Fantasy Football Week 5 Starter Rankings: Calvin Johnson Active, Ben Tate Back for the Browns
By Jason Lisk
Calvin Johnson is again active today. He did not have a good game last week while dealing with the ankle injury, but if he’s playing, you need to start him unless you are in a league where you have every other top wide receiver.
Ben Tate is active, as anticipated, for the Cleveland Browns, returning from his week 1 injury. Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West both were productive in his absence. Best guess? Crowell provides a different element, and Tate eats into the touches that West got while Tate was out. I have Crowell 32nd, Tate 34th, and West 45th in the RB rankings. It’s a favorable situation for points overall, but it’s a guess as to just how much work Tate will get right away.
Other key inactives:
- Kyle Williams is out for Buffalo, and combined with the Joique Bell injury, Reggie Bush becomes a very good starting option;
- Darrin Reaves gets the start for Carolina, with DeAngelo Williams inactive as expected. I’ve got him as a flex start, but upside is there with opportunities.
- Jermon Bushrod is out at left tackle for Chicago, keep this in mind if you are breaking a tie at, say, Cutler versus another quarterback.
- Harry Douglas is out while Devin Hester is active, so he becomes a deep flex starting option.
QUARTERBACKS
- Andrew Luck
- Drew Brees
- Peyton Manning
- Matt Ryan
- Philip Rivers
- Matt Stafford
- Russell Wilson
- Ben Roethlisberger
- Colin Kaepernick
- Nick Foles
- Jay Cutler
- Eli Manning
- Cam Newton
- Tony Romo
- Andy Dalton
- Joe Flacco
- Drew Stanton
- Alex Smith
- Blake Bortles
- Kirk Cousins
- Ryan Fitzpatrick
- Tom Brady
- Austin Davis
- Jake Locker
- Mike Glennon
RUNNING BACKS
- DeMarco Murray
- LeVeon Bell
- Jamaal Charles
- Giovani Bernard
- Rashad Jennings
- Matt Forte
- Reggie Bush
- LeSean McCoy
- Marshawn Lynch
- Arian Foster
- Alfred Morris
- Doug Martin
- Andre Ellington
- Frank Gore
- Bishop Sankey
- Zac Stacy
- Chris Ivory
- Justin Forsett
- Ahmad Bradshaw
- Knile Davis
- C.J. Spiller
- Andre Williams
- Fred Jackson
- Khiry Robinson
- Montee Ball
- Lorenzo Taliaferro
- Jeremy Hill
- LeGarrette Blount
- Steven Jackson
- Trent Richardson
- Chris Johnson
- Isaiah Crowell
- Darrin Reaves
- Ben Tate
- Darren Sproles
- Pierre Thomas
- Shane Vereen
- Toby Gerhart
- Donald Brown
- Stevan Ridley
- Carlos Hyde
- Shonn Greene
- Branden Oliver
- Roy Helu
- Terrance West
- Bobby Rainey
- Benny Cunningham
- Antone Smith
- Alfred Blue
- Robert Turbin
WIDE RECEIVERS
- Julio Jones
- Antonio Brown
- Dez Bryant
- A.J. Green
- Brandon Marshall
- Calvin Johnson
- Keenan Allen
- Demaryius Thomas
- Vincent Jackson
- Steve Smith
- Alshon Jeffery
- Percy Harvin
- Jeremy Maclin
- Kelvin Benjamin
- Emmanuel Sanders
- Roddy White
- Michael Floyd
- Victor Cruz
- Julian Edelman
- DeAndre Hopkins
- T.Y. Hilton
- Michael Crabtree
- Golden Tate
- Andre Johnson
- Brandin Cooks
- Brian Quick
- Pierre Garcon
- Reggie Wayne
- Eddie Royal
- Wes Welker
- Larry Fitzgerald
- Sammy Watkins
- Torrey Smith
- Terrance Williams
- Rueben Randle
- Markus Wheaton
- Marques Colston
- Andrew Hawkins
- Kendall Wright
- DeSean Jackson
- Allen Hurns
- Dwayne Bowe
- Anquan Boldin
- Malcom Floyd
- Devin Hester
- Mohamed Sanu
- Brandon LaFell
- Louis Murphy
- Robert Woods
TIGHT ENDS
- Jimmy Graham
- Julius Thomas
- Larry Donnell
- Martellus Bennett
- Travis Kelce
- Antonio Gates
- Greg Olsen
- Rob Gronkowski
- Delanie Walker
- Jordan Cameron
- Heath Miller
- Jason Witten
- Jared Cook
- Zach Ertz
- Owen Daniels
- Niles Paul
- Dwayne Allen
- Garrett Graham
- Clay Harbor
- Eric Ebron