Fantasy Football: 6 Sleepers for Week 5

The word "sleeper" gets thrown around a lot in the world of fantasy football, to the point where an actual definition may vary from person to person. In general, sleepers are NFL players who may be flying relatively under the radar in a particular field. That could be an under-rostered player in season-long leagues, a player with an exciting matchup in a given week, or even a potential star just ahead of their true breakout.

In any case, we all need to find a sleeper from time to time. Whether you're a fantasy football hipster looking to roster an exciting new player before your league-mates hear about him, a daily fantasy manager looking for a lower-salary player to fill out a lineup loaded with studs, or even just a manager in a pinch due to byes or injuries, we have you covered. We'll be bringing you six fantasy sleepers each and every week throughout the season.

Fantasy Football Week 5 Sleepers

Ryan Tannehill, QB, Tennessee Titans

FanDuel Salary: $6,300

If you're in a pinch for a quarterback this week or looking for a low-salaried option on FanDuel this weekend, you could probably do worse than Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

Tannehill looked like arguably the worst quarterback in the league after the Titans' dismal Week 1 performance, but both he and his team have at least looked competent in two of their three games since (the Titans had a pretty rough one against the Cleveland Browns' elite defense in Week 3).

We're five years into Tannehill's tenure as the Titans' starting quarterback, so we pretty much know what to expect -- there really hasn't been all that much change in Tennessee during that time. The Titans like to lean heavily on Derrick Henry to control the clock and keep the chains moving, and they turn to Tannehill for efficient, downfield passing. That offensive approach has worked for them, but it leads to some boom-or-bust outings for the QB on a week-to-week basis.

This week, that approach seems likelier than usual to work out for Tannehill, as the Titans will take on the Indianapolis Colts, whose defense has given up the fifth-most passing yards to opposing quarterbacks so far this season (1,055).

The Colts' pass rush has tallied the fifth-most sacks (14) so far this season but has done so with the privilege of taking on some pretty banged-up offensive lines. On a per-snap basis, they're actually below league average at generating pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Tannehill has always had a proclivity for taking sacks, but we shouldn't be too surprised if he manages to stay on his feet in this one.

Finally, the Titans' pass-catchers are getting healthier. Offseason addition DeAndre Hopkins looked great in Week 1 before suffering an ankle injury but was a full participant in practices heading into Week 4. He could even avoid the injury report altogether this week if things continue trending in the right direction for him.

Meanwhile, second-year wideout Treylon Burks sat out in Week 4 with a knee injury. We'll have to monitor the Titans' practice reports this week to gauge his Week 5 availability, but the big play threat is a stylistic match for Tannehill's typical downfield-passing mindset and has already generated a 70-yard catch this season.

With healthy playmakers and a warmed-up Derrick Henry keeping defenses honest, Tannehill has a decent shot at a strong fantasy finish in Week 5.

Rashee Rice, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

FanDuel Salary: $5,000

The Kansas City Chiefs really need someone to step up behind Travis Kelce in their passing game.

Sophomore wideout Skyy Moore hasn't lived up to expectations after the team drafted him in the second round last year, Marquez Valdes-Scantling is a functional but limited field-stretcher, and Kadarius Toney is not reliable enough to game-plan with week-in and week-out. They need a consistent player -- like JuJu Smith-Schuster was for them in 2022 -- to help round out their offense, and 2023 rookie Rashee Rice could be the most likely candidate to fill that role this year.

Rice has not been a full-time player for the Chiefs this year. The rookie has played the fourth-most snaps among the Chiefs' wideouts this year, even trailing deep-threat Justin Watson in that regard.

But despite getting fewer chances on the field than his teammates, Rice has been more productive than most of them. His 140 receiving yards trail only Kelce and Watson for the third-most on the team, while his 57.9% success rate on his targets is one of the better marks for Kansas City, as well.

His 2.50 yards per route run leads the Chiefs and also ranks 13th-best in the NFL. It's an indication that he can hang in the pros and that he just needs to get on the field more before he can reliably start producing fantasy points.

