Break The Slate: DraftKings NFL DFS Lineup Picks - Week 5

Joe Nicely's DraftKings NFL DFS picks and lineup sleepers for Week 5. His top daily fantasy football recommendations to target for DraftKings DFS contests.

Hi there, RotoBallers, and welcome back to Break The Slate! If you read this article regularly, then you know what we're about here, but if you are a new reader, let me quickly summarize our goals with this article. We'll spend each week discussing a few plays at each position for the DraftKings main slate that can add tournament-winning upside and/or juicy value to our NFL DFS rosters. I'll highlight my favorite players and breakdown my reasoning behind them.

I try to update the article on Saturdays to reflect any significant injuries or late-breaking news, as the landscape of the slate can change quickly in the NFL, and I definitely recommend you checking those out. It was a really solid slate for us in Week 4, especially at the RB position, as our highlighted players Alvin Kamara, Dalvin Cook, and Mike Davis all killed it for us. Week 5 is shaping up to be an interesting slate and I can't wait to dive in! Remember, the NFL is ever-evolving from week to week, which gives us an opportunity to apply what we've learned on the next slate.

These DraftKings lineup recommendations are based on matchups, projected ownership, overall upside/talent levels, opportunity, and other factors such as Vegas odds, home-field advantage, and more. There are quite a few great plays available, so read on to find out which players are the best for Week 5. Be sure to also check out our weekly FanDuel DFS lineup picks and lots of other great NFL DFS articles and NFL DFS tools to help you win big! Good luck with your DraftKings DFS lineups, let's Break The Slate together!

DraftKings DFS Quarterbacks - Week 5 Picks

Dak Prescott & Daniel Jones - NYG @ DAL ($7,400 & $5,400)

I'm listing these two together because this is a game that we should be heavily focused on. Dak Prescott is obviously the preferred play here, as he's having an unbelievably-productive season and leads all QBs in DraftKings points scored through four weeks. On paper this isn't a great matchup for Prescott...the Giants have allowed the sixth-fewest DK points in the NFL to the QB position. However, we all know that games aren't played on paper and looking at the QBs New York has faced brings a different perspective to that stat. We can also count on Dallas' turnstile defense to force Prescott and the offense to stay aggressive throughout this one.

Speaking of the Cowboys' barely-there defensive unit...Daniel Jones is an interesting salary saver this week and a unique way to get some exposure to this matchup. Jones' game log isn't pretty, but he's faced one of the toughest QB-matchup schedules in the league thus far (Steelers, Bears, 49ers, Rams). Things are going to get MUCH EASIER for the second-year pivot this week, as the Cowboys have relinquished over 1,000 passing yards and 11 TDs to opposing QBs, and have yet to hold an opponent to under 20 real points this season.

Teddy Bridgewater - CAR @ ATL ($5,900)

DFS is a format where we want to unapologetically target teams with flaws. Atlanta has lots of problems, but their secondary is the biggest. Through four weeks the Falcons are dead last in the NFL in DK points allowed to the QB position, while relinquishing the most passing TDs and second-most passing yards in the league. We suspected that Teddy Bridgewater would come in and be something of a "game manager" for Carolina this year, but Teddy B has topped 34 pass attempts in three of Carolina's four games this season and should continue to be pressed into carrying a heavier load during Christian McCaffrey's absence. This matchup carries a high projected point total (54) and tight point spread (ATL -2.5), which adds up to Bridgewater being one of the most intriguing value plays on the slate.

DraftKings DFS Running Backs - Week 5 Picks

Clyde Edwards-Helaire - LV @ KC ($6,800)

Perhaps the most highly-touted rookie fantasy prospect heading into the year, Clyde Edwards-Helaire made a huge splash in the season-opener against Houston, rushing for 138 yards and a TD. Edwards-Helaire has failed to cross the century mark on the ground since, but his steady workload in this explosive Chiefs offense - especially in the passing game - is very encouraging. CEH was targeted just twice in that Week 1 game, but he's received 17 looks over KC's three subsequent games. He draws a smash matchup against a Raiders defense that has relinquished 276 receiving yards (the second-most in the NFL) to opposing RBs this season. Las Vegas is also being gashed on the ground, allowing a massive 5.36 yards per carry, a mark that ranks 29th in the NFL.

