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Who Should I Start for Week 5? Fantasy Football outlooks for T.J. Hockenson, Juwan Johnson, Isaiah Likely, Tucker Kraft, Michael Mayer, Sam LaPorta, Tyler Warren, Pat Freiermuth, George Kittle.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 5 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like T.J. Hockenson, Juwan Johnson, Isaiah Likely, Tucker Kraft, Michael Mayer, Sam LaPorta, Tyler Warren, Pat Freiermuth, and George Kittle. However, don't worry; we are here to help you make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 5. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 5 of the 2026 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.
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Week 5 Fantasy Football Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider starting in Week 5:
George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle's playmaking in Week 4 served as another reason for fantasy managers to no longer worry about the Achilles injury that he suffered in last season's playoffs. Late in the fourth quarter, Kittle caught a pass underneath and then carved his way through Broncos defenders for a 56-yard touchdown, putting the game out of reach.
It was his fourth touchdown in the last three weeks and gave him his third consecutive top-10 finish at his position in fantasy football. Kittle and the 49ers have a divisional matchup against the Seattle Seahawks on tap for Week 5. Seattle's defense is among the best in the league, but in Week 2 the Cardinals found a way to get Trey McBride eight catches and a touchdown.
San Francisco will need to keep Kittle involved to compete with the Seahawks on Sunday. Despite the challenging matchup, Kittle is a must-start.
Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer still has some flex appeal in Week 5 as his team readies to play the Patriots in New England. Even with Brock Bowers healthy and dominating the target share, Mayer has 20 receptions for 160 yards and one touchdown as Vegas' TE2. That includes a season-high eight receptions for 82 yards in a 30-27 loss to the Chiefs in Week 4.
The Patriots rank 4th in the league against the pass with just 189.8 yards allowed per game, which could force Kirk Cousins to find more targets in Week 5 outside of Bowers. Plus, Vegas' receiving corps will be missing Jalen Nailor (concussion) and Jack Bech (forearm) on Sunday, while Tre Tucker remains inconsistent from week to week. Mayer is a good waiver-wire target in deep leagues given his continued production.
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth found the end zone for the second time this season in Week 4 and will look to remain involved in the red zone against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5. The Steelers have been featuring Freiermuth and fellow tight end Darnell Washington over the past two weeks, and both should have pass-catching roles on Sunday with wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (foot) sidelined.
That said, the Colts have been more vulnerable to receiver and running back production, surrendering just two touchdowns to opposing tight ends through four weeks. If Freiermuth were clearly the preferred receiving tight end in this offense, he would be firmly on the fantasy radar. However, given the heavy rain forecast for Pittsburgh and the fact that he is splitting duties, fantasy managers should look for another option this week.
Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
Four weeks into the 2026 season, Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta has recorded 22 catches for 228 yards and two touchdowns on 32 targets. The 25-year-old had his best game of the young season in Week 4, hauling in eight receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown on 13 targets against the Carolina Panthers. In Week 5, LaPorta and the Lions will take on an Arizona Cardinals defense that has allowed 11 receiving touchdowns through four games and ranks dead last in the NFL in yards per pass attempt allowed (9.1).
Detroit has also operated in extremely pass-heavy game scripts due to its struggling defense, with quarterback Jared Goff averaging over 40 pass attempts per game. As long as both the Cardinals and Lions defenses continue their recent performances, LaPorta could be poised for a big game on Sunday. He profiles as a high-end TE1 option in Week 5 against Arizona.
T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
The offensive high points have been few and far between for the Minnesota Vikings so far this season, but tight end T.J. Hockenson establishing a rapport with quarterback Kyler Murray brings new hope heading into Week 5 against the New Orleans Saints. The veteran tight end drew a whopping 13 targets and caught all of them for 119 yards last week, which made him TE1 even without the would-have-been touchdown that he sacrificed to clinch the game.
Now, Hockenson takes on a Saints defense that ranks 27th against half-PPR tight ends while receivers Justin Jefferson (ankle) and Jordan Addison (hamstring) are questionable to play. While Hockenson could go back to being the third option in this offense if both receivers play, the fact that he has Murray's trust in key situations counts for something. Hockenson is RotoBaller's No. 12 tight end for Week 5, putting him in starting range in most leagues.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 5 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - T.J. Hockenson, Juwan Johnson, Isaiah Likely, Tucker Kraft, Michael Mayer, Sam LaPorta, Tyler Warren, Pat Freiermuth, George Kittle. 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 name. In the second box, search for the second player 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, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with 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 circle), 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 (2026)? 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 searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 5 for T.J. Hockenson, Juwan Johnson, Isaiah Likely, Tucker Kraft, Michael Mayer, Sam LaPorta, Tyler Warren, Pat Freiermuth, George Kittle.
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