Fantasy Football Risers and Fallers - Week 5 (2025)

Andrew Ball's fantasy football risers, fallers, sleepers, and busts heading into Week 5 of 2025. He identifies players with rising and falling fantasy values.

Welcome back to another edition of Fantasy Football Risers and Fallers as we head into Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season!

After about a month of football, we're starting to see some players emerge for fantasy managers, and other players not live up to expectations. For example, some rookie running backs are figuring out the NFL game and taking control of their respective backfield. For others, well, it's complicated.

Let's look around the league and take stock of who's rising, who's falling, and where things might be headed next, as we enter Week 5 of the 2025 season.

Week 5 Fantasy Football Risers

Ashton Jeanty, RB - Las Vegas Raiders

This was the Ashton Jeanty breakout game we've all been waiting for.

Granted, it came against a porous Chicago defense, but let's talk about the positives here. The Week 4 RB1 took 23 opportunities for 155 yards and three touchdowns, and, notably, returned to the Michael Myers stance that made him famous.

#Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty is standing upright in the backfield pre-snap like Michael Myers, as he did at Boise State.

Either Chip Kelly changed his mind on a bent-knee stance or Jeanty had a wish granted. pic.twitter.com/1Zrgurr8D3

— Nick Walters (@nickwalt) September 28, 2025

The Las Vegas offensive line gave the rookie marginally better running lanes, going from negative yards before contact to 0.7 in Week 4. That's all he needed to slither through holes and rip off chunk gains.

There are still a lot of question marks about the offensive line and the play of quarterback Geno Smith. Plus, despite two receiving touchdowns, he's not heavily involved in the passing game. Those were his only two targets of the game, and he has just eight on the year. But you can put the bust label to rest for a while. Jeanty has the juice.

Quinshon Judkins, RB - Cleveland Browns

When Judkins missed the beginning of the season due to off-the-field issues, Dylan Sampson emerged as a potential contributor in the backfield. With Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman, David Njoku, and Harold Fannin Jr. also in tow, how much would Judkins be involved?

As it turns out, he's the clear-cut top option for the Cleveland offense. The coaching staff gave the rookie 25 opportunities - in a blowout loss, no less - for 115 yards and a touchdown. If Judkins can get 21 carries in a game that the Browns trailed by two scores for the entire second half, he's seemingly game-script proof. The usage would push Judkins into RB1 territory, something he hasn't been viewed as until this point.

The primary worry is that the Browns don't have anything else positive on that side of the football. Jeudy has dropitis, Tillman is injured, and Njoku and Fannin are cannibalizing each other's production. They're averaging just 14 points per game, the second-lowest mark in the NFL.

Woody Marks, RB - Houston Texans

Woody Marks delivered for those who saw the signs and stashed him on their bench. The rookie played 11% of Houston's offensive snaps in Week 1. That jumped to 26.5% in Week 2. By the third game, Marks was on the field almost half of the time. Week 4 was the true breakout.

The fourth-round pick has been more effective than Nick Chubb and was handed the reins on Sunday. Marks rushed 17 times for 69 yards and caught four of five targets for 50 yards and scored twice. More importantly, he had more snaps (40 to 30), carries (17 to 13), and targets (five to two) than his veteran counterpart. Plus, third-down back Dare Ogunbowale has been written out of the offense, making it a two-back rotation.

Chubb isn't going anywhere, and he may continue to start for the Texans moving forward, but the youngster should continue to see more touches as the Texans look to keep the offensive momentum established in Week 4.

'Excited to see how much more he can handle' #Texans coach DeMeco Ryans on Woody Marks' breakout game @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/OhIZcLf4co

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) September 29, 2025

Marks is one of the most popular waiver-wire additions this week, and draws a beautiful Week 5 matchup against an injury-riddled Baltimore defense.

George Pickens, WR - Dallas Cowboys

Can George Pickens be the best wide receiver on a good offense? That's been the question looming over his career, and even more as he plays out the final year of his contract.

Through essentially two full games without CeeDee Lamb, Pickens trails only Puka Nacua in fantasy scoring. He's tallied three touchdowns, including two on Sunday night when he dominated a Green Bay defense that was widely regarded as one of the best in football. Dak Prescott has targeted him 20 times for 13 catches and 202 yards since Lamb went to the sidelines.

Until Lamb returns, Prescott will only have eyes for Pickens and tight end Jake Ferguson. It's a two-man show in the Dallas passing game, and we love to see that for fantasy football. Pickens is a WR1 for the time being and may have developed enough of a rapport with his quarterback to be a WR2 when Lamb returns. After all, the atrocious Dallas defense will keep the offense throwing.

Other Fantasy Football Risers:

• Jaxson Dart
• Sam Darnold
• Cam Skattebo
• Brashard Smith
• Drake London
• Romeo Doubs
• Stefon Diggs
• Kyle Pitts Sr.
• Jake Tonges

Week 5 Fantasy Football Fallers

New England Running Backs

TreVeyon Henderson scored the most fantasy points of his young career, Antonio Gibson scored a touchdown, and Rhamondre Stevenson saw double-digit touches again. Therein lies the problem.

