NFL Week 5 fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em

Start Kenneth Walker III: Walker has been among the top fantasy football running backs in recent weeks. He faces a challenging opponent in Week 5, but that won’t be enough to bench him.

Byes and injuries are major factors in Week 5: Four teams are on bye weeks, and several starters at quarterback, running back and wide receiver are dealing with injuries, turning most players who are seeing any volume in the run game or high target shares in the passing game into fantasy starters.

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Estimated Reading Time: 26 minutes

I asked fantasy managers on the PFF Discord and Bluesky which players they are least sure about this week, and I compiled that list and ranked them against one another. If you have multiple players mentioned, you should start with the player ranked highest. At the bottom of each position, you'll find players to start in place of the featured players and those to sit in favor of them.

If a player isn’t mentioned, that means they are very close to those with blurbs, and factors such as injuries on the opposing defenses or weather could influence the rankings. Situations involving injuries are also generally avoided because things typically don't become clearer until closer to kickoff. As always, check the weekly PFF fantasy rankings for the most up-to-date information to help you make all start-sit decisions.

RUNNING BACKS

1. Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks have relied on Walker more each week. He has handled 35 carries over the past two weeks, tied for eighth most among running backs, while playing roughly 50% of snaps, with or without Zach Charbonnet. His relatively low snap rate hasn’t mattered much because his touches per snap number is among the highest in the league. While Walker hasn’t graded out as well as in the past two seasons, his 80.3 PFF overall grade this season still ranks fourth among running backs. The biggest problem for Walker is that he hasn’t been running nearly as many routes as he did last season, leading to a decrease in receiving production. This has left Walker as a mid-range RB2 so far this season.

This week, Walker faces the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who rank 15th in allowing fantasy points to running backs. They’ve allowed a low 3.3 yards per carry, with no running back gaining more than 43 yards against them. Any production they've allowed to running backs is through volume — not efficiency. Walker should still see good volume, even if he’s not as effective as usual. This means he will likely have a below-average game by his standards.

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