Given Rice's high efficiency, he makes for an ideal stash candidate. He plays in an uncertain wide receiver room, has second-round draft capital, has played well when given the chance, and gets to catch passes from Patrick Mahomes. That's a pretty sweet setup.

This week, Rice might be more than just a solid bench stash in season-long fantasy -- he could even crack some lineups in a pinch. The Chiefs are slated to take on the Minnesota Vikings in what profiles as a potential shootout between two high-powered offenses. If the game hits its slate-high 52.5-point total, even a part-time player like Rice could post fantasy-relevant numbers.

Wan'Dale Robinson, WR, New York Giants

FanDuel Salary: $5,400

The New York Giants' offense has been unwatchable this season. Their offensive line is too injured to stop even light pass rush fronts from reaching Daniel Jones, who still can't sense approaching pressure after four full seasons in the league. Without superstar running back Saquon Barkley keeping things moving, they've completely fallen apart.

Their Week 4 loss to the Seattle Seahawks was pretty bleak, but if we're looking for silver linings, it did at least start to look like sophomore wideout Wan'Dale Robinson is ready to make an impact in fantasy football. Robinson missed the first two games of the year while completing his rehab from last year's ACL injury but appears to be ramping up to a solid workload in 2023.

Robinson has the makings of a PPR-format cheat code, drawing 11 targets in his first game and a half of action this year. The team is using him close to the line of scrimmage -- his average depth of target sits at just 3.4 yards down the field -- which bodes well for his usage while the team sorts out its offensive line injuries.

Until they can figure out a way to generate explosive plays, they're likely to continue manufacturing targets to playmakers like Robinson in the short areas of the field. If his health continues trending in the right direction, don't be surprised if we start seeing games with 8-10 receptions from Robinson.

The Giants could catch a couple of breaks this week, as well. Barkley seems to be nearing a return from his ankle injury, and his return could at least help the offense pick itself up off the ground. Plus, they'll get to take on the Miami Dolphins, whose defense hasn't looked too scary yet this season.

New York should be trailing for most of the contest -- they're massive 10.5-point underdogs, according to FanDuel Sportsbook's NFL odds -- which sets them up to funnel targets to Robinson underneath as they try to scrape together some form of offense.

We can't expect Robinson to log many touchdowns this season, but if you play in PPR-scoring formats, the second-year wideout could provide a safe reception-based floor on a weekly basis.

Devin Singletary, RB, Houston Texans

FanDuel Salary: $5,100

If Houston Texans running back Devin Singletary is still available on waivers in your season-long leagues, you'd better have a pretty good reason for not correcting that mistake yourself.

Singletary is one of just a scarce few backup running backs in the league that:

• Gets decent opportunities on a weekly basis.
• Would be the likely three-down back if the starter missed time.
• Has a previous track record of being a fantasy stud.

Singletary was the fantasy RB1 for a period of time with the Buffalo Bills, so we know he's capable of doing some damage with a full workload.

The Texans have been utilizing second-year back Dameon Pierce as their lead back so far this year, but we can feel relatively confident that Singletary would be the three-down back if Pierce missed any time. The Texans have barely trusted their other backs to touch the ball so far this season.

And, despite preseason expectations, the Texans' offense has been really good this year. Their offensive line could return starters like Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard as soon as this week, but even without a healthy offensive line, the offense has notched back-to-back 30-point outings.

If Pierce were to suffer an injury in Week 5, Singletary would be among the top waiver wire pickups heading into the Week 6. He's one of the few handcuffs you can even start in your flex spots in a pinch. There's really no reason to wait to pick up Singletary if he's available on your league's waiver wire.

Latavius Murray, RB, Buffalo Bills

FanDuel Salary: $5,300

The Buffalo Bills have been refreshingly honest with us about their backfield this year.

From the jump, they've told us they want quarterback Josh Allen to