Week 5 of the NFL season has arrived! Thursday Night Football is always hit-or-miss from a fantasy perspective, you can either make or break your week in the first game of the slate.
Let’s highlight my start/sit fantasy football picks for Falcons vs. Bucs on TNF.
TNF Must-Starts
- Bijan Robinson
- Mike Evans
- Chris Godwin
- Drake London
Start ‘Em: Baker Mayfield
It feels like not enough people are giving Mayfield credit for currently holding the *checks notes* QB3 ranking. We’re nearly one-quarter of the way through the season, that’s a large enough sample size to put stock in those numbers.
Baker bounced back from an underwhelming Week 3 result by absolutely torching what was supposed to be a formidable Eagles defense, racking up 28.9 fantasy points with 347 yards and three total touchdowns. Considering the current state of the fantasy quarterback landscape — which is UGLY outside of Jayden Daniels and Lamar Jackson as elite dual-threat QBs — it’s almost a no-brainer to ride with hot hand with Mayfield.
Fire him up as a legitimate QB1 once again on Thursday night.
Sit ‘Em: Kyle Pitts
Sigh.
It’s been a rough start to the season for Pitts, which is unfortunately par for the course thus far in his young career. Many hoped the arrival of Kirk Cousins — who notoriously loves tight ends — would finally unlock him, but the 23-year-old has caught just eight balls through four games. He failed to haul in a single reception against the Saints. Adding to those concerning stats is the fact that Pitts’ snap share has also declined each week, dropping to just 68% last game.
Until the talented tight end establishes a stronger rapport with Cousins, he’s best left on your bench.
Check out my full Week 5 start/sit article with picks at each position here!
Start ‘Em: Cade Otton
Otton was the recipient of a ridiculously high snap share last year, it just never translated to production. Two games into the 2024 season, it looked like that may be the case again.
Then, the 25-year-old flipped a switch. Over Weeks 3 and 4, Otton caught 13 of 17 targets for 99 yards. Amidst one of the ugliest fantasy tight end landscapes we’ve seen in years, those numbers make him a virtual must-start this week.
The Falcons allow almost 12 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends, and Baker Mayfield is fresh off another huge game. Now is the time to ride the hot hand.
Sit ‘Em: Rachaad White
White actually put together a decent outing against the Eagles last week, rushing efficiently for the first time this season and finishing with 10.4 PPR points.
The main issue is that Tampa Bay’s backfield is no longer definitively his. The emergence of Bucky Irving is no longer a secret. The rookie has outproduced White consistently so far this year, equaling his numbers on the ground while scoring the only touchdown between the two backs in their win over Philly.
Unfortunately for fantasy managers with White, this backfield seems set as a 50/50 split. If anything, Irving would be the one receiving more touches due to his efficiency. White can still be started as a matchup-dependent FLEX, but not on Thursday against a stout Falcons run defense.
Those are my start ’em, sit ’em fantasy football picks for Thursday Night Football! Stay tuned for more fantasy advice later this week.
All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
