Week 5 of the 2025 fantasy football season featured a number of big performances and a handful of disappointing ones.

Who were the big winners and losers?

Matt Bowen and Tristan H. Cockcroft offer their analyses.

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Ranking winners | Ranking losers |
Biggest injuries and what’s next

Ranking fantasy winners of Week 5

1. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts: Another week, another three-touchdown, 30-plus PPR fantasy point performance for Taylor, who has suddenly moved into second place at his position (121.3) behind Christian McCaffrey (123.9) for the season. Taylor scored 31.6 points in his latest dominant effort, this one against the Las Vegas Raiders, despite his not touching the football over the final 17 minutes of the game. Put aside his past injury questions, as he’s running about as well as anyone currently and is a locked-in RB1. — Cockcroft

2. Emeka Egbuka, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: His rookie season is now reaching historic levels, after he scored 31.3 PPR fantasy points, his most through his first five NFL games. Egbuka is the sixth wide receiver in history to score at least 12 points in each of his first five games, joining Charlie Brown (1982), Terry Glenn (1996), Randy Moss (1998), Ja’Marr Chase (2021) and Puka Nacua (2023), and his 102.4 total points trail only Nacua’s 115.6 and Moss’ 104.7 among wide receivers through the first five games of a career. Egbuka has swiftly become an every-week fantasy starter with WR1 upside, and he should be regarded as such against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6. — Cockcroft

3. Rico Dowdle, RB, Carolina Panthers: With Chuba Hubbard down (calf), Dowdle took advantage of the positive matchup vs. Miami, scoring a career-high 32.4 points. Dowdle saw heavy run game usage, carrying the ball 23 times for 202 yards and a score, plus he added 28 yards receiving on three catches. With open daylight to attack versus the Dolphins front, racked up six rushes of 10 or more yards. Explosive. If Hubbard is still out for the Week 6 game versus Dallas, Hubbard fits as a solid RB2, and he’s currently available in over 60% of ESPN leagues. — Bowen

4. Kyren Williams, RB, Los Angeles Rams: Williams’ boost in receiving usage pushed his total to a season-high 31.1 points in the Thursday night loss to the 49ers. Williams caught eight of 10 targets here for 66 yards, plus he added two touchdown grabs. Williams did lead the team in rushing with 65 yards on 14 carries (4.6 YPC), while backup Blake Corum saw just one rushing attempt. With a Week 6 matchup versus a banged-up Ravens defense, Corum will remain an upper-tier RB2. — Bowen

5. Dak Prescott, QB, and Javonte Williams, RB, Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys’ offense was humming once again against the mightily struggling New York Jets, scoring 37 points to give them a league-leading three games totaling at least that many. Prescott played a big part, throwing four passing touchdowns and scoring 28.28 fantasy points, to place himself at least among the top four at his position for the season (pending Sunday and Monday night results). Williams caught one of them and adding a rushing score of his own, for a season-best 26.9 PPR fantasy points that represented his third 20-point performance of 2025. The Cowboys’ defensive woes have resulted in Prescott frequently airing things out — his 195 passing attempts are easily the league’s most — which seems unlikely to change in the coming weeks. Expect more big scores from both in Weeks 6 and 7 against the Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders, teams that have also struggled defensively. — Cockcroft

6. Sam Darnold, QB, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks: Despite a late interception (versus pressure) that set up the winning kick for Tampa on Sunday, Darnold posted a season-best 27.64 points. Darnold completed 28 of 34 passing for 341 yards and four touchdowns. Darnold made throws from the pocket, created off-schedule and hit the schemed concepts. Smith-Njigba’s 27.2 points were also a season-high, as he caught eight of nine targets for 132 yards and touchdown. Smith-Njigba will stay in the WR1 mix for the Week 6 game at Jacksonville, while Darnold (who has four straight games with 15 or more points), is available in over 85% of ESPN leagues. — Bowen

