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Should I start Ladd McConkey, Michael Pittman, Chris Godwin for Week 5? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
The wide receiver position has been plagued by major injuries to start the season. Fantasy managers who selected players like CeeDee Lamb, Malik Nabers, Tyreek Hill, or Terry McLaurin (among others) are likely scrambling to find replacement players to try and salvage their fantasy season.
Add in the fact that four teams are on bye, especially teams with locked-in contributors like Drake London (Atlanta) and Rome Odunze (Chicago), and you have teams scrambling to field a full lineup in Week 5.
Three players that may have been in and out of your lineup early in this season are Ladd McConkey, Michael Pittman Jr., and Chris Godwin. Are any of them worth starting in Week 5? Read on to find out.
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Should I Start Ladd McConkey for Fantasy Football?
McConkey is one of the biggest fantasy disappointments in 2025. McConkey was drafted as a second-round pick thanks to his fantastic rookie season in 2024, where he finished as the WR19 in PPR points per game (15.1) thanks to 82 receptions for 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns. The belief coming into the season was that McConkey would take the next step and continue to dominate targets for a Chargers team that had very little proven talent surrounding him.
That is not how his season has played out through four weeks.
Quentin Johnston has taken a step this season and is being deployed in an ideal way (yards after catch merchant). The free agent signing of Keenan Allen added another player to the offense who has familiarity with Justin Herbert and the ability to get open.
The result has been a four-game stretch where McConkey is operating as the WR55 in points per game (8.4) with three straight games of single-digit production. The second-year receiver has the highest route participation on the team (91.8%) yet is third in target share (18.1%) and targets per route run (0.17).
It is hard to trust McConkey at this point, but Week 5 is an excellent opportunity for a get-right game. The Chargers' offensive line is decimated by injury, which could lead to quicker passes to McConkey. The Commanders' slot cornerback (Mike Sainristil) is expected to play in this game, but missed practice throughout the week due to an injury.
It is still fair to consider McConkey a low-end WR2 or solid WR3 given his history of production and the Chargers’ high-volume passing attack. With so many wide receivers injured or on bye this week, that is enough to start as a FLEX-level player.
Should I Start Michael Pittman Jr. for Fantasy Football?
Pittman is healthy and thriving with Daniel Jones under center. Pittman is currently the WR13 in PPR scoring with 15.6 points per game. He has three games above 15.0 points scored, including a 20-point performance in Week 1.
TUDDY FOR PITTMAN‼️
📺FOX pic.twitter.com/TLmu4BTZqT
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) September 28, 2025
The veteran receiver has 29 targets, 21 receptions, 234 yards, and three touchdowns this season. He’s gone four straight games with at least five targets, four receptions, and 40 receiving yards. He’s scored a touchdown in three of four games.
The Raiders have been a bottom-half defense against wide receivers this season. They are ranked 22nd in expected points added against receivers (12.7) and yards per route run (6.8). They have allowed the 10th-highest success rate to receivers this season (47.5%).
Pittman is a high-end WR2 who can finish as a top 10 option if he’s able to find the end zone.
Should I Start Chris Godwin for Fantasy Football?
On the surface, Godwin’s first game of the season was a disappointment. According to the box score, Godwin caught just three passes for 26 yards. However, Godwin was targeted 10 times, a significant number given the severity of his injury in 2024.
It was fair to expect rust from Godwin in his first game back. The receiver had one drop, but mostly struggled with his timing with Baker Mayfield. Godwin scored just 5.6 points, but his expected fantasy points were 14.8. That would have made him the WR23 for the week.
Every Chris Godwin target - Week 4 https://t.co/W9bc9QHyw6 pic.twitter.com/T4HCTRAZmM
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) September 30, 2025
It will be tough to trust Godwin again in Week 5. He is still working his way back to full strength and continuing to figure out timing with Mayfield. However, Mike Evans is still out (as well as Bucky Irving), so Godwin should have plenty of targets against a Seahawks secondary missing Devon Witherspoon and Julian Love in the secondary.
Godwin should be considered a WR3 for now, even in an offensive environment that will need to funnel him the ball. That can certainly be a FLEX play with four teams on bye in Week 5.
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 5 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Ladd McConkey, Michael Pittman, Chris Godwin. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 1. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 5 of the 2025 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.
Week 5 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Ladd McConkey, Michael Pittman, Chris Godwin. 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's name. In the second box, search for the second player's 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, enhanced search results with data to compare, and 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 circles), 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 (2025)? 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 Week 5 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Ladd McConkey, Michael Pittman, Chris Godwin compared to others:
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