NFL Fantasy Football Week 5 Start 'Em Sit'Em: Best and Worst matchups to watch for

Fantasy football has a range of levels to play on, from single-day tournament lineups and weekly lineups with FanDuel to standard and PPR leagues deep IDF leagues.

Whether you're a beginner or not too invested in fantasy football, the daily and weekly tournaments with FanDuel suit you well. Deep IDF leagues have complex lineups with offensive and defensive positions on the roster for diehard players.

As injuries continue to pile up in the NFL and certain players face negative or positive matchups, it's not always wise to play top-ranked players every week. Based on their matchups, here's a look at which players should start and who should sit for Week 5 in fantasy football.

Start 'Em Sit 'Em - NFL Fantasy Football Week 5

Start 'Em

#1 - Kirk Cousins, QB, Minnesota Vikings

Kirk Cousins: 94.1 PFF grade from a clean pocket this season

1st among all QBs 👀👀 https://t.co/Dd2VYB9nc6

The Detroit Lions are allowing the fourth-most points in fantasy football to quarterbacks this season and Kirk Cousins happens to be playing some of his best football.

Cousins is trending based on the matchup alone. He had a slow day last week against the Cleveland Browns but has had at least one touchdown in every game and has three in two of them. Cousins should get back on track with his fourth game with over 20 fantasy football points.

#2 - Corey Davis, WR, New York Jets

Corey Davis revenge game 😈 https://t.co/Lo03sMfVEZ

A wide receiver from the New York Jets is trending to start in Week 5? Yes!

Corey Davis leads the team in targets, yards and touchdowns. He's having a resurgence with the Jets as quarterback Zach Wilson is finding his footing. The Atlanta Falcons happen to have one of the worst defenses and allow the eighth-most points in fantasy football to WRs this season. Davis should have a good day as the Jets look to score their second win.

#3 - Chase Edmonds, RB, Arizona Cardinals

#AZCardinls RB Chase Edmonds had season-high 139 scrimmage yards (120 rush, 19 rec.) in Week 4. Ranks tied-1st among RBs Ezekiel Elliott in NFC with 395 scrimmage yards in 2021 & is 1 of 3 RBs (Nick Chubb and Derrick Henry) with 75+ scrimmage yards in each of 1st 4 weeks. https://t.co/7bL1jdpupa

Honestly, both Chase Edmonds and James Conner could be worthy of starting in Week 5 against the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers are letting opposition running backs become top-20 point scorers in fantasy football each week and the Cardinals have a dual-threat in their backfield.

Edmonds has at least four catches in every game this season and is coming off a 120 rushing yards performance in Week 4.

Sit 'Em

#1 - Alex Collins, RB, Seattle Seahawks

Alex Collins 14-Yard Touchdown! 🏈 #Seahawks https://t.co/XyL9NvVFZC

Alex Collins was trending to be a starter in Week 5 in fantasy football, but then Pete Carroll said the offense wasn't going to carve out a significant role for him. Chris Carson is questionable, but he's not guaranteed to be out against the LA Rams. Plus, there are better options that are more proven to play over Collins this week.

#2 - Taylor Heinicke, QB, Washington Football Team

Taylor Heinicke was undrafted out of college and released by five NFL teams in four years.

He was a backup quarterback in the XFL last year & took classes at Old Dominion while living on his sister's couch.

Now he's throwing for 300 yards & winning NFL games.

Amazing story 🙏 https://t.co/rdgbABFkri

Taylor Heinicke is off to a great start to the 2021 season, but a matchup against the New Orleans Saints may not end well for him.

The Saints are allowing the sixth-fewest fantasy football points to quarterbacks, despite allowing Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals to score all over them. Washington isn't the same offense as Arizona and could be brought off their high in Week 5.

#3 - Tyler Conklin, TE, Minnesota Vikings

A couple of outstanding blocks from TE Tyler Conklin here. Awesome effort and technique to do this against DEs. https://t.co/3MErTSBapy

Kirk Cousins is trending, but Tyler Conklin has cooled off over the last two weeks. The Detroit Lions defense is weak, but Conklin is the odd man out for targets. Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson and KJ Osborn are all above him. Conklin has had under 8.5 points in his last three games and this isn't an optimal matchup for him.