In a game where the Patriots built a 36-point lead, no New England running back finished the week as a top-20 running back. Stevenson was the worst of the group (5.1 points), but played the most snaps, had the most carries, and ran the most routes. Gibson (8.7) played single-digit snaps, but saw six opportunities and found the endzone. Henderson (12.6) was in the middle and the highest scorer, thanks to his first touchdown, but his playing time dropped back down in the 30-35% range from the first two weeks.

Patriots offensive snaps (includes 3 kneeldowns):

🏈 More Stefon Diggs (31) means less Pop Douglas (8, lowest since Oct. 8, 2023)

🏈 RBs at half - Rhamondre Stevenson (11), TreVeyon Henderson (10), Antonio Gibson (5) … RBs by end - Stevenson (28), Henderson (15), Gibson (9) pic.twitter.com/KNt4jL9EEi

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 29, 2025

Fantasy managers thought they had figured out the division of labor, and eyed an expanded role for Henderson after the other two backs lost fumbles in Week 3. Rather, head coach Mike Vrabel returned to the rotation and gave Gibson more run.

Okay, but at least we know that Stevenson has the short-yardage and goal-line touches, right? Nope. Unlike the first three games, Henderson and Gibson were in the backfield in those situations. Henderson's score was from five yards away. Gibson's was right on the goal line.

There's even less clarity on who will be in during what situation than before, and a three-way backfield split is bad for fantasy football 99.9% of the time. It's difficult to trust any New England running back until one is removed from the equation.

Tony Pollard, RB - Tennessee Titans

A running back who has played 89% of a team's snaps and handled 93% of backfield touches (both tops in the league) should be a fantasy football star. Should be.

The ineptitude of the Tennessee offense has squandered Pollard's chance to get off to a strong start this season. With his running mate, Tyjae Spears (ankle), out of the lineup, Pollard was a slam-dunk selection for zero-RB drafters. Instead, he's barely been worthy of a flex play.

The Titans average 12.8 points per game. Cam Ward has been sacked more than any quarterback. The schedule (games against the Broncos, Rams, and Texans) hasn't helped. Tennessee isn't moving the football, and there have been very few scoring opportunities for Pollard.

Negative game scripts can still work in a running back's favor. But, despite a very favorable route participation, Pollard only has nine targets and six receptions.

Spears' return window is now open. Whether he plays against Arizona or not, he will eventually eat into Pollard's usage, taking away the only thing Pollard had going in his favor.

Ladd McConkey, WR - Los Angeles Chargers

Is Ladd McConkey the biggest bust in fantasy football, or do Brian Thomas Jr. or Chase Brown still hold the title?

The Chargers' slot receiver has seen his first-read target rate drop every week this season, down to under 21% in Week 4. McConkey has earned one redzone target and is sporting a 59% catch rate. It adds up to 8.4 PPR fantasy points per game.

Ladd McConkey
- 8 FP/G
- 59% catch rate
- 18% tgt share
- 1 RZ tgt
- 1.14 yds/rt

Jerry Jeudy
- 7 FP/G
- 43% catch rate
- 20% tgt share
- 1 RZ tgt
- 1.17 yds/rt

Josh Downs
- 6 FP/G
- 73% catch rate
- 16% tgt share
- 1 RZ tgt
- 1.57 yds/rt

Meet Ladd’s friends.

— LaQuan Jones (@RealDealFantasy) September 29, 2025

McConkey secured just one of his six targets against the Giants, who were previously one of the worst defenses against slot receivers. It can't be blamed on poor quarterback play, as Justin Herbert is on an MVP level.

The gap between McConkey and his wide receiver counterparts is widening. Quentin Johnston has completely shed the bust label. He's scored a touchdown in every game and is the WR4 on the season. Keenan Allen, who is taking the short and intermediate targets away from McConkey, is the WR9.

The crazy part is, McConkey is still on the field all the time. He's played over 90% of the team's snaps in each of the last two weeks. It's encouraging, but it's not translating. Until McConkey has a rebound performance, he's actively hurting your starting lineup and needs to be shown the bench.

Daniel Jones, QB - Indianapolis Colts

It's not that Daniel Jones had a terrible game that reminded us of his New York days, but he has fallen back down to earth after his QB2 start to the season. It's not all his fault: he should have had at least four more fantasy points and may not have needed to throw when he tossed his second interception, if not for Adonai Mitchell.

Ball is out before it crosses the goal line. It’s a touchback!

INDvsLAR on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/DtuT1kDX9s

— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025

The turnovers were a problem on Sunday, and Jones has thrown for fewer yards in his two road starts compared to at home. Plus, an offensive wrinkle could spell trouble for Jones moving forward.

The Colts handed the football off to tight end Tyler Warren on the goal line in Week 4. He scored, taking away a rushing touchdown opportunity from Jones (and Jonathan Taylor, but that's for another time). Jones has yet to throw more than one touchdown pass in any of his four games. Without rushing production, primarily near the end zone, his fantasy production greatly declines. He may now be competing with two players for the short-yardage touches.

Other Fantasy Football Fallers:

• Geno Smith
• Jacory Croskey-Merritt
• Nick Chubb
• Calvin Ridley
• DeVonta Smith / A.J. Brown
• Luther Burden III
• David Njoku

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