On a marathon Sunday, Week 5 witnessed the longest day of NFL football since at least the 1970 merger. Here’s a quick look at some of the highs and lows from a massively entertaining weekend and a few of the moves you should be making in fantasy.

Skol Britannia! Rodgers Flops In London While Cousins Shines On Home Soil, Burrow’s Best Beaten By Baltimore

Photo Credit: Shaun Brooks/Imagn Images

Week 5 started with one of the best Thursday night games in recent memory. Kirk Cousins logged his highest ever NFL passing yards total (509) and threw for four touchdowns in an explosive overtime win over the Buccaneers in Atlanta.

After a shaky week one, the Falcons appear to make-good on what were some fairly lofty pre-season hopes.

They say defense travels, and over 4000 miles away in North London, the Minnesota Vikings tamed the once-omnipotent king of the North, Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers threw three interceptions in a 23-17 loss, including the game-sealing pick after the Jets teased a comeback.

Sunday’s loss was the fourth-lowest passer rating of Rodgers’ long NFL career (when playing 95+% of snaps) and saw head-coach Robert Saleh dismissed the following day.

Somewhere between the highs of Kirk Cousins and the lows of Aaron Rodgers, fell Joe Burrow’s day against the Baltimore Ravens. Burrow threw five touchdown passes for the first time in his NFL career and logged his fourth-highest career passer rating.

He headed to the sideline with his team set up for a game-winning field goal, only to watch on as a botched hold saw the kick fly off-course. The Ravens took advantage and the Bengals fell to 1-4 for the season, leaving their playoffs hopes dangling by a thread.

Fantasy Trade Targets

Bye Weeks are now firmly upon us, with the Lions, Eagles, Chargers and Titans the first to sit out this past weekend. Bye weeks tend to be the starting point for many rookies to kick on and show what they can do after being eased in to the rigors of NFL football by coaches.

With that in mind, here are some short term plays to help you out in the coming few weeks, as well as some long term stashes as we anticipate some rookie break-outs later in the season.

Rookie Stashes

Photo Credit: The Athletic

Now if your league only allows you a shallow bench then it’s really difficult to justify stashing players, especially with bye weeks now upon us. However, if you’ve space on your roster or you have guaranteed starts at receiver that allow you to be patient with your bench, here are three potential break-out candidates.

Ja’lynn Polk (New England)

Ja’lynn Polk will almost certainly cost more than the next two players, as he has flashed already this season and may even be the WR1 on his team. With Drake Maye set to start his first NFL game in week 6, you may face more resistance when negotiating, but the potential upside is huge.

Adonai Mitchell (Indianapolis)

I’ve touted Mitchell previously as a buy-low and with Anthony Richardson appearing likely to walk straight back into his starting role after injury, the rookie is already on plenty of waiver wires.

Admittedly, I’m less interested in Mitchell whilst Richardson is under center, but I suspect it won’t be long before we see Flacco again if results don’t go the right way. Mitchell is a phenomenal talent and despite the other receivers making noise in Indy, I’m still expecting a break-out in the second half of the year.

Roman Wilson (Pittsburgh)

Roman Wilson has yet to suit up for the Steelers at all this year. After being picked in the third round of this year’s draft, Wilson then unfortunately suffered an injury in training camp and missed all of the pre-season, as well as the first week of the regular season. Despite being healthy for the last four games, Wilson is still not playing, believed to be because of his lack of familiarity with the scheme due to lost time.

Pre-draft, I was very high on Wilson, an intelligent route-runner who gets open all over the field. With the Steelers in need of a receiver that can compliment jump-ball specialist George Pickens, I expect Wilson to be a priority waiver-add once given an opportunity on the field.

If you have a deep bench, I recommending stashing Wilson ahead of time, as it could pay off in a big way before too long.

Short-term Adds

If you’re looking for a player or two to help you out in the short-term, be it flex options or short-term cover for bye-weeks, here are three players you should be looking at.

Romeo Doubs/Dontayvion Wicks (Green Bay)

I actually think Doubs is a sleeper to get traded before the deadline in a few weeks, with a number of teams looking for receiver help. Doubs was suspended by the team for week five’s trip to the Rams after reportedly becoming frustrated about his role in the team.

That suspension appears to have been lifted after positive talks are said to have been held on Monday, and with Christian Watson still not healthy, targets are there for the taking in Green Bay.

Also in line to see work is Dontayvion Wicks, who in Doubs’ absence, saw seven targets on Sunday, after being given thirteen opportunities in week four. Wicks’ issue, however, lies in his consistency, which may give the edge to the more reliable Doubs in the coming weeks.

The Packers face Arizona, Houston and Jacksonville in their next three games, so both players are solid options for the short-term. I’d say Doubs is the floor play, with Wicks the more volatile, high ceiling option. Week six could provide some significant answers as to who has the upper hand.

Cade Otton (Tampa Bay)

Last season was nice, wasn’t it? The tight-end position has turned back into a pumpkin in 2024, with even the most trusted names disappointing fantasy owners. Mark Andrews is a ghost, Sam Laporta has yet to hit 10 PPR points in a week and it took a Rashee Rice injury to finally get Travis Kelce some targets.

Looking ahead though, one player with a big opportunity to stand out is Cade Otton. Over the next four weeks, Otton will face the Chiefs, Ravens and Saints, which sounds pretty atrocious. However, those three teams, in that order, have given up the most receiving yards in the league to tight-ends this year.

Otton is the TE19 this year in PPR, so should be attainable at a reasonable price. And with the tight-end landscape as bleak as it is this year, it’s not a massive risk to take for what could be a substantial reward.

That’s me done for now, I’ll be back with the week six betting preview at the weekend. Until then, I hope you can pull-off a few of these trades or figure out some of your own. Have a good rest of your week.