This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Football series.
The Week 5 NFL main slate begins Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EDT and features 13 games, while the Buccaneers and Bears will face off at 8:20 p.m. EDT on Thursday, the Chargers-Saints game concludes the week Monday, and the Lions and Packers are on bye. With four weeks of data to work with, it's starting to become clear which defenses represent favorable matchups and which ones are best avoided. The same is true of offenses, though it's generally easier to find value in middling or lower-end offensive players facing leaky defenses than in hoping top-end performers can dominate despite tricky matchups. Some of the standout Week 5 options include a pair of young wide receivers going head-to-head in a battle of vulnerable passing defenses, an underperforming running back primed to shake off his slow start, and a star quarterback facing a defense that couldn't stop him last season.
TOURNAMENTS (GPP – GUARANTEED PRIZE POOL)
QB: Teddy Bridgewater, CAR at ATL ($25): Bridgewater's coming off his best game in a Panthers uniform, registering 27.24 fantasy points in a 31-21 win over the Cardinals thanks to two passing touchdowns and a rushing score. He's thrown for 286.8 yards per game and is also capable of chipping in with his legs against a Falcons defense that wasn't very good to begin with and has only gotten worse after being bitten by the injury bug. Atlanta's allowing 341.5 passing yards per game -- second most in the league -- and has surrendered four passing touchdowns three different times through four games. The Falcons are also on a slightly shorter week after losing in Green Bay on Monday.
RB: D'Ernest Johnson, CLE vs. IND ($10): Johnson is an enticing against-the-grain option at the minimum price. He split work with Kareem Hunt after Nick Chubb (knee) got hurt in last week's win over Dallas, rushing 13 times for 95 yards. Conventional wisdom says to avoid the stingy Colts defense, but it's possible Indianapolis isn't as good on that side of the ball as it's getting credit for, as the Colts have faced the Jaguars, Vikings, Jets and Bears -- three of those teams ranked in the bottom 10 in points per game, and the Vikings are no powerhouse at 14th.
WR: Darius Slayton, NYG at DAL ($19): Slayton has been quiet with three catches apiece in each of the last three games after kicking off the season with 102 yards and two touchdowns against the Steelers in Week 1, but the Giants' top downfield threat is primed to break out again in Dallas. New York's league-worst offense is scoring just 11.8 points per game, so a date with a league-worst Cowboys defense that's giving up 36.5 points per game is exactly what the Giants' underachieving playmakers need. Of those playmakers, Slayton has the highest upside, as he has an impressive 976 yards and 10 touchdowns through his first 18 NFL games.
Other Against-the-Grainers
QB: Dak Prescott (DAL, $38), Philip Rivers (IND, $24), Justin Herbert (LAC, $28)
RB: Josh Jacobs (LV, $28), Jerick McKinnon (SF, $20), Devonta Freeman (NYG, $10)
WR: Allen Robinson (CHI, $28), Will Fuller (HOU, $19), Tyler Boyd (CIN, $19)
TE: George Kittle (SF, $28), Mo Alie-Cox (IND, $18)
DST: Cleveland Browns (vs. IND, $13), Dallas Cowboys (vs. NYG, $12)
CASH GAMES (H2H, 50/50s and DOUBLE UPS)
QUARTERBACK
Lamar Jackson, BAL vs. CIN ($36): Jackson has scaled back his rushing a bit after setting a quarterback record with 1,206 rushing yards on 176 attempts last season, but he's still the league's premier scrambler at his position with 235 yards and a touchdown on 39 attempts through four weeks. The Bengals are allowing 158.5 yards per game on the ground, and Jackson is the Raven most likely to capitalize on Cincinnati's 27th-ranked run defense, as he has led Baltimore in rushing yards three times in the team's first four games. Jackson also owns a tidy 7:1 TD:INT through the air, and he dominated the Bengals in their two meetings last season, averaging 229.5 passing yards and 108.5 rushing yards while contributing three passing touchdowns and two rushing scores without a turnover.
