Who Should I Start for Fantasy Football Week 5? Nico Collins, Ashton Jeanty, Kyren Williams, George Holani, Kaelon Black, Mike Washington, Antonio Williams, Cooper Kupp, Kimani Vidal

October 10, 2026

Who Should I Start for Week 5? Fantasy Football outlooks for Nico Collins, Ashton Jeanty, Kyren Williams, George Holani, Kaelon Black, Mike Washington Jr., Antonio Williams, Cooper Kupp, Kimani Vidal.

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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 5 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Nico Collins, Ashton Jeanty, Kyren Williams, George Holani, Kaelon Black, Mike Washington Jr., Antonio Williams, Cooper Kupp, and Kimani Vidal. 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:

Cooper Kupp, Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp continues to trend in the wrong direction rather quickly. Kupp went from being the WR1 in 2021 to fighting for targets and a roster spot over the last couple of years, especially after leaving the Rams for the Seahawks. This year, Kupp has mustered just nine catches for 114 yards and a touchdown, and last week, he was held to a measly one catch for 13 yards.

Last Sunday marked the third time this season he has produced six or fewer fantasy points in PPR leagues. He is clearly overshadowed by Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the passing game, but he also found himself behind AJ Barner and Rashid Shaheed in the pecking order more often than not this year. After all, those young players are trending up while he's trending down. Kupp can be benched or left on waivers in all leagues ahead of Week 5 against the 49ers, who have limited opposing receivers to the sixth-fewest fantasy points this year.

George Holani, Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks running back George Holani has emerged as the team's undisputed No. 2 ball carrier, but that has yet to result in consistent production across fantasy football leagues. Holani continues to operate behind Emanuel Wilson, even after Jadarian Price (chest) was placed on injured reserve. He did catch five passes back in Week 3, but that number dropped back down to one last Sunday.

Holani's outlook continues to depend quite heavily on his role in the passing game. As long as he's posting games like last week where he caught just one pass, he's completely avoidable in fantasy leagues while Wilson handles an every-down role. It's also worth noting that the Seahawks have a very tough matchup against the 49ers, who are 4-0 and could make positive game-script scenarios harder to come by.

Until he shows that he can contribute more consistently, Holani ranks as a low-end RB4 in fantasy football, and so he belongs on the bench in most leagues.

Mike Washington Jr., Las Vegas Raiders

Las Vegas Raiders running back Mike Washington Jr. is in line to play a larger role in Week 5 against the New England Patriots. Superstar back Ashton Jeanty (ankle/foot) didn't practice on Friday and is questionable to play, which opens the door for Washington to expand his repertoire. The rookie out of Arkansas had nine carries for 18 yards in a 30-27 loss to the Chiefs in Week 4, which brings him to 24 carries for 120 yards and one touchdown on the season.

The Patriots have allowed 104 rushing yards per game and four rushing TDs on the season, which lets Washington take some pressure off of Kirk Cousins and the receiving corps. Washington is a deep-league stash and a Week 5 waiver-wire pickup with Jeanty questionable to play.

Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders

Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty goes from being a must-start to a risky play in Week 5 against the New England Patriots. The second-year running back missed practice on Friday and has been listed as questionable to play due to an ankle/foot injury.

It's an unfortunate turn of events, especially against a Patriots defense that is allowing 104 rushing yards per game and four rushing TDs on the season. Jeanty was held to 15 carries for 58 yards in a 30-27 loss to the Chiefs in Week 4, and still hasn't recorded a touchdown this season.

Even if Jeanty plays on Sunday, RB2 Mike Washington Jr. appears capable of shouldering a heavier workload. Fantasy managers should keep a close eye on Jeanty's status through Saturday before choosing to play him.

Kaelon Black, San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers running back Kaelon Black (illness) showed promise as Christian McCaffrey's understudy in Week 1. In the season opener, the rookie handled 14 carries for 65 yards. His effectiveness seemed to open the door to a rotation to keep McCaffrey fresh, but Black has not seen more than seven carries in a game over the last three weeks.

Black was limited in practice earlier this week by an illness, but he was a full participant on Thursday and Friday and has no designation for the 49ers' upcoming game against the Seahawks. Deep-league fantasy managers who are keeping weekly tabs on Black as an option should wait another week. Seattle is allowing the lowest rushing success rate and fourth-lowest EPA per rushing attempt.

Black's opportunities to get on the field may also be limited in what is expected to be a hotly contested divisional matchup. Black is projected as an RB5 and should remain a bench stash for the time being.

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 - Nico Collins, Ashton Jeanty, Kyren Williams, George Holani, Kaelon Black, Mike Washington Jr., Antonio Williams, Cooper Kupp, Kimani Vidal. 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 Nico Collins, Ashton Jeanty, Kyren Williams, George Holani, Kaelon Black, Mike Washington Jr., Antonio Williams, Cooper Kupp, Kimani Vidal.