7. Jake Ferguson, TE, Dallas Cowboys: Those aforementioned Cowboys defensive struggles, coupled with the absence of star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, has ramped up Ferguson’s usage in the passing game. He scored a career-best 23.9 PPR fantasy points while tying for the team lead in targets (9), giving him a tight end-leading 48 of the latter for the season. While Lamb could be ready to return from his ankle injury for Week 6, Ferguson should still be heavily involved enough to be a top-five option at his position. — Cockcroft

8. Matthew Stafford, RB, Los Angeles Rams: He orchestrated a late-game rally to tie, only to see his Rams lose a heartbreaker in overtime, 26-23, on Thursday night. Stafford’s fantasy managers were pleased nevertheless, as he scored 25.56 fantasy points after totaling 27.40 the week before. He’s making excellent use of his top two wide receivers, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, as well as running back Kyren Williams in the passing game, and should again be a fantasy QB1 in Week 6 against a Baltimore Ravens defense that has allowed four passing touchdowns to each of its past two opponents. — Cockcroft

9. Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals: Two fourth quarter touchdowns saved the day for Chase mangers in the Bengals Week 6 loss to Detroit. Chase caught a 15 yard touchdown on a second-reaction throw from Jake Browning and then got over the top of the Lions defense for a 64 yard (double-move). Chase finished with 29.0 points, catching six of a team-high 10 targets. Browning’s inconsistent level of play impacts the Bengals pass game, but Chase will remain in the lower-tier WR1 range for the Week 6 game at Green Bay due to his explosive ability. — Bowen

10. Mac Jones, QB, San Francisco 49ers: On short week, with multiple backups playing critical roles in the 49ers pass game, a beat-up Jones scored 22.18 points in the Thursday night win over the Rams. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan schemed up Jones off play-action and used the quick game to get the ball out in this one. Jones, who completed 33 of 49 passes for 342 yards, averaged 6.0 air yards per attempt, with Kendrick Bourne (10-142) leading the team in receiving, while Christian McCaffrey and Jake Tonges caught touchdowns. With no return date set for starting quarterback Brock Purdy (toe), Jones (available in over 95% of ESPN leagues), could be in-line to start again in Week 6 at Tampa. — Bowen

11. C.J. Stroud, QB, Houston Texans: He scored 28.76 fantasy points, his first game above 20 since Week 4 of last season, and totaled four passing touchdowns in a dismantling of the reeling Baltimore Ravens defense. The performance spoke as much to Stroud’s own successes — he completed 9-of-10 passes to slot receivers for 119 yards and two scores — as it did the matchup itself. The Ravens have now seen three different quarterbacks top 27 points against them (Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes), which is worth tucking away for future opponents Matthew Stafford (Week 6), Caleb Williams (Week 8) and Tua Tagovailoa (Week 9). Stroud and the Texans, meanwhile, now head into their bye week. — Cockcroft

12. Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Washington Commanders: After a 7.7 PPR fantasy point Week 4, the 27.0 points he scored on Sunday were certainly encouraging for his managers. Croskey-Merritt paced the backfield by playing 49% of the offensive snaps, and had an outstanding day in which he managed five explosive runs, 44 more rushing yards than expected and four carries which saw him clocked 18.7 mph or faster, per Next Gen Stats. This was the kind of breakthrough game that can earn a running back the clear leading-man job, in which case he aligns brilliantly for a Week 6 meeting with the Chicago Bears, who have struggled against the run. — Cockcroft

13. Darren Waller, TE, Miami Dolphins: After scoring 17.7 points in his first game of the season last week, Waller was productive again in Sunday’s loss to the Panthers. With an increase in snaps and routes run (26), Waller had 18.7 points in Carolina, catching all five of his targets for 78 yards and a touchdown. Waller has now scored at least a touchdown in each of his two games played, and he can still stretch the seams out in the field. With Tyreek Hill out for the season, Waller’s role as a middle-of-the-field option should remain steady in the Miami offense. Waller (available in over 50% of ESPN leagues) should be a top waiver add ahead of the Week 6 matchup versus the Chargers. — Bowen

