This unpredictable 2024 season rolls into week 5, with fourteen more matches to get stuck into, and 10 in the Sunday slate to look at from a DFS perspective. Four weeks in, only two undefeated teams remain, and whilst the Chiefs being 4-0 is unsurprising, the Vikings' identical start has shocked almost everyone.
Overall though, this does seem like a very wide-open season, with so many teams looking like viable contenders for at least a playoff spot, if not beyond that. Teams like the Commanders, Seahawks, and Steelers have all been better than expected, and only time will tell if this continues throughout the year.
Once again, we have five featured matchups this week, as we look to give you tips on another exciting week of NFL action, beginning with an NFC West divisional matchup in California.
Game 1: Cardinals @ 49ers
- Time: 9:05pm ET
- Spread: 49ers -7.5
- AI Gridiron projected total: 49.5 points
After a 30-13 bounce-back win over the Patriots last Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers are looking to build on that further with this week’s home clash with the Arizona Cardinals. San Fran has suffered some major injuries this year, and as a result, sit at 2-2, after disappointing defeats to the Vikings and Rams already this year.
But against New England, the team looked closer to the one we’ve seen in the last two seasons, helped partly by the return of tight end George Kittle to the lineup. Kittle is amongst the best in the league at the position when healthy and had a solid game last Sunday against the Patriots.
As did QB Brock Purdy, who was impressive without much of his firepower in weeks 2 and 3, silencing some of the system QB criticism that’s come his way in the last few years. Purdy looks to continue his good form against a Cardinals team he’s always feasted against, having thrown 8 touchdowns and 703 yards in his three career meetings with them.
Despite this, he remains cheaper than expected at $6,200, and at just 4.35% ownership, according to our AI models, this looks like an under-the-radar, sure-fire pick this week.
Expect Purdy to have another good game here, especially against the league’s 4th worst scoring defense, who were taken apart by Washington last week. Also, expect Jordan Mason to continue his good form, as he’s averaged 126 scrimmage yards a game so far, filling in for Christian McCaffrey, who looks to be out for a while.
On the Arizona side, Marvin Harrison Jr. is obviously a threat. Even in a quiet one last week, he still scored a touchdown, taking him to four in four games on the year. This could be a high-scoring one, and expect this Cardinals offense to play their part in that, with Harrison leading that charge.
Recommended stacks to build around
- Purdy + Kittle + Mason + Harrison Jr.
Individual Plays
SF
- G. Kittle
- D. Samuel
- J. Mason
- J. Jennings
ARI
- M. Harrison Jr.
- J. Conner
Game 2: Browns @ Commanders
- Time: 1:00pm ET
- Spread: Commanders -3
- AI Gridiron projected total: 45 points
For our second game, we turn our attention to the breakout team of this season so far – the Washington Commanders. In the last two weeks, Washington has put up eighty points, led by their star rookie QB, second-overall pick Jayden Daniels. Few expected much from this team at the start of the year, but they currently sit atop the NFC East with a 3-1 record, as a team no one wants to face right now.
Daniels has been superb recently, with his performance against Arizona last week putting him firmly in the lead for Rookie of the Year voting. Daniels has lit up the league through the air, but he’s also a great dual-threat quarterback, and his four rushing touchdowns are 1st amongst QBs so far this year.
In the Commanders' receiving game, the team’s star man remains Terry McLaurin, now in his sixth season in DC. McLaurin put up 52 yards and a score against Arizona last time out, and he’s going to be Daniels’ first option in the red zone. Another man to look out for though is tight end Zach Ertz, whose 150 yards rank second in the team this year, and he looks a good value pick at just $3,800 this week.
On the ground, Brian Robinson had another big showing last week, and with Austin Ekeler potentially missing again, expect him to get at least 20 carries again on Sunday, whilst also remaining an option in the passing game.
As for the Browns, they remain a frustrating side, ranking as the league’s 6th worst-scoring offense at just 16.5 points a game. However, the Commanders have given up the most fantasy points to the wide receiver position this year, partly because of the fact they have given up a league-leading 10 touchdowns to them. One bright spot for Cleveland has been Jerry Jeudy, who had a solid showing in Las Vegas last week, recording 72 yards receiving. If Cleveland are to get much going at all this week, a lot of it could well be going through Jeudy, who could be a bargain gem this week.
Recommended stacks to build around
- Daniels + McLaurin + Ertz + Robinson + Jeudy
Individual Plays
WAS
- T. McLaurin
- Z. Ertz
- B. Robinson
- A. Seibert
CLE
- J. Jeudy
- A. Cooper
- J. Ford
Game 3: Ravens @ Bengals
- Time: 1:00pm ET
- Spread: Ravens -3
- AI Gridiron projected total: 50.5 points
This divisional clash between Baltimore and Cincinnati could well be the game of the week, and already a huge game for both teams. These two are considered amongst the AFC’s elite but have struggled somewhat this year, leading to the Steelers being shock leaders of the AFC North at this early stage.
Having said that, there was no sign of struggle for the 2-2 Ravens on Monday night there, as they absolutely demolished Buffalo 35-10 in a real statement win that put the rest of the league on notice. The big story in that one of course was Derrick Henry, who looks ageless in his 9th season in the pros, putting up 209 total yards last Monday, and scoring two touchdowns along the way.
Henry is obviously an expensive pick at $7,800, but he might be the most reliable back in football still, and he’s already a core part of this offense. He and Lamar Jackson in the same backfield is looking like an absolute nightmare to deal with, especially for this Bengals D, which ranks 27th in scoring this year, and is giving up 145.5 rushing yards per game.