RUNNING BACK
Todd Gurley, ATL vs. CAR ($23): While Gurley hasn't been as involved in the Falcons' passing game as he was with the Rams, he has rushed for at least 56 yards in each of his first four games this season while finding the end zone four times. With Atlanta's skilled receiving corps battling the injury bug, look for the Falcons to ride their ground game against a Panthers defense that has struggled to stop the run. Carolina has allowed at least 117 rushing yards in each of its first four games while surrendering seven touchdowns on the ground.
Kenyan Drake, ARI at NYJ ($22): Drake's off to a quiet start in 2020 after a strong finish to the 2019 campaign, but a matchup with the winless Jets offers a terrific buy-low opportunity on the Cardinals' lead back. New York's giving up the 11th-most rushing yards per game (129.0) and has surrendered at least one rushing score in every game, giving up a total of six so far. Arizona also has Chase Edmonds on hand to siphon off some of the workload, but Drake is still the clear-cut top dog at this point, with 18 touches per game to Edmonds' 7.3.
WIDE RECEIVER
Justin Jefferson, MIN at SEA ($20): Jefferson has exploded onto the scene over the past two weeks with 11 catches for 278 yards and a touchdown. The 22nd overall pick in this year's draft should keep rolling against a league-worst Seahawks secondary that's allowing a ridiculous 401.0 passing yards per game and has allowed seven different wide receivers to top 100 receiving yards through four games. Fellow Vikings receiver Adam Thielen ($30) is also a strong choice here, but Jefferson offers better bang for the buck at two-thirds of Thielen's valuation.
DK Metcalf, SEA vs. MIN ($31): Metcalf's off to a blistering start, with at least 92 yards in each of his first four games and touchdowns in three of them. This matchup between two of the league's worst passing defenses is expected to feature plenty of fireworks from both aerial attacks, as evidenced by this game's slate-high over/under of 57.5 points, and Metcalf has the highest floor among the wide receivers on either side given his downfield prowess and Russell Wilson's ability to get him the ball.
D.J. Moore, CAR at ATL ($19): Moore's off to a slow start with just 18 catches for 288 yards and no touchdowns, but a road date with Atlanta's 31st-ranked pass defense is just what the 2018 first-rounder needs to break out. His 32 targets rank 15th among all NFL players, although that's two behind fellow Panthers wide receiver Robby Anderson's total, and Moore's 87 catches for 1,175 yards and four touchdowns last season suggest he's capable of more than he has shown thus far. As with Drake in Arizona, Moore's pedestrian start coupled with a favorable matchup make this the perfect time to buy low.
TIGHT END
Jonnu Smith, TEN vs. BUF ($21): The Bills have been stellar at defending opposing receivers on the outside with their stout cornerback corps, but they have struggled over the middle. Smith is tied with slot receiver Adam Humphries for the Titans' lead in targets with 20 through three games, and with Humphries likely to be unavailable since he's on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the fourth-year tight end is primed to take on an even larger role. The Bills have allowed the most yards (359) and second-most catches (31) to tight ends through four weeks, while Smith's off to a blistering start in his first season as Tennessee's top dog at his position, with 13 catches for 181 yards and three touchdowns through three games.
DEFENSE
Los Angeles Rams, LAR at WAS ($15): The Rams are an appealing option for a second consecutive week after posting more fantasy points (11) than points allowed (nine) against the Giants last week. This unit has racked up 12 sacks, four interceptions and two fumble recoveries through four games, and Aaron Donald and Co. should make life difficult for the Kyle Allen-led Washington offense. Allen -- who will be starting in place of the benched Dwayne Haskins -- posted a 17:16 TD:INT and lost seven of 13 fumbles in 13 games with the Panthers last season, and he had an uninspiring 2:6 TD:INT over his final three games.
Honorable Mentions
QB: Russell Wilson (SEA, $41), Patrick Mahomes (KC, $38), Deshaun Watson (HOU, $30)
RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire (KC, $32), James Robinson (JAX, $25), David Johnson (HOU, $18)
WR: DeAndre Hopkins (ARI, $37), DJ Chark (JAX, $22), Sammy Watkins (KC, $14)
TE: Hunter Henry (LAC, $19), Eric Ebron (PIT, $14)
DST: San Francisco 49ers (vs. MIA, $18), Arizona Cardinals (at NYJ, $19)
