Week-5 Fantasy Debrief with Chace Daskalos

0:11 What's going on, everyone? Welcome into the show. I am your host, Chase Daskalos. And every single Monday, we're going through the numbers of what happened in the fantasy football world, player performance, opportunity, usage trends, team trends, league trends, you name it. I got it. We got the numbers on it featuring next-gen stats and NFL pro. We're going to go through my biggest takeaways from most of the games in a very interesting week five. We're going to tackle a Thursday night game first with the 0-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers going into Dallas, knocking off the Cowboys for the first win of the season. This game was the George Pickens and the Bucky Irving show. So in week four against the Texans, C.D. Lamb goes off. He's used a ton,

0:54 21 targets, 17 receptions. The Cowboys had a short week and played on Thursday, obviously. Well, George Pickens had been very, very quiet this season, especially after finishing as the wide receiver four overall in fantasy last year. I think all signs pointed to this being a George Pickens game with Seedy's insane usage last week. On a short week, that's what we got. 13 targets, nine catches, 130 yards, and a touchdown for Pickens, his best game of the season overall.

1:23 By far, he got a ton of easy looks too. Seven receptions for 91 yards on short targets. That's zero to nine air yards. Both of those were career highs. So instead of relying on volatile, inconsistent, deep targets, he got a ton of high percentage looks. Would love to see that continue moving forward for him. CeeDee Lamb was kind of hampered by a quad injury. Sounds like it isn't anything serious. He should be good to go for week six against the Packers. It's really nothing to worry about there. The other standout, as I mentioned, was Bucky Irving.

1:55 175 yards from scrimmage, two touchdowns, ripping off big plays left and right. Arguably the best game of his career. Bucky looks a lot more like rookie season Bucky than sophomore season Bucky. Sophomore season Bucky was really banged up. He was battling some personal matters. He was at 6.0 yards per touch as a rookie. That tanked down to 4.3 in a really weird second year. It's back up to 5.2 this year. He's also doing a decent job of holding off Kenny Gainwell and Sean Tucker over the last two weeks with all three of them active. Opportunities are Bucky 40, Gainwell 13, Tucker 8. That is something that I was a little worried about and kind of pessimistic about coming into the season, but looks pretty good

2:38 over the last two weeks for Bucky Irving. Game number two of the week was an early one for me on the West Coast. In London, Jacksonville wins on a last second field goal from Cam Little in a very competitive game. And the competitive nature of that game is what I want to talk about. I've said this before, but in weeks one through four, the Jacksonville offense was trailing on just 2.2% of their plays. Insane stuff. That was the lowest in the NFL by 12.7%, so nearly 13%.

3:06 The offense had not been pushed at all. Starters were constantly on the bench in the second half of games, and you can't score fantasy points from the sideline. But their fantasy points per numbers had been really good. Trevor Lawrence's fantasy points per attempt Parker Washington, fantasy points for route, both of those were popping. It really felt like both of those players were bound to boom, kind of like in the right game environment. Well, well, well, finally, the Jags were trailing on 70% of their plays against the Eagles.

3:36 And what do we get? 21.7 fantasy points from Trevor Lawrence, 30.4 from Parker Washington. Trevor Lawrence had 12 fourth quarter dropbacks in week five. He had just 14 fourth quarter dropbacks. in weeks one through four combined. Parker Washington, in the fourth quarter, four targets, three receptions, 50 yards, and a touchdown.

3:57 He didn't have a single reception in the fourth quarter of weeks one through four combined. So both Tila and Parker Washington finally got the chance to score points in the fourth quarter of a game, and it led to really nice weeks for them. Basial Tootin, workload, great. Fantasy production, not so great. Dominated running back carries again. Handled 22 of 24 running back carries. Chris Rodriguez got the other two.

