Fantasy football Week 5 PPR Cheat Sheet: Dave Richard weighs tough calls on Justin Herbert and Ollie Gordon

Jared Goff draws a favorable Week 5 matchup, while Ollie Gordon, Woody Marks and T.J. Hockenson present tough lineup decisions

Oct 8, 2026 at 3:28 pm ET • 4 min read

Your Fantasy football season can turn on one lineup decision, and Week 5 is shaping up to be another tough week for managers trying to separate the must-starts from the potential busts. Injuries are forcing some notable names to the bench, unexpected contributors are emerging as legitimate starting options, and favorable matchups could make the difference between a win and a frustrating loss.

Four weeks into the season, Fantasy managers have a better understanding of which players they can trust, but that doesn't mean the decisions are getting any easier. Can you afford to bench Jalen Hurts or Justin Herbert? Should you trust a waiver-wire addition over the player you drafted to be your weekly starter? And which matchups offer the best opportunities to capitalize in Week 5?

That's where Dave Richard's Week 5 PPR cheat sheet comes in. With detailed matchup analysis and confidence scores for every relevant player, you'll have the information you need to navigate those difficult start/sit decisions and give yourself the best chance to come away with a victory.

What do the numbers mean? All weekly analysis, from data points to matchup outlooks to game-flow predictions, is represented as a number on a 1-10 confidence scale. The higher the number next to a player's name, the more confident I am that you should start him. The numbers are not projections but confidence scores to help you pick who to start. All relevant players for this week are listed, so if you do not see a player's name, do not start him.

To find a specific player, use your search function (CTRL-F on PCs and Command-F on Macs). If neither is an option, or if you're on a mobile device, you can search by typing the name in the URL bar or scrolling down by game. If you're still unsure, just send Dave a note (@DaveRichard), and he will take a look, time permitting. Remember to use the #AskFFT hashtag!

If you're reading this on Sunday, please refer to CBS Sports' weekly rankings, which are updated in real-time.

Ready to get off on the right foot? Here's how to approach every play for this week in every PPR league.

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Buccaneers		Cowboys
Jalon Daniels	4.5	Dak Prescott	8.6
Bucky Irving	6.52	Javonte Williams	8.05
Kenneth Gainwell	4.48	CeeDee Lamb	9.4
Sean Tucker	2.15	George Pickens	7.45
Emeka Egbuka	5.88	Ryan Flournoy	3.85
Chris Godwin	5.44	Jake Ferguson	5.22
Ted Hurst	3.52	Cowboys DST	6.5
Cade Otton	3.55
Buccaneers DST	2.8

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Eagles		Jaguars
Jalen Hurts	4.2	Trevor Lawrence	7.6
Will Shipley	5.46	Bhayshul Tuten	7.08
Dameon Pierce	3.5	Chris Rodriguez Jr.	4.3
Dontayvion Wicks	6.1	Parker Washington	7.48
Darius Cooper	5.0	Jakobi Meyers	5.2
Makai Lemon	4.84	Brian Thomas Jr.	5.16
Zach Ertz	2.4	Brenton Strange	3.98
Eagles DST	3.2	Jaguars DST	8.2

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Bears		Packers
Tyson Bagent	3.9	Jordan Love	5.9
D'Andre Swift	7.1	MarShawn Lloyd	4.45
Kyle Monangai	5.68	Kaleb Johnson	3.38
Rome Odunze	6.68	Christian Watson	7.78
Luther Burden III	6.54	Matthew Golden	7.25
Kalif Raymond	5.58	Tucker Kraft	6.62
Colston Loveland	5.24	Packers DST	4.5
Bears DST	7.6

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Bengals		Dolphins
Joe Burrow	8.5	Malik Willis	3.3
Chase Brown	8.1	Ollie Gordon	5.9
Tee Higgins	8.2	Jaylen Wright	2.05
Dohnte Meyers	5.92	Malik Washington	4.86
Mitchell Tinsley	3.92	Chris Bell	3.7
Mike Gesicki	6.08	Greg Dulcich	3.32
Bengals DST	8.0	Dolphins DST	3.0

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Raiders		Patriots
Kirk Cousins	6.2	Drake Maye	6.3
Ashton Jeanty	7.2	Rhamondre Stevenson	6.75
Mike Washington Jr.	2.2	TreVeyon Henderson	4.58
Tre Tucker	5.3	Romeo Doubs	6.34
Cody White	2.98	Demario Douglas	3.42
Brock Bowers	7.62	Efton Chism III	3.4
Michael Mayer	4.75	Hunter Henry	4.6
Raiders DST	6.4	Patriots DST	5.4

