Fantasy Football Week 5 Reaction: Jakobi Meyers Among Big Surprises
Gabriel Davis managers probably were treated to a win
It was a week filled with impressive performances from underrated wideouts, and fantasy football managers likely were treated to a victory should they have had those receivers in their starting lineups.
In addition to the performances of Justin Jefferson and Cooper Kupp, there were a number of wideouts who entered the week outside the top 20 on Yahoo — like Gabriel Davis, Tyler Lockett, Dyami Brown, Jakobi Meyers, Amari Cooper — and finished among the top scorers at the position.
With that, here are our winners, losers and surprises from Week 5 in fantasy football with stats provided by Sportradar and a reflection of full-point PPR leagues.
WINNERS
Gabriel Davis, WR, Buffalo Bills
Fantasy football managers who were playing against Davis were in for a long afternoon. The Buffalo wideout turned the third play of the game into a 98-yard touchdown reception and followed up with another 62-yard reception en route to three catches for 171 total yards including 104 receiving air yards. Davis, who entered Week 5 ranked as Yahoo’s WR30, finished as the highest scoring without with 32.10 points. He recorded 10.70 points per touch (!) on three touches.
Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Lockett entered Week 5 against the New Orleans Saints viewed as Yahoo’s WR25 and finished as the third-highest scoring receiver. Lockett caught five of the six balls thrown his way by Geno Smith and compiled 104 yards with four catches of 10-plus yards. Ninety-four of his 104 total yards came through the air with just 10 yards after the catch, proving the speedy option still has some value.
LOSERS
Jared Goff, QB, Detroit Lions
For all those fantasy managers who recently added Goff and promptly threw him into the starting lineup, well, it wasn’t a good start. Goff and the Lions entered Week 5 against the Patriots with the league’s best offense, at least from a statistical standpoint. Goff, however, had just 54.3% of passes deemed “catchable,” which refers to those either caught or dropped, and recorded a pedestrian 229 passing yards with Detroit failing to find the end zone in the contest. He was impressed with the Patriots’ defense. It prompted the Lions signal-caller to finish QB27 in full-point leagues (5.86 points) behind brutal performances from Russell Wilson (9.16), Baker Mayfield (6.60) and Matt Ryan (6.14).
Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Harris has been wildly disappointing thus far, and that continued for fantasy football managers Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. The Steelers running back played a career-low 49% of offensive snaps and was limited to just 14 touches for 36 yards for an abysmal 0.47 points per touch. Harris had a pair of negative runs and was stuffed on 18.2% of his rushing attempts, per Sportradar, indicative of Pittsburgh’s woes up front. Harris, likely a first- or second-round pick in fantasy drafts, now is RB27 on the season.
SURPRISES
Jakobi Meyers, WR, New England Patriots
Meyers, who was Yahoo’s WR66 entering the clash with the Lions, was exceptional in his return from a two-game absence, despite doing so with third-stringer Bailey Zappe making his first career start. Meyers concluded the week as WR8 in scoring (24.10 points) after seven catches on eight targets for 111 yards and his third career touchdown. Meyers, who has become the security blanket for New England quarterbacks, has been considered a wideout worthy of starting on occasion, but his lack of scores might have caused owners to stay away. Should he find the end zone more moving forward, Meyers’ fantasy stock will skyrocket.
Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets
The Jets rookie running back, who entered as Yahoo’s RB26, finished as the third-highest scoring running back behind only Leonard Fournette and Austin Ekeler as he recorded 27.70 points. In New York’s decisive win over the Miami Dolphins, Hall finished with a career-best 197 yards of offense and one touchdown as he turned just two targets into 100 yards receiving for six points per target and 1.39 points per touch. His four rushes of 10-plus yards ranked tied for fourth among all players at the position.