4:19 That split on the season is now at 82 Tootin, 28 Chris Rodriguez, and 10 Amir Abdullah. So 68% Basial Tootin. That is what you want. But he doesn't have a single 100-yard game yet this year. He hasn't gone for over 20 fantasy points. Maxed out at 17 in Week 3. He really doesn't have any receiving upside as well. He's been good as a receiver, just not that involved. He only has 10 targets. He has caught 9 of those for 78 yards. I think there's bigger days ahead for Basial Tootin. He looks explosive. Looks like he's been really close to ripping off some big runs, but it just hasn't happened yet. On the Brian Thomas Jr. front, if you haven't already, man, he is droppable. At this point, Josh Cameron, who is the Jags' sixth rounder from the

5:00 2026 NFL Draft, he's literally at this point a better weekly start than BTJ. And Brenton Strain's quietly strong role, eight targets, seven receptions, 68 yards against Eagles. He's on a little bit of an under-the-radar heater here. The last two weeks, 16 targets, 14 catches, 163 yards. Jacksonville will stay in London for next week's matchup against the Texans.

5:22 If you have Brenton Strange and you aren't a Brock Bowers or Trey McBride, George Kill owner, then you just got to play him. On the Eagles side, a little bit of a tough evaluation because they're just missing so many pieces. Saquon's out. Devontae Smith is out. The offensive line is a mess. Will Shipley was a very popular waiver wire ad. He left in the second quarter. And the next man up was Damian Pearce. Jalen Hurts has scored over 20 fantasy points just once this season. He has just one rushing touchdown over his last 11 games.

5:52 I'm not sure what you could get for him, but if you can sell off name brand, somebody who thinks they're buying low on Jalen Hurts, that is a move that I would easily make. Minnesota at New Orleans was a bit of a fantasy mess. We have to talk about the Vikings defense. Not a single quarterback has scored over 20 fantasy points against the Vikings defense And starters are now averaging 8.2 fantasy points per game after Tyler Shuck, who was the QB3 entering the week, put up negative.

6:22 2 fantasy points. Negative. 2 fantasy points for Tyler Shuck. That means the Vikings have now allowed 2.3 points combined. to Malik Willis and Tyler Schuch over the last two weeks. They continue to just harass quarterbacks. They've blitzed on 69% of their pass rushes this season. It is a nightmare matchup.

6:43 They're on bye next week, though, so thankfully there are no matchups against them that we have to worry about. In Week 6, on the offense side of the ball, Aaron Jones' role with Jordan Mason on IR continues to be outrageous. Since Week 2, Aaron Jones has 102 opportunities. That is the second most in the NFL. behind only Jameer Gibbs. Sounds like Jordan Mason is expected to return in week seven after the Vikings week six bye. So you can pull a fast one on a league mate and just sell Aaron Jones. I think that is a sharp, sneaky move to make. Packers at Bears was bombs away for Jordan Love and Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. Jordan Love goes 25 for 31 for 367 yards and two touchdowns.

7:25 He is just letting it fly. The Packers ranked third in the NFL and called pass rate at 67%. Jordan Love has racked up 1,647 air yards through five weeks. That's the second most in the NFL. Marshawn Lloyd did punch it in on the ground twice. That was just on 10 carries for 31 yards. The Packers have no run game, and they're just leaning into the pass. And as a result, we're seeing massive breakout seasons from both Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. Christian Watson puts up six for 143 in two touchdowns. Golden goes six for 123.

7:57 Christian Watson is now the wide receiver three overall on the season, and is just the perfect skill match with Jordan Love. He trails only Jackson Smith and Jigba in downfield receiving yards. He has 389. He's tied for the league lead with four downfield receiving touchdowns. As long as Christian Watson stays healthy, knock on wood, he is well on his way to a top 10 fantasy season. Matthew Golden is awesome too. He is thriving in this full-time role.

8:26 In his second season, he's played 83% of the Packers' offensive snaps That was just 43% as a rookie. The downfield opportunity has been incredible for him as well. 648 air yards through five weeks is the second most in the NFL and already 66 more than he had all of last year. Definitely a volatile role week to week for Matthew Golden, but one that has a very high ceiling.

