This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Football series.
Another exciting slate of NFL action is on tap for Week 5, with 13 games scheduled for Sunday, the Rams and Seahawks facing off Thursday, the Browns and 49ers meeting Monday, and the Lions and Dolphins on bye. While DFS owners won't have the benefit of beating up on the Dolphins this week, another overmatched winless team looks primed to take Miami's place as the league's stackable punching bag. The suggestions below include a veteran quarterback primed for a bounce-back performance and a tight end who has been quiet thus far but should break out in a dream matchup.
TOURNAMENTS (GPP – GUARANTEED PRIZE POOL)
QB: Deshaun Watson, HOU vs. ATL ($35): Watson has been up and down this season, with a pair of three-touchdown performances through the air and two games in which he failed to pass for more than 160 yards or throw a touchdown pass. Look for him to hit a high note here against a Falcons defense that just allowed Marcus Mariota to toss a trio of touchdowns -- only the second time Mariota has hit that threshold since the start of the 2017 season.
RB: Le'Veon Bell, NYJ at PHI ($27): While the Eagles are holding opponents to the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game (62.0), they're allowing a league-high 323.8 yards per game through the air, and Bell has accrued more fantasy points from catching the ball (20 receptions, 121 yards, one touchdown) than running it (56 carries, 163 yards) through three games with the Jets. The star running back will be ready to handle a heavy workload coming out of the bye, and New York's entire offense could get a major boost if quarterback Sam Darnold is ready to return from mononucleosis. Bell's a terrific GPP play at $27 with Darnold and could still return sneaky-good value as the focal point of both New York's rushing and passing attack should Darnold sit.
WR: Diontae Johnson, PIT vs. BAL ($12): The Ravens continue to operate without No. 1 cornerback Jimmy Smith (knee), and while they've actually done a decent job of limiting production from opposing No. 1 wideouts in Smith's absence, the lack of depth in the secondary has caught up to them with some huge days from the opposition's other receivers. After two Cardinals topped 100 receiving yards against Baltimore in Week 2, the Chiefs got touchdowns from both Demarcus Robinson and Mecole Hardman in Week 3, and Jarvis Landry made up for a quiet day from Odell Beckham by racking up 167 yards for the Browns in Week 4. Johnson has grabbed Pittsburgh's No. 2 wide receiver role by the horns with over 50 yards and a touchdown in each of the past two games, and the rookie third-rounder at $13 looks a lot more appealing here than JuJu Smith-Schuster at $28.
Other Against-the-Grainers
QB: Philip Rivers (LAC, $30), Jacoby Brissett (IND, $29)
RB: Aaron Jones (GB, $24), Josh Jacobs (OAK, $17), Dalvin Cook (MIN, $40)
WR: Robby Anderson (NYJ, $16), Odell Beckham (CLE, $31), Adam Thielen (MIN, $28)
TE: Darren Waller (OAK, $20), Travis Kelce (KC, $32)
DST: Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. BAL, $12), Carolina Panthers (vs. JAX, $16)
CASH GAMES (H2H, 50/50s and DOUBLE UPS)
QUARTERBACK
Tom Brady, NE at WAS ($34): As you probably guessed, this week's Miami surrogate is a Washington team that's giving up the second-most points per game (29.5). While that number's admittedly a far cry from Miami's 40.8, facing the Patriots should help make up the difference. Brady will be eager to bounce back after getting carried to a win by the defense last week, and he was rolling prior to the 15-10 Week 4 victory over the Bills, with 911 yards and a 7:0 TD:INT over the first three games. Meanwhile, the Redskins have allowed three-touchdown performances to three of the four quarterbacks they have faced this season, and Brady is likely to spend the majority of the game on the field considering Washington produced under 200 yards of total offense and turned it over four times against a Giants defense that can't hold a candle to the stingy New England unit.
RUNNING BACK
David Johnson, ARI at CIN ($30): While Johnson has underperformed his lofty draft-day valuation in redraft leagues, he's a nice DFS play at $30 in the right matchup, which this certainly is. Cincinnati's 143.0 yards allowed per game on the ground ranks sixth highest in the league, plus the Bengals have already allowed five rushing touchdowns and three receiving scores to the running back position. Johnson's averaging 43.3 yards per game on the ground and 45.5 through the air to go with three total touchdowns through four games, so he's a threat to score as both a rusher and receiver in this one.
Jaylen Samuels, PIT vs. BAL ($10): Samuels would become a must-play at the minimum price if James Conner (ankle) has to sit this one out. Even if Conner plays, Samuels should still provide nice bang for the buck after totaling 26 rushing yards, 57 receiving yards and even 31 yards as a passer out of the wildcat while working as a change-of-pace option last week. Meanwhile, the Ravens were busy giving up nearly 200 yards and four touchdowns to Cleveland's rushing attack in Week 4.
WIDE RECEIVER
Alshon Jeffery, PHI vs. NYJ ($21): With supposed No. 1 cornerback Trumaine Johnson benched, the Jets' already thin cornerback corps has been even worse than expected, and opposing receivers have absolutely torched them. John Brown had 123 yards and a touchdown, Odell Beckham had 161 yards and a touchdown, and the post-Antonio Brown Patriots had three different wideouts catch at least six balls, with two of them finding the end zone. Jeffery has three touchdowns in essentially two games played (he was on the field for six snaps against Atlanta before leaving with an injury), and his chances of finding the end zone again look terrific here.
Michael Thomas, NO vs. TB ($29): Thomas has scored at least 13.9 fantasy points in every game, showing that he doesn't need Drew Brees to remain a high-floor wide receiver thanks to his role as the No. 1 option in New Orleans' passing attack. Only the Eagles allow more passing yards per game than Tampa Bay's 318.3, so Thomas should have no trouble outperforming his $29 valuation, even with Teddy Bridgewater throwing him the ball.
Julian Edelman, NE at WAS ($24): Just like his quarterback, Edelman should bounce back after a quiet game in Buffalo. Edelman was likely still nursing a chest/ribs injury last week and couldn't get much separation against a talented Bills secondary. With a dramatic drop in difficulty of competition and another week to heal up, look for Brady's favorite target to get open at will.
TIGHT END
Tyler Eifert, CIN vs. ARI ($15): Eifert's season has been nothing to write home about, but he's shown a decent level of involvement in the offense with five targets in three of four games. That's enough to make Eifert a nice play against a Cardinals defense that's been monumentally incompetent when it comes to covering tight ends. Arizona's 32 receptions, 431 yards and six touchdowns allowed to the position all lead the league, and no other team has given up more than three scores to tight ends while only two other defenses (Tampa Bay, Miami) have allowed over 300 yards to the position.
DEFENSE
Chicago Bears, CHI at OAK ($18): The Bears got off to a "slow" start with only 14.0 fantasy points through two weeks, but they've turned it on with 38.0 fantasy points over the past two. This unit was the consensus No. 1 defense off the board in redraft leagues for a reason, as Chicago's already sitting on 17 sacks and eight takeaways. The Raiders have certainly improved after an ugly 2018 season, but they still don't scare anyone.
Honorable Mentions
QB: Carson Wentz (PHI, $33), Patrick Mahomes (KC, $41)
RB: Melvin Gordon (LAC, $20), Sony Michel (NE, $18), Alvin Kamara (NO, $33)
WR: Chris Godwin (TB, $24), DeAndre Hopkins (HOU, $33), Courtland Sutton (DEN, $16)
TE: Will Dissly (SEA, $16), Zach Ertz (PHI, $20)
DST: Philadelphia Eagles (vs. NYJ, $15), New England Patriots (at WAS, $22)
