2021 NFL Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 5: Wide receivers

Game played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

I mean, we spent so much time talking about the Tom Brady REVENGE GAME we could give no love to Corey Davis, who smoked his former team in an upset win? He hasn’t been bad this season. He’s been fine. Like the Black Crowes Warpaint album. Not their worst, but much better than people are giving it credit for. And after you kids are done Googling the Black Crowes, I will tell you Davis has the most targets, receiving yards and touchdowns on the Jets. And the Falcons have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to receivers. Even Jamison Crowder is a nice little sleeper.

Mac Jones looked all right against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night. I’m not saying he was amazing or anything. But here’s my thing with Jakobi. He’s on the cusp of being really special. He’s had 26 targets over the last two weeks. And nobody has even been close. Four other dudes (including the two tight ends) had five. He’s going to score twice against the Texans this week and you’re all going to blow your FAAB budget on him.

The Bears have an excellent corner, Jaylon Johnson. He’s dope. Trust me. But the thing is, he can’t cover everybody. So he’s going to likely be paired up with Henry Ruggs III, which will allow Renfrow to run free from the slot against Duke Shelley. And with the improved Bears pass rush this season, the Raiders are going to need to get the ball out of Derek Carr’s hands as quickly as possible. Renfrow leads the Raiders with 30 targets this season.

I don’t have any fancy statistics to back this up. And honestly, the Raiders did an excellent job of taking out Keenan Allen and Mike Williams on Monday night. To the point where you could be really concerned about starting Robinson this week. But I really do feel like this is a good matchup. Darnell Mooney is going to become a problem for opposing defensive coordinators. That is going to open it up for Robinson this week. Pro Football Focus has him with the 12th-most advantageous matchup this week. But this is still a feel play for me.

The Jaguars went to Laviska Shenault Jr. a lot in Week 4, as he led the team with seven targets. But Jones had 28 targets in the first three weeks and feel like that is going to swing back in his favor this week. The Titans have allowed the second-most fantasy points to receivers this year. For Trevor Lawrence to be successful, he’s going to have to look for his veteran presence. It’s not always the sexiest pick. It’s like being really hungry for food and having your best option be a Chili’s. Which doesn’t seem that great at first. But then you get some of those Southwest Egg Rolls and you wonder why you ever doubted it in the first place.

Tom Brady loves throwing the ball to Brown. I mean, he also really loves Mike Evans who has led the team in targets over the past two weeks. But you know to start Evans based on the draft capital invested in him. But you should bring that same energy to AB, who had 11 targets against the Patriots on Sunday night. Not having Gronk really opens it up for a lot of the receivers. And after losing to the Rams. Not putting up a ton of points against the Patriots on Sunday night; I expect some cathartic output against the Dolphins. A team that historically given Brady trouble.

Listen I mean no disrespect when I say this. But when Kyle Juszczyk is getting more targets than you, it might be time to reevaluate. Just kidding. I think Brandon is a good player. And I’m sure there are some rosters where you must start him. But it’s clear to me that when Deebo Samuel and George Kittle are available, Brandon is down in the pecking order. It’s like being Kofi Kingston in a way. Dude was great -- amazing actually -- when he was given a chance to run with the strap. But ultimately the WWE wanted bigger dudes like Brock Lesnar to be champion. Kyle Shanahan books his pass catchers the same way.

It’s really difficult to bench the most targeted receiver in this offense. But this game has one of the lower totals in Las Vegas. I don’t expect a bunch of fantasy points from this one. Ben Roethlisberger and his injured hip against Drew Lock and the Broncos. I really love the player. I really do. But I can’t just be starting him with this current situation out there. Even though the Steelers have given up some production to receivers.

I know a lot of us were thrilled when we won waiver claims on Moore a few weeks back, but there is really nothing doing when it comes to Moore. And while he did out-target Christian Kirk last week (which is kind of like saying you have better tacos than Taco Bell), there hasn’t been much production to speak of recently. I’m not ready to dismiss Moore. Because it feels like they are still trying to get him the ball. But I’m holding on to him for the bye weeks when I might give him a chance again.

Parker led the Dolphins in targets this week, besting rookie Jaylen Waddle. Finally. And he had a great game against the Colts. And if you look at the matchup, the Buccaneers have allowed the most fantasy points to receivers this season. But a lot of that is Dak Prescott and Matthew Stafford. Pro Football Focus has this as one of the toughest matchups of the week. I’d favor Waddle here if given the choice.