Ranking fantasy losers of Week 5

1. Emari Demercado, RB, Arizona Cardinals: The more popular pickup of the two running back replacements for the injured Trey Benson, Demercado had a nightmarish game, totaling only 6.1 PPR fantasy points after having been added in nearly 60% of ESPN leagues over the past week. Michael Carter, added in 41%, handled most of the early-down work and was leaned upon heavily late after Demercado let go of the ball before the goal line on a 71-yard run in the fourth quarter, resulting in a game-changing lost fumble and a touchback. With the Cardinals ultimately losing, 22-21, despite holding a nine-point lead at the time of Demercado’s gaffe, Carter is highly likely to remain the primary back in Week 6 against the Indianapolis Colts. — Cockcroft

2. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints: Considering the matchup, as well as the fact that the game wasn’t really out of hand until the beginning of the fourth quarter, Kamara’s 9.5 PPR fantasy points were a huge letdown. He averaged only 3.4 yards per carry and was frequently spelled by Kendre Miller once the team took the aforementioned 26-14 fourth quarter lead. Kamara is still generally involved enough to warrant weekly fantasy RB2 consideration. — Cockcroft

3. Derrick Henry, RB, Baltimore Ravens: A late touchdown run in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Texans pushed Henry up to 9.3 points, but it was the fourth straight game with low-level numbers for the veteran back (15 carries, 33 yards rushing). Yes, the absence of quarterback Lamar Jackson (hamstring) matters here. I get that. And this Ravens offense was a tough watch on Sunday. However, over Henry’s past four games, he is averaging just 7.5 PPG. If Jackson is out again for the Week 6 matchup versus the Rams, Henry will slide down to the bottom of my RB2 ranks. — Bowen

4. Trey McBride, TE, Arizona Cardinals: For the first time since Week 16 of last season, McBride was held beneath 10 PPR fantasy points (9.1). Though he paced the team in targets (7), he couldn’t find many openings against the Tennessee Titans‘ zone-heavy defense. It’s not something fantasy managers should expect most weeks, and McBride seems likely to rebound in a more favorable matchup against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 6. — Cockcroft

5. Quentin Johnston, WR, Los Angeles Chargers: In Sunday’s loss to the Commanders, Johnston caught all four of his targets, but he had only 40 yards receiving for the game. Without the explosive plays, and the touchdown production, Johnston finished with a season-low 6.9 points. Johnston, who averaged 19.9 PPG from Weeks 1-4, will look to rebound in Week 6 with a positive matchup versus the Miami defense. — Bowen

6. Geno Smith, QB, Jakobi Meyers, WR, Las Vegas Raiders: Smith tossed three interceptions in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Colts, finishing with only 5.92 points. It was the second straight game (in a quality passing matchup) where Smith has made poor decisions and thrown multiple interceptions. The timing is off here. Meyers caught four of six targets for 32 yards versus the Colts (7.2 points) and has now posted fewer than 10 points in three straight games. Until Smith can start throwing with more consistent rhythm, Meyers will remain a lower-tier WR3 — with the Titans up next in Week 6. — Bowen

7. Woody Marks, RB, Houston Texans: His Texans dominated the Ravens 44-10, yet Marks, a popular waiver pickup this week, scored only 2.4 PPR fantasy points for the 51.9% of ESPN managers who started him. Worse yet, Nick Chubb had superior metrics to Marks, with one explosive run and 33 more rushing yards than expected, per Next Gen Stats, to Marks’ zero and three. Additionally, Chubb played nearly as many offensive snaps (23, to Marks’ 25). Neither will be easy to trust in a time share when they return from bye to visit the Seattle Seahawks in Week 7. — Cockcroft

Injury impact

No notable injuries.