quick Week 3 return and an ankle issue of his own kept Coleman on many waiver wires. Here we are again: Moore aggravated his shoulder injury, and Coleman stepped up in his absence (6-116-1).

The former second-round pick has fooled us before. Remember his dominant Week 1 in 2025? Now a pattern with Moore sidelined, this feels different. Coleman has a greater than 20% target share with Moore off the field.

The Bills play the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football. Hopefully, there’s clarity regarding Moore’s availability before then, so Coleman can slide right into starting lineups, even in a tough matchup.

Carnell Tate, WR, Tennessee Titans

It's still not time to buy into the Tennessee Titans offense, but they have a gem at the wide receiver position.

Cam Ward buys his time and finds his guy Carnell Tate 🎯

TENvsBAL on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/50Q43xgmh2

— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2026

It was a very consolidated target share against the Ravens. The rookie earned 12 of them. Wan'Dale Robinson had the second most with five. Tate had nine receptions. Robinson was next with three. Tate accounted for 65% of Tennessee's passing yards.

Consistency is the next step in Tate's development. The Titans draw the winless Houston Texans in Week 5. The Texans were supposed to have a strong secondary, but they've been anything but so far.

Quinshon Judkins, RB, Cleveland Browns

The highest-value running back touches come at the goal line and through the air. Quinshon Judkins excelled in both departments in Week 4.

Judkins has two games in the last three weeks with five or more targets. He had a 21% target share against the Steelers. The increased usage coincides with last year’s third-down back, Dylan Sampson, being unavailable.

It was sorely needed, given Judkins’ inefficiency on the ground (three yards per carry) with zero explosive plays. Cleveland should continue using running back screens as a continuation of the run game to get Judkins in space.

Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Bhayshul Tuten’s box score (17 for 73, 2 for 18) doesn’t look dramatically different from previous weeks, but the second-year runner logged career-high marks in backfield carry share (74%) and snap share (59%).

For Week 4, it’s especially brutal that two touchdowns were called back due to penalties, and Chris Rodriguez Jr. eventually scored the team’s lone rushing score. But it’s important to note that one of those canceled touchdowns came from the 3-yard line. Tuten has two carries from within the 5-yard line this season. He scored on both. Rodriguez has one attempt, which went backward.

Tuten is quietly running as well as some of the biggest names at the position. He’s on a top-10 offense, and the Jacksonville defense is furthering leads, opening up more rushing opportunities. He’s trending toward weekly RB1 range.

Other Fantasy Football Risers

• Drake Maye, QB, Patriots
• Dohnte Meyers, WR, Bengals
• Malik Nabers, WR, Giants
• Colston Loveland, TE, Bears

Week 5 Fantasy Football Fallers

Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

Jalen Hurts was without his two favorite pass-catchers entering Week 4 and then lost his backfield mate Saquon Barkley early in the contest. The lack of playmakers is catching up to both Hurts and the Philly offense as a whole.

The Eagles' Super Bowl-winning quarterback completed 12 of 27 attempts for just 93 yards in the loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Two passing touchdowns salvaged what would have been a tremendously bad fantasy output.

Fewest yards per dropback in a game over the last 2 seasons (minimum 30 dropbacks):

1. Cam Ward (Week 1, 2025) – 1.82
2. Brandon Allen (Week 18, 2025) – 2.10
3. Trey Lance (Week 18, 2025) – 2.17
4. Jalen Hurts (today vs Rams) – 2.19

Ward was in his NFL debut. Allen was his only appearance in 2025. Lance was his only start of the season.

— NFL Researcher (@NFL_Researcher) October 4, 2026

The offense is further limited by guard Landon Dickerson landing on IR and All-Pro tackle Lane Johnson announcing his retirement. Hurts can't be viewed as a QB1 until some, or all, of his playmakers return.

Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, WRs, Minnesota Vikings

Respect to the football fans who sat through the field-goal fest that was the afternoon slate. The Minnesota Vikings were the worst offender.

The Kyler Murray-led offense feels like a square peg in a round hole. They've scored one touchdown (two, if you want to count T.J. Hockenson intentionally going down before the goal line) in his 23 drives. The offense stalled enough to give Will Reichard five field goals on Sunday.

Murray's passing numbers (27 of 37 for 247 yards) weren't bad, unlike last week (15 of 29 for 168), but that was expected against a bottom-5 Miami defense. The inability to find paydirt, however, against the unit that allowed over 28 points per game entering Week 4 was unexpected.

The soft schedule has kept Minnesota in the win column in spite of the sputtering offense. So, yes, Justin Jefferson is a faller this week, despite sitting out with an ankle injury. Jordan Addison was Minnesota's leading wide receiver, but only for 52 yards.

Bucky Irving, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bucky Irving had a few major things in his favor and one giant question mark entering Week 4. We don’t want to overreact too much to one game, but he and the rest of the Tampa Bay offense may be unplayable with Baker Mayfield sidelined.

Against a Green Bay defense that got torched the first three games, Tampa Bay mustered 275 yards. The rushing attack was the best option, but that was mostly from Jalon Daniels scrambling. Irving totaled 61 rushing yards, more or less his seasonal average, but on 3.8 yards per carry.

We’ve seen it time and time again. Mobile quarterbacks take the checkdown less often and rely on their legs instead. That was the case in Daniels’ first start. Irving saw zero targets on Sunday. He had a 15% target share in Mayfield’s starts.

We also finally got the answer to Tampa Bay’s goal-line usage. With zero touches entering Sunday, Sean Tucker got the call for the touchdown plunge. The trend dates back to last season. Irving hasn’t registered a carry inside the five since the 2024 season. With diminished passing opportunities, there aren’t many high-value touches left for Tampa Bay’s lead back.

There is another chance for glory. The Buccaneers draw the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5. The matchup makes Irving and Emeka Egbuka somewhat intriguing options. In almost any other matchup, they’d be bench recommendations.

Omarion Hampton, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

A poor performance against Seattle was expected. And although he was saved by a late touchdown, Omarion Hampton’s usage dipped to dangerous levels.

Keaton Mitchell was the Los Angeles backfield leader in Week 4, with a 41% rush attempt share and 16.6% target share. Kimani Vidal saw eight opportunities. Hampton finished with 11. Snaps-wise, it was as even as a three-way split can be. Vidal and Hampton ran 25 plays each. Mitchell got one more.

The shift in the Chargers’ approach hasn’t led to a win, but it's here to stay, according to head coach Jim Harbaugh. He told the media after the game, “We think it’s best for our team.”

Other Fantasy Football Fallers

• Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Commanders
• Emeka Egbuka, WR, Buccaneers
• Dalton Kincaid, TE, Bills
• J.K. Dobbins, RB, Broncos

More Fantasy Football Analysis