On the Bengals side, there’s obviously plenty of offensive firepower. The most obvious example here is Jamarr Chase, but he’s definitely on the expensive side at $8,000. For value here, look at wide receiver Tee Higgins ($6,000), who looked good in his return, or tight end Mike Gesicki, who joined from the Miami Dolphins in the offseason. Gesicki has been Joe Burrow’s 2nd favorite target this year, with 15 receptions and 147 yards across his four games, leaving him as a solid option available for just $3,400.
As for quarterbacks, it’s not exactly a hot take to suggest that either of these guys are absolutely good options to go for in this one. These are two of the league’s very, very best, and this could well be an offensive shootout here in Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon.
Recommended stacks to build around
- Jackson + Henry + Likely + Chase + Gesicki
- Burrow + Chase + Gesicki + Henry + Likely
Individual Plays
BAL
- D. Henry
- I. Likely
- Z. Flowers
- J. Hill
CIN
- J. Chase
- M. Gesicki
- T. Higgins
- E. McPherson
Game 4: Giants @ Seahawks
- Time: 4:25pm ET
- Spread: Seahawks -6
- AI Gridiron projected total: 43.5 points
Despite suffering a 13-point loss to the Lions on Monday Night Football last week, the Seahawks still remain 3-1, and one of the league’s better offenses, ranking 9th in scoring so far. New head coach Mike Macdonald has impressed so far and seems to be getting a lot out of this offense, which has veteran QB Geno Smith under center.
Smith is now in his third year in Seattle, and so far, leads the league in passing yards with 1,182. Despite this, he is projected to be owned by just 2.97% of players, meaning that there could absolutely be value in picking him up at $5,900. For a man averaging nearly 300 yards a game through the air, this seems like a good pickup to me.
As for his targets, his WR1 is of course D.K. Metcalf, who is now in his sixth season as a Seahawk. Metcalf is already well on his way to yet another 1,000-yard campaign and ranks 3rd in the league so far this year for receiving yards. Expect Geno to feed him early and often in this one, Seattle looks to establish dominance early.
On the ground, Kenneth Walker III has looked excellent in his only two games this year, reclaiming his RB1 spot from Zach Charbonnet last week. Walker is a key part of this offense, particularly in the red zone, and his three TDs last Monday (including two from just a yard out) underline this. Not only is he a scoring threat, but he looks set to get plenty of carries this Sunday, especially if the Seahawks have a lead to protect.
For the New York Giants, it’s fair to say that the season hasn’t gone well at all so far, with the team sitting at 1-3, and averaging just 15 points a game on offense. However, there is, of course, one major ray of light on that offense, in rookie sensation Malik Nabers. Nabers leads the league in receptions and is 2nd in receiving yards with 386, accounting for nearly 44% of the team’s total this season.
If the G-Men are to get anything going at all this week, Nabers will almost certainly be the guy to do it. Unfortunately, he is currently in concussion protocol, but there is a chance he clears it given the long gap between this game and their last.
Recommended stacks to build around
- Smith + Metcalf + Walker + Nabers + Seahawks D/ST
Individual Plays
SEA
- D. Metcalf
- K. Walker
- J. Smith-Njigba
- T. Lockett
NYG
- M. Nabers
- D. Singletary
- W. Robinson
Game 5: Packers @ Rams
- Time: 9:25 ET
- Spread: Packers -3
- AI Gridiron projected total: 48 points
Our final game is an interesting matchup between two teams that haven’t started as well as they might have hoped this year. The Rams sit at the foot of the NFC West at 1-3, thanks to a messy loss in Chicago last week. Their opponents this week – the Green Bay Packers – come into this one after a tough divisional loss against Minnesota, which also leaves them joint-last in their division.
But there are absolutely reasons to be optimistic about both teams in this one. Starting with the road team, Green Bay absolutely look like they’ve found a like-for-like replacement for Aaron Jones, with Josh Jacobs averaging nearly 100 scrimmage yards a game. Jacobs is clearly RB1 on the team now, and can expect to be involved plenty on Sunday.
And in the passing game, Jayden Reed has broken through as the team’s best receiver for now. In the two games that Jordan Love has started, Reed has a huge 310 yards and 3 TDs, showing the importance of Love to his production levels. Back in the starting role after a brief injury, Love wasn’t perfect last week, but his 389 yards and four touchdowns are impressive numbers in anyone’s book, and against the 2nd worst scoring D in the league, there’s no reason he can’t repeat that this week.
As for the Rams, this has definitely been a disappointing season so far, but there have been glimpses of the quality this team has shown in the past few years. Despite missing both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, veteran QB Matthew Stafford has still managed 897 passing yards, good for 8th in pro football.
One beneficiary of Kupp and Nacua’s absence has been Tutu Atwell, who has cracked 80 yards in both of the last two games, and is the team’s top receiver this year. At $4,900 and just 2.38% ownership, he could be a good sneaky pick here as Stafford's number one target. And whilst Kyren Williams is on the expensive side at $7,600, he’s going to be involved a lot on Sunday, and looks to continue his streak of scoring in every game so far this year. In a game that could be a high-scoring affair, he has every chance of doing just that.
Recommended stacks to build around
- Love + Jacobs + Reed + Atwell + Williams
- Stafford + Atwell + Williams + Jacobs + Reed
Individual Plays
GB
- J. Reed
- J. Jacobs
- R. Doubs
LA
- T. Atwell
- K. Williams
- D. Robinson