What waste hath you all sowed in the one week I was away? I come back and Lamar Jackson, Malik Nabers, and Tyreek Hill—all evaporated. Even Trey Benson, the understudy for James Conner, hit IR and made way for Michael Carter and Emari Demercado. Braelon Allen—gone. All those 49ers were out, too, but that didn’t matter on Thursday? Sure didn’t. Guys like Kenneth Gainwell and Woody Marks absolutely exploded onto the scene last week, and folks are wondering when the Bengals might trade for another quarterback. Speaking of trades: is Alvin Kamara on the move? It’s an absolute maelstrom of information. An overstimulating, spinning disc of lineup management. How’s one to forge through? I’ve got you. Once more, I’m here with the full gamut of my Five Lists of Five: Week 5 edition (2025) to get you set with sleepers, stash players, matchups to exploit, and must-starts. And it’s five-cubed! Five lists of Five for Week 5, baby.
You know how it goes. We’re in the business of domination, here. We trade in wins, and wins only. We, like Billy Beane, loathe losing more than we wish for winning. Hence the simple verbiage this week. We’re here to just win in Week 5. Five-cubed demands it.
And so, below, I’ve got a mix of analysis that should help you maximize your Week 3 fantasy football lineups, but also shore up your bench with potential cosmic storms waiting to happen.
Find links to all below, and enjoy laying waste to the most beloved of your leaguemates.
Follow my handle @dansby_edits for all of my fantasy football content—as well as plenty of NFL and College Football betting goodies—all season long.
Dan Johnson’s Fantasy Football Five Lists of Five: Week 5 edition (2025)
I’ve gone ahead and added the names of the players included on each list, so as to make this document more useful going forward.
Having said that, if you want any of the analysis as to why I consider these players worthy of a particular list, head to the article itself.
Top five must-start players for Week 5 of fantasy football 2025 (link)
- Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints
- David Montgomery, RB, Detroit Lions
- Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints
- De’Von Achane, RB, Miami Dolphins
- Daniel Jones, QB, Indianapolis Colts
Top five breakout running backs for Week 5 of fantasy football 2025 (link)
- Breece Hall, New York Jets
- Ollie Gordon, Miami Dolphins
- TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots
- Rico Dowdle, Carolina Panthers
- Sean Tucker, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Top five sleeper/breakout wide receivers for Week 5 of fantasy football 2025 (link)
- Michael Pittman, Indianapolis Colts
- Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
- Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs
- Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills
Top five WR/CB matchups to target in Week 5 fantasy football 2025 (link)
- Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals (vs. TEN)
- Luke McCaffrey, Washington Commanders (vs. LAC)
- Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders (vs. IND)
- Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings (vs. CLE)
- Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. KC)
Top five players to stash for Week 5 of fantasy football 2025 (link)
- Justice Hill, RB, Baltimore Ravens
- Dylan Sampson, RB, Cleveland Browns
- Isaiah Bond, WR, Cleveland Browns
- Michael Carter, RB, Arizona Cardinals
- Tyjae Spears, RB, Tennessee Titans
And, for a garnish—
I wrote a thinkpiece on the best football novel of our generation, The Throwback Special by Chris Bachelder. I’m on a one-man crusade to get this book in as many hands as possible. It’s been just around ten years since editorial work began on its manuscript in the autumn of 2015. It would go on to be shortlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction in 2016.
I think it’s one of the best paperbacks to get as a holiday stocking stuffer for the football fan in your life this year. If you’re interested, read here.