James Robinson - JAX @ HOU ($6,700)

The Houston Texans run defense is a spot that I've targeted relentlessly this year. It paid off again last week, as one of our highlighted players in this column, Dalvin Cook, smoked Houston for 130 yards and 2 TDs on 27 carries. Through four weeks the Texans have relinquished 651 rushing yards to opposing RBs - the most in the NFL - and have allowed a 100-yard rusher in three of their four games. Jacksonville's James Robinson has turned into an under-the-radar bell cow in the absence of Leonard Fournette. Robinson has handled a staggering 84% of Jacksonville's backfield touches through four weeks, with touch counts of 17/19/17/21 this season.

DraftKings DFS Wide Receivers - Week 5 Picks

CeeDee Lamb - NYG @ DAL ($6,000)

We've already touched on this matchup at the QB position (and have one more play still to come!), but I don't think you can get too much exposure to this Dallas offense at the moment. Amari Cooper is certainly the top option in this high-powered passing attack, but he will draw shadow coverage from New York's James Bradberry (a player that's been the lone bright spot in this Giants secondary), which should pave the way for CeeDee Lamb to do some damage out of the slot against NY's rookie slot corner Darnay Holmes, who has been consistently torched this year. Lamb is proving to be everything Dallas hoped he would be when they spent a first-round pick on him earlier this year. The rookie has been targeted 29 times through four games (second in targets to Cooper) and has responded with 21 catches for 309 yards and 2 TDs.

Robby Anderson - CAR @ ATL ($5,900)

After years of being in the purgatory that is the New York Jets offense, Robby Anderson has seemingly found a nice home in Carolina with his former college coach Matt Rhule. Anderson has been a key cog in this Panthers attack and leads Carolina in WR targets with 34 through their first four games. He's not only seeing heavy volume, he's also been productive, posting 377 yards and a TD on 28 catches. Anderson's mouth has to be watering at the prospect of facing the joke that is the Falcons secondary this week. Atlanta's attempt at retooling their defensive backfield this offseason has failed miserably, as they rank bottom-five in the NFL in DK points (167.50), receiving yards (822), and yards per target (9.79) allowed to the WR position. Like life in Jurassic Park, offenses will find a way against this Falcons pass defense and they are fresh off a Sunday-night trouncing at the hands of a Green Bay pass-catching corps that was without their top-two options.

Darius Slayton - NYG @ DAL ($4,800)

Darius Slayton is our last player from the Giants vs Cowboys matchup, and man, he is in a potential blowup spot. Slayton has failed to crack 10 DK points since a 31.2 DK point explosion in the season opener, but the volume has been there, with target counts of: 7/7/6 over NY's last three. He also carries a healthy aDOT of 12.40, an attractive stat against this Cowboys Defense that has struggled to stop anything - they've allowed the second-most DK points in the NFL to the WR position - but that has been especially susceptible to deep threats and is allowing nearly 9.50 yards per targets to opposing WRs. This is a list of some of the outings Dallas has allowed to opposing WRs through four games: Robert Woods - 6/105/0, Calvin Ridley - 7/109/2, DK Metcalf - 4/110/1, Tyler Lockett - 9/100/3, OBJ - 5/81/2.

DraftKings DFS Tight Ends - Week 5 Picks

George Kittle - MIA @ SF ($6,600)

Honestly, this is a "frustration write-up". I'm a fan of trying to save salary at TE, but the position has been so consistently gross this season that I'm considering paying all the way up for George Kittle this week, simply in an attempt to get some sort of meaningful production from the roster spot. When he's healthy, Kittle is a safe bet to produce. He returned from a knee injury to lay the smack down on Philly last week, dropping a ridiculous 15/183/1 stat line on Sunday Night Football. The matchup against Miami isn't great on paper - they rank fifth in the NFL in DK points allowed to the TE position - but let's be honest, if the Niners continue to scheme Kittle the ball in the fashion they did last week, the Dolphins aren't going to contain him.

Eric Ebron - PHI @ PIT ($4,000)

If you just read the Kittle write-up, then you know that he absolutely trucked the Eagles last week. He's not the only tight end to do so...Philly is allowing a ridiculous 9.20 yards per target to the TE position this season, while also relinquishing a league-worst 86.7 catch percentage to opposing TEs. Eric Ebron's numbers certainly haven't been gaudy this season, but his role in this Steelers offense continues to evolve, as his targets have steadily increased each week. Ebron went from a single look in Week 1, to five in Week 2, and seven in Pittsburgh's most recent game, which he converted into five catches for 52 yards and a TD. He's ran pass routes on 94.4% of his snaps and (hopefully) represents a ray of hope in what's been a dark season for value tight ends.

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