8:53 For the Bears, Tyson Badgen got benched. He was not effective and overall just a very disappointing day. For Chicago, they averaged 3.6 yards per play. That's the fewest in a Ben Johnson Bears game. So the Bears that were in your fantasy lineup, that's kind of really why they all failed. DeAndre Swift only had nine carries. Really quick on Colson Loveland, too. Through five weeks, he now ranks 38th out of 45 tight ends in yards per route.

9:19 I want to keep believing that the breakout is coming, but week after week, it's just dud after dud after dud. You can't just keep hoping and praying that he's going to come through. So unfortunately, Colson Loveland needs to be on your bench until we see some sign of life, until something changes. Wild, chaotic, disastrous ending in Giants commanders to end in a tie. But aside from all that drama, this was the return of Jayden Daniels after he missed weeks three and four with the elbow injury. Data point that I was really interested in tracking was how much Jayden Daniels was going to run coming back from this injury.

9:57 We all know scrambling is a superpower. It can be such a boom to his fantasy production. It is the reason he has been banged up so much over the last two years. So coming into this game, I assumed he would run less. Kind of only made sense. And then he records seven scramble rush attempts for a career high 103 scramble rush yards and two touchdowns. Jayden Daniels has played in just three games this season. he leads all quarterbacks in scramble rush fantasy points by nine. His willingness to still scramble after suffering all these injuries is massive for his fantasy value going forward. Certainly risky and a little scary. You kind of hold your breath, kind of look away every time he takes off to run,

10:36 but that's just the game that Jane Daniels is going to play. For the Giants, Jameis Winston was awful in week two against the Rams when he came in for Jackson Dart. He was not good in week three, either against the Titans in a bad weather game, He's kind of figured it out over the last two weeks. Yes, against weak opponents in the Cardinals and the Commanders, but still 18 fantasy points in week four and then 25.7 here against the Commanders. And when Jameis Winston is playing good football, it is incredible for his pass catchers, especially because he loves to lock onto his guys, which is very obviously Malik Nabors and Isaiah Likely. Over the last two weeks, Nabors has 27 targets, Likely has 25, and

11:17 the next closest giant, is Darnell Mooney with nine. It is incredibly consolidated to those two, and the big reason why, Malik Neighbors is Fantasy's wide receiver one since week four, and Isaiah Likely is also Fantasy's tight end one over that span. The Giants get the Saints next week in week six. I think that should be another shootout, and if Jameis Winston is still under waiver wire, pick him up, play him in a shootout against the Saints. Lions or Cardinals was the highest scoring game of the week, as expected.

11:46 And look, you don't really need me to tell you how good Jameer Gibbs is. He is the most sure thing in fantasy right now. He is responsible for both of the two highest scoring fantasy outputs by running backs in single games this season. One of them coming against the Cardinals here in week five, 37.7 fantasy points. He has scored over 30 points in three of his five games.

12:07 There was a fantasy source out there over the weekend that advised to sell Jameer Gibbs. Please do not do that. He can single-handedly carry you to your fantasy playoffs and a fantasy championship. I think one of the most necessary breakdowns to dive into here is what we saw from the Cardinals past catchers with Marvin Harrison Jr. inactive and now him traded to Houston. As expected, Michael Wilson led all Cardinals wide receivers and routes with 44. Kind of had a quiet box score, though, just seven targets, four receptions, 30 yards, bigger days ahead for him. But the next man up was Kendrick Bourne with 32 routes. He saw eight targets. caught five for 70 yards. Kendrick Bourne is a priority waiver wire ad if he's still available in

12:50 your league. The Cardinals are very clearly a team that's going to be playing from behind a lot, especially with the upcoming schedule. Rams, Broncos, Cowboys, Seahawks, Rams again, Chiefs. Some tough matchups in there, obviously, but all games where pass play volume should continue to be way up. For Arizona, I would feel comfortable with Bourne in my flex spot moving forward. A couple of takeaways from Colts Steelers. Number one, Jalen Warren now has 490 scrimmage yards since week three.

