Snugly back in the Five Lists of Five captain’s chair after a week off; many thanks to fellow fantasy sicko Keagan Smith for nurturing my child in Week 4, to the point where he even tossed you some bonus dynasty content. What a guy! And, honestly, what a devastating week it was. We waved solemn farewells to Malik Nabers and Tyreek Hill. We said ta-ta for now to Lamar Jackson. A.J. Brown tweeted a cryptic passage from his little notebook of insights. The Bengals look lost, and it’s hard to know what to do with Ja’Marr Chase and Chase Brown. Woody Marks is, all the sudden, cautiously an RB2. Alright then, & all to say: let’s get back a’hammering, here, and mine ourselves some stashes, dart throws, breakouts, and, probably most importantly, as always, running back sleepers for fantasy football Week 5.
The refrain remains the same—All I want is for you to be better than your friends. You’re going to be surrounded by them on Sunday, probably. How sweet would it be if you could be sure you’ve checked every box possible that might guarantee you a resounding victory this week? Some kick-your-feet-up insights? I’ve got some. And I know my audience. The smoke-break audience. The quick-scan-of-the-phone-on-the-way-to-the-fridge audience. The I-ain’t-reading-all-that-but-good-luck folk. I’m a man of the people.
And so: the Five Lists of Five series. Think of these as byte-sized, two-minutes-to-yourself lists to scan during your weekend as you foam at the mouth for any competitive fantasy edge. As much relevant analysis as I can fit into, like, ~250 words per player.
Below: Top five players to stash in fantasy football Week 5. End-of-bench dart-throws to consider—and guys to hold onto—if you have someone ruled out on Friday. Guys for whom you should drop backup QBs and TEs. Names with potential value in a few weeks’ time.
Here are the other offerings from my 2025 Fantasy Football Five Lists of Five: Week 5 edition:
- Top five must-start players for Week 5 of 2025 fantasy football
- Top five breakout wide receivers for 2025 fantasy football Week 5
- Top five breakout running backs for Week 5 of 2025 fantasy football
- Top five WR/CB matchups to target for Week 5 fantasy football
Follow my handle @dansby_edits for all preseason and fantasy draft kit content—as well as plenty of NFL betting goodies—all summer long. All my other fantasy football draft kit content is at the bottom of this list!
Top five players to stash for Week 5 of 2025 fantasy football
Justice Hill, RB, Baltimore Ravens
Justice Hill remains a quiet ember in Baltimore’s backfield, but Week 5 paints the outlines of a stash worth holding. Derrick Henry commands headlines, yet Hill’s situational usage continues to register on the stat sheets. He logged RB4 status in last week’s breakdown, but that undersells the nuance: his snap rate has lingered in the mid-20s, and he’s still siphoning designed touches in two-minute drills and passing downs. Those crumbs matter because the Ravens’ offense has shown volatility. Lamar Jackson’s hamstring tweak casts a shadow, and if Baltimore leans more on contingency scripts, Hill’s role sharpens.
The numbers push the case further. Baltimore’s offensive line grades top-10 in adjusted run block win rate, and their scheme still sprinkles in zone and counter looks that fit Hill’s quick-cut profile. In the Week 4 packet, Hill carried a 56% route participation rate on clear passing downs — a usage slice more valuable than a handful of inside carries. The Ravens also continue to rank top-five in red-zone pace, averaging more snaps inside the 20 than league norm, and even a rotational role in that environment carries touchdown equity.
Houston’s defense in Week 5 presents more fuel. They’ve allowed one of the league’s highest target shares to running backs (over 21%) and sit bottom-five in explosive run prevention when aligned in nickel. Hill may never be the hammer, but his speed and burst mean one crease can tilt a drive. If Henry absorbs punishment or game flow forces more pass-down work, Hill can vault from 25% snaps to 40% in a blink.
Isaiah Bond, WR, Cleveland Browns
Isaiah Bond belongs in stash discussions because the Browns have already begun to lean on his dynamism when injuries cracked their rotation. He ran a 71.1% route share in Week 4, stepping into a legitimate starter’s workload, and drew a 17.1% target share that shows trust, not accident. Bond averaged 2.15 yards per route run in that game, a figure that pops when you place it against the league’s middle tier of slot options. The tape matches the stats: sudden acceleration, precise stems, and an ability to separate against both man and zone.
Cleveland’s passing script encourages further growth. The Browns rank bottom-five in yards before contact on the ground, which has forced them to emphasize pace through the air, and Bond’s usage has spiked in precisely those negative-rush environments. The EPA charts in your Week 5 packet show that opposing slot receivers have found consistent efficiency against the upcoming opponent, with coverage success rates sagging under 50% on interior targets. That sets up a continuation of Bond’s volume trajectory.