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Vikings		Saints
Kyler Murray	4.0	Tyler Shough	6.4
Aaron Jones	7.6	Alvin Kamara	5.55
Jordan Addison	6.56	Kendre Miller	2.85
Jauan Jennings	2.75	Chris Olave	9.3
T.J. Hockenson	6.4	Devaughn Vele	6.46
Vikings DST	7.0	Juwan Johnson	6.82
		Saints DST	3.7

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Browns		Jets
Deshaun Watson	5.6	Geno Smith	4.1
Quinshon Judkins	6.95	Braelon Allen	6.38
Raheim Sanders	2.18	Garrett Wilson	7.28
Denzel Boston	6.48	Isaiah Williams	3.2
KC Concepcion	5.26	Kenyon Sadiq	4.82
Jerry Jeudy	2.82	Jets DST	4.0
Harold Fannin Jr.	6.32
Browns DST	7.8

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Colts		Steelers
Daniel Jones	3.7	Aaron Rodgers	6.0
Jonathan Taylor	8.6	Jaylen Warren	7.85
Josh Downs	6.36	DK Metcalf	6.92
Laquon Treadwell	2.7	Roman Wilson	6.3
Tyler Warren	6.6	Pat Freiermuth	4.88
Colts DST	5.0	Darnell Washington	2.9
		Steelers DST	7.4

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Texans		Titans
C.J. Stroud	6.1	Cam Ward	3.1
Woody Marks	5.7	Tony Pollard	5.64
David Montgomery	5.48	Tyjae Spears	3.68
Nico Collins	9.1	Carnell Tate	6.5
Jaylin Noel	3.82	Wan'Dale Robinson	3.9
Dalton Schultz	4.72	Titans DST	4.6
Texans DST	8.4

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Giants		Commanders
Jameis Winston	6.6	Jayden Daniels	6.5
Cam Skattebo	6.88	Jacory Croskey-Merritt	5.08
Najee Harris	2.02	Austin Ekeler	4.42
Malik Nabers	7.18	Stefon Diggs	6.98
Darnell Mooney	3.72	Antonio Williams	5.42
Malachi Fields	3.48	Chigoziem Okonkwo	3.45
Isaiah Likely	6.85	Commanders DST	3.8
Giants DST	5.7

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Broncos		Chargers
Bo Nix	5.7	Justin Herbert	4.3
RJ Harvey	5.85	Omarion Hampton	5.6
J.K. Dobbins	4.4	Keaton Mitchell	4.8
Jaylen Waddle	7.05	Kimani Vidal	3.76
Courtland Sutton	6.28	Tre Harris	6.18
Evan Engram	3.3	Quentin Johnston	5.28
Broncos DST	7.7	Oronde Gadsden II	2.92
		Chargers DST	3.7

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Lions		Cardinals
Jared Goff	9.0	Jacoby Brissett	6.7
Jahmyr Gibbs	10.0	Jeremiyah Love	5.66
Amon-Ra St. Brown	8.3	Tyler Allgeier	4.52
Jameson Williams	7.3	Michael Wilson	7.15
Isaac TeSlaa	3.95	Marvin Harrison Jr.	4.35
Sam LaPorta	7.55	Trey McBride	7.7
Lions DST	4.4	Cardinals DST	1.6

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

49ers		Seahawks
Brock Purdy	7.5	Sam Darnold	5.4
Christian McCaffrey	8.5	Emanuel Wilson	6.8
Kaelon Black	2.12	Jaxon Smith-Njigba	9.8
Mike Evans	6.7	Rashid Shaheed	3.64
Deebo Samuel	6.58	Cooper Kupp	3.62
George Kittle	7.12	AJ Barner	3.78
49ers DST	4.9	Seahawks DST	6.6

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Ravens		Falcons
Tyler Huntley	3.0	Michael Penix Jr.	4.4
Derrick Henry	7.98	Bijan Robinson	9.7
Justice Hill	2.35	Brian Robinson Jr.	3.58
Zay Flowers	7.58	Drake London	8.15
Rashod Bateman	3.66	Kyle Pitts	5.1
Chris Moore	2.65	Falcons DST	6.2
Mark Andrews	5.5
Ravens DST	5.6

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Bills		Rams
Josh Allen	9.2	Matthew Stafford	9.1
James Cook	8.42	Kyren Williams	8.35
Ty Johnson	2.72	Blake Corum	3.6
Khalil Shakir	6.44	Puka Nacua	9.5
Keon Coleman	6.42	Davante Adams	7.22
Dalton Kincaid	6.78	Tyler Higbee	5.52
Dawson Knox	2.88	Rams DST	4.1
Bills DST	3.2