13:22 That's with Rico Dottle out. That is more than B. John Robinson in second. That is more than Jameer Gibbs in third. Jalen Warren has fantasies RB3 over that span. Sounds like Rico Dottle has been close to playing each of the last two weeks. I think he plays this week against Tampa Bay. But I think it makes Jalen Warren a buy if someone thinks they're being savvy by selling Jalen Warren before Rico comes back. Rico's definitely going to chip into the workload a little bit. But after how good Jalen Warren has been, I think that would be like malpractice to go back to the 58% Warren, 42% Rico split that it was in weeks one and two.

13:58 The Steelers placed Michael Pittman on IR ahead of week five. So Roman Wilson was a very popular waiver wire ad and streaming option against the Colts. And then, of course, in the most fantasy football fashion ever, he goes out and runs 12 routes, doesn't record a single reception, hurts his finger, and is now expected to miss a couple weeks after giving you a goose egg in your lineup in Week 5. This opened the door for Steelers rookie second-round pick Jeremy Bernard, who kind of had a mini breakout game. He tied DK Metcalf with a team high, 28 routes. He's on nine targets, caught six of those for 80 yards. He is a priority waiver wire add.

14:37 ahead of week six. In New England, the Patriots absolutely throttle the Raiders 45 to 17. And would you look at this? Drake May, the first three weeks of the season, fantasy QB 34. Drake May in week four, overall QB one. Drake May in week five this week, overall QB one. Again, that is back-to-back number one overall weeks, just like everyone predicted as the sky was falling in New England the first three weeks of the season. Going to dive deeper into his numbers here in a minute, and you'll hear why.

15:10 Where this guy really is falling is the Raiders rushing offense. Ashton Gentry has another dud on the ground. Wasn't even sure if he was going to play in this game because of both an ankle and a foot injury. He carries 10 times for 27 yards. And now through five weeks, the Raiders rushing as a team ranks dead last in yards per carry. Dead last in yards before contact per carry.

15:31 Dead last in rushes resulting in a first down. Third worst in explosive rush rate. Third worst in rushing success rate. I could keep going, but I'll save everyone there. I'll stop there. It has been a disaster for the Las Vegas Raiders on the ground. Jenty has been productive as a pass catcher, though, and is really the only reason why you shouldn't bench him moving forward. He ranks third in running back receptions, third in running back receiving yards.

15:56 That has resulted in the second most receiving fantasy points among running backs so far this season behind only Jameer Gibbs. I don't know if the rushing production will turn around. He also doesn't even have a single rushing touchdown this season. He hasn't scored since week one, which was two receiving touchdowns.

16:13 At least the receiving production is keeping him afloat. All right, we end every episode with my one biggest move to make. I said I was going to dig more into the numbers behind what Drake May is doing on the field right now because my biggest move to make ahead of week six is buy A.J. Brown. A.J. Brown has been on IR since after week one, but reportedly Patriots believe he'll be ready to go in week six against the Jets.

16:40 And why I'm so bullish and would be so aggressive on acquiring A.J. Brown is because of the tendencies of Drake May right now. Drake May ranks fourth in the NFL in air yards per attempt. He's thrown downfield at the sixth highest rate. He's thrown deep at the fourth highest rate. And this is with Romeo Dobbs and Demario Douglas leading the team in routes run. New England traded for A.J. Brown for him to be the elite downfield connection with Drake May. From since A.J. Brown entered the NFL in 2019 to 2025, the only players with more downfield receptions and receiving yards than A.J. Brown are Justin Jefferson, Tyree Kill, Mike Evans, and Devontae Adams. This is a top five downfield receiving threat about to pair up with

17:28 a quarterback who is aggressively pushing the ball downfield. So get ahead of the news. Go get yourself some A.J. Brown. All right, that's going to do it for this week five edition of the show. We'll be back every single Monday throughout the season, sifting through each week's data. Appreciate everyone for tuning in. We'll be right back here for week six.