Rashaad Penny start or sit: Week 5 fantasy football advice

The Seattle Seahawks are coming off a tremendous high-scoring win last week on the road, and they’ll look to carry the momentum into this week’s contest with the New Orleans Saints. Rashaad Penny had a game to remember in last week’s win, and he could very well have another opportunity at a high volume of touches in Sunday’s contest. We break down the matchup and decide whether he should be a starter among fantasy lineups this week.

Fantasy Football analysis: Seahawks RB Rashaad Penny

The Seahawks came out on top of a high-scoring affair in their win over the Detroit Lions, and the game script resulted in a monster performance for Penny on the ground. Seattle’s RB1 finished with 151 yards rushing and found the end zone twice on the day. Most importantly, his 17 carries were the highest he’s had this season, and it speaks to the fact that Penny remains a vital role in the success of Seattle’s offense.

That theme could continue in Week 5 against a tough Saints defense, especially if the game script favors Seattle’s ground game. On paper, New Orleans has been tough against running backs given that they’ve allowed the eighth-fewest fantasy points on average to the position (15.2 PPG). But given that the Saints could make Geno Smith’s job tougher in the pocket, Pete Carroll could opt to play it safe and lean heavily into the run game once more. Penny may not have another monster day in regards to total yards, but he should see no shortage of touches in this contest.

Start or sit in Week 5?

Penny is a start and hovers around the RB2 radar for fantasy lineups this week. It’s not expected that he’ll replicate last week’s explosive performance, but he should see no shortage of carries given that the matchup could call for it. That presents strong value for fantasy managers, which means he’s good to fire up in lineups this week.