He isn’t boxed into gadget work either. His first-read share last week cleared 20%, and the Browns dialed plays specifically for him on third downs, where his quick-breaking patterns carved leverage against linebackers forced to cover in space. In games that tilt toward longer drives, those conversions matter more than raw yardage, and Bond’s hands and balance sustain chains.
As defenses dedicate bracket looks toward Cedric Tillman once he returns, Bond inherits softer coverage and the chance to rack underneath volume. That kind of profile doesn’t need touchdowns every week to be relevant—it accrues quietly and then bursts when variance swings.
Dylan Sampson, RB, Cleveland Browns
Dylan Sampson swings back into the stash mold because his role, while limited, glimmers with signs of expansion in Cleveland’s backfield. He logged RB5 status in the Week 5 breakdown, but the story sits in how his touches have arrived. Snap share hovered in the teens, yet his opportunities came in scripted situations—passing downs, draw plays, and change-of-pace sequences that coaches trust for burst. Sampson’s explosiveness remains his calling card. On just a handful of touches last week, he generated over three yards after contact per attempt, and his lateral quickness turned would-be two-yard runs into chunk plays.
The Browns’ offensive line ranks top-ten in adjusted run block win rate, but their traditional bell cows have not maximized those lanes. That inefficiency leaves a crack open for a runner who thrives in open grass. The Week 5 run concept chart shows Cleveland leaning mid-zone at a 55% clip, and Sampson’s college résumé was built on those exact reads—stretch, press, cutback, accelerate. It is no surprise his best carries came on outside zone looks where linebackers lost pursuit angles.
Volume may not bloom overnight, but contingent roles always matter in fantasy football. With Judkins nursing minor dings and Isaiah Bond commanding defensive attention in the slot, the offense’s distribution could pivot quickly. EPA and success rate charts flag the upcoming opponent as bottom-ten against explosive runs, allowing 11 plays of 15+ yards already. Sampson’s profile fits that vulnerability precisely: he doesn’t need 15 carries, just the right five.
He is a bench stash with teeth, a lightning bolt hidden in a crowded depth chart. When negative game script hits, he inherits the passing snaps, and when defensive fatigue arrives, he holds the gear shift.
Michael Carter, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Michael Carter steps into Week 5 as one of the clearest contingency stashes on the board, a veteran suddenly elevated by circumstance. With James Conner sidelined and Trey Benson placed on injured reserve, the Arizona backfield narrows to Carter and Emari Demercado, but Carter holds the profile likelier to seize meaningful touches. He already flashed utility last week when pressed into service, logging a double-digit touch count and catching passes out of the backfield to keep drives alive. In a league where opportunity is currency, this shift cannot be ignored.
The matchup tilts in his favor. Tennessee’s defense has leaked against backs all season, particularly through the air, where they’ve surrendered a top-10 target share to the position. The EPA and success-rate charts highlight their issues on outside zone and mid-zone runs, exactly the bread-and-butter concepts Arizona leans on. That schematic overlap offers Carter clean reads and the chance to build yards before contact—critical for a runner who wins with vision and balance.
Snap distribution matters here. Demercado has hovered in situational work, while Carter showed trust in both two-minute drill and red-zone snaps. If that usage persists, he not only gathers enough touches to stabilize a floor but also inherits touchdown equity in a unit that has leaned on pace inside the 10. Arizona’s offensive line has quietly created 1.4 yards before contact per attempt, and Carter’s ability to absorb the first hit translates those creases into steady gains.
Stash profiles require foresight: the ability to imagine a scenario where usage scales. For Carter, the scenario is already here. He owns a meaningful pathway to 15 touches if game flow tilts neutral, and in deeper leagues that alone is gold.
Tyjae Spears, RB, Tennessee Titans
Tyjae Spears returns from injured reserve carrying a résumé that refuses to fade. His 2024 season was the proof of concept: 84 carries for 312 rushing yards and four scores, 30 receptions for another 224 yards and a touchdown. Those totals may not have crowned him a star, but they painted him as a dual-threat presence capable of winning on third downs and punishing soft boxes with sudden acceleration. Every touch felt like a tension wire, one cut away from lengthening a drive or tilting a red-zone sequence.
Now, Week 5 hovers with uncertainty. The ankle sprain that shelved him still lingers in reports, and his status remains questionable. Yet the logic of a stash doesn’t demand certainty, it demands access to ceiling, and Spears offers that in spades. He plays in an offense that thrives when backs can bleed both rushing and receiving lanes, and his historical usage showed coaches were willing to script him into mismatches. Even in rotation, he absorbed over three yards after contact per attempt last year and created chunk plays when linebackers overran their leverage.
What separates Spears from empty-calorie handcuffs is the receiving dimension. Thirty catches last season, many in high-leverage downs, mark him as more than a spell. In games where Tennessee leaned into pace, he operated as the release valve that extended possessions and opened vertical shots. That is precisely the profile worth holding as injuries pile and bye weeks creep.
