• Add Roschon Johnson and D’Onta Foreman: Khalil Herbert is expected to miss several weeks at running back, opening the door for Johnson to prove he’s worth being the starter all season.

• See which players were recently dropped: Several players were dropped because they had a bye week or suffered injuries. Those players could be worth picking up over new options.

• Keep an eye on the injury news: There were several injuries to quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers. The severity of the injuries will heavily dictate the quality of the potential waiver targets.

Estimated Reading Time: 25 minutes

Week 5 of the 2023 NFL season is just about in the books. Here are the players you should be targeting in your fantasy football leagues, including targets in smaller leagues and deeper leagues, as well as players to avoid.

Jump to a position group:

QB | RB | WR | TE

Quarterback

Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (Rostered in 33.9% of leagues on ESPN)

Stafford completed 21 of his 37 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns against the Philadelphia Eagles.

• He benefited from the return of Cooper Kupp, who led the team in receptions (eight) and receiving yards (118).
• Stafford’s 225 dropbacks this season rank second among quarterbacks — behind just Sam Howell.
• He’s thrown for 1,457 yards this season, which ranks fourth most, with the main thing holding him back being his low touchdown total. Stafford has thrown only five touchdowns this season, but that will hopefully change with Kupp back.
• The Rams play the Arizona Cardinals in Week 6, making Stafford the best streamer quarterback of the week.

Sam Howell, Washington Commanders (17.4%)

Howell achieved his first career 300-yard passing game on Thursday Night Football.

• He completed 37 of his 51 passes for 388 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
• He also notched career highs in completions, attempts and completion percentage.
• He’s been grading like a below-average starting quarterback and isn’t throwing as much to his top wide receivers as many would like, but he’s dropping back to pass more than any other signal-caller.
• If Howell can pair his passing volume with improved play, he will be a fantasy starter.