Who Should I Start for Fantasy Football Week 5? Woody Marks, Michael Carter, Emari Demercado, Chase Brown, David Montgomery, Cam Skattebo, Chuba Hubbard, Jordan Mason, TreVeyon Henderson

Houston Texans rookie running back Woody Marks is coming off the best game of his young career, and head coach DeMeco Ryans is excited to see how much more he can handle. Marks ran for 69 yards and a touchdown while adding 50 yards and another score through the air in the team's first win of the season on Sunday.

For the first time this year, Marks handled the majority of the team's rushing work, seeing 17 carries to Nick Chubb's 13. Having seemingly passed that test, a pleased Ryans suggested to reporters that more will be put on his young back's plate. Marks was a prolific pass-catcher in college, keeping his fantasy floor high even in less favorable matchups.

Now, with an increased workload on the horizon and no timeline for Joe Mixon's return, Marks becomes a high-priority waiver add wherever he is still unrostered.

ESPN's Adam Schefter said on the Thursday edition of his podcast that he thinks Arizona Cardinals running back Michael Carter will be "thrust to prominence" following injuries to fellow Cardinals backs James Conner (ankle) and Trey Benson (knee).

Carter has been active for just one of Arizona's games so far in 2025 and opened the season behind Conner, Benson, and Emari Demercado on the team's running back depth chart. However, Schefter reports that Demercado is expected to remain Arizona's third-down back, creating an opportunity for Carter to step in as the team's primary rusher. Carter has recorded 2,131 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns on 439 touches across 49 career NFL games (22 starts).

Heading into a Week 5 matchup against the Tennessee Titans, Carter profiles as a high-end fantasy RB3/flex option.

Arizona Cardinals running backs Emari Demercado and Michael Carter are splitting reps at practice on Thursday out of the backfield during individual work in the portion of practice open to the media, according to Tyler Drake.

James Conner (ankle) was lost for the year in Week 3, and now Trey Benson (knee) is on Injured Reserve (out at least four games), paving the way for Demercado and Carter to take over backfield duties in the desert. Carter said on Wednesday that he will start for the Cardinals in Week 5 against the Tennessee Titans, but fantasy managers should take those comments with a grain of salt.

Based on what is transpiring in practice, it looks like the Cardinals could employ a committee approach this weekend, splitting the workload down the middle among Demercado and Carter. Both RBs have been popular waiver-wire additions this week, but fantasy managers may want to temper expectations if they're splitting touches down the middle.

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (calf) remained sidelined at Thursday's practice, leaving his status for Sunday's matchup very much in question. Hubbard has been a bright spot for the Panthers' offense, totaling 217 rushing yards on 53 carries while adding reliability as their lead back.

If he is unable to go, Carolina is expected to turn to Rico Dowdle and Trevor Etienne to share the workload. Dowdle has handled the bulk of the backup duties with 28 carries on the season, but Etienne has been more explosive, averaging 4.6 yards per attempt. When Hubbard exited last week, the pair split touches nearly evenly, with Dowdle seeing nine carries to Etienne's seven.

Fantasy managers should monitor Hubbard's status closely, but both Dowdle and Etienne could emerge as deep-league or desperation flex options depending on how Carolina divides the touches in Week 5.

New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson remains the future of the team's backfield, but his ascension to the No. 1 role is taking a little longer than expected. The Ohio State product played a season-low 31 percent of the snaps this past Sunday, which was a significant reduction from his 46 percent snap share just a week earlier.

Furthermore, he caught two passes along the way, which was also a season- and career-low. All in all, the Patriots continue to use Rhamondre Stevenson more than Henderson, and they've also mixed in some rushing attempts for Drake Maye and Antonio Gibson. Until he's the clear-cut No. 1 running back on a weekly basis, Henderson deserves to be benched in fantasy football.

From a waiver wire perspective, though, he's an interesting candidate to be added in leagues with at least 12 teams, especially since he could blossom into New England's lead back by midseason. He's a top waiver wire target for Week 5.