It’s hard to know what a sleeper even is anymore when it comes to Fantasy Football, but, for the purposes of this article, we’ll use the term to mean an asset that’s likely to be undervalued heading into a given week. A player that’s going to be overlooked when it comes to ownership, yet one that has a reasonable path to make people regret that decision. Someone who might set your lineup apart from the pack in a GPP, if you will.
With that in mind, let’s go position-by-position for an early look at Week 5’s slate on DraftKings.
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QUARTERBACK
Philip Rivers, Indianapolis Colts at Cleveland Browns, $5,800
There’s no secret formula for Week 5. If you’re planning to pay down at QB this Sunday, you’re likely targeting either Teddy Bridgewater ($5,900) or Daniel Jones ($5,400) in fantastic matchups. However, I’d advise you to not overlook Rivers so quickly. While the veteran pivot has been limited to a single touchdown pass in all four of his starts for the Colts, the simple fact of the matter is he wasn’t needed to do much in wins over Chicago, New York and Minnesota. However, in Indianapolis’ one contest with a somewhat neutral game script, Rivers attempted 46 passes and threw for 363 yards. That’s where the presence of the Browns factor in. Not only is Cleveland surrendering 310.5 opponent passing yards and 3.0 opponent passing touchdowns per game — the most of any AFC squad — its also leading the conference in points scored on a weekly basis (31.0). The Browns have the weapons to force Rivers into a shootout and the terrible secondary that should allow him to thrive. Honestly, it’s about as great a spot as you could ask for.
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RUNNING BACK
David Johnson, Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, $5,200
It’s really difficult to project how people are going to be treating the Texans this weekend. First and foremost, the offense has looked flat for more than a month, but things don’t get any easier to predict when you factor in the firing of Bill O’Brien. Will the roster respond? Will they continue to self-implode? It’s hard to say. However, I do get the strong impression that Johnson’s salary has fallen too far to ignore on Sunday. While it is quite obvious that Johnson’s workload and snap share is going to be affected by the presence of a healthy Duke Johnson ($4,100), it’s also worth noting that the former Cardinal comes into this matchup averaging 15.0 touches and 3.5 targets per game. That’s a considerable amount of volume when we’re getting this close to the $5K pricing plateau, and it’s especially interesting specific to Week 5 with Houston taking on Jacksonville. The Jaguars have conceded the sixth-most DKFP to opposing RBs so far this season and, according to DVOA, they have the worst overall defense in the league. I’d look for Johnson to put together his best performance of 2020.
WIDE RECEIVER
Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants, $5,400
Coming off a poor showing in Week 4 and going into a matchup where most anticipate that the Cowboys will be able to finally get in a positive script; I have my doubts that Gallup will be all that popular a play on Sunday. Still, if you’re searching for the dictionary definition of a high-ceiling GPP asset, the former third-round pick is your man. Gallup comes into this meeting with the Giants averaging a whopping 13.8 yards per target — the third-highest mark of the 54 wide receivers that have seen at least 20 targets so far this season. It’s not like Gallup’s value is just built around efficiency, either. In fact, through four weeks, Gallup leads all Dallas WRs in snap share (88.4%) and routes run (193). Actually, as it pertains to the latter, Gallup’s 193 routes are the most of any player in the NFL. Maybe the production isn’t going to be incredibly consistent, but the 24-year-old certainly has some monster DFS performances on the horizon. You could do worse than taking a shot on his upside in a couple lineups.
TIGHT END
Trey Burton, Indianapolis Colts at Cleveland Browns, $2,900
You don’t want to take too much from a one week sample, but Burton looked very involved in last week’s 19-11 victory over Chicago. In fact, not only were the veteran’s five targets more than Mo Alie-Cox ($4,200) and Jack Doyle ($3,300) combined, but Burton also logged a higher snap count than Alie-Cox, who has become somewhat of a fantasy darling the past few weeks. This is not a situation where Burton’s ever going to monopolize the Colts’ TE workload; however, if he sees even a slight increase in role in his second game back, the sky is the limit against the Browns. Cleveland is allowing an AFC-high 10.3 targets per contest to opposing tight ends, while the team is also surrendering the most DKFP per week to the position. Burton could be a sneaky addition to a stack built around the aforementioned Rivers — one that would be incredibly cost-effective, too.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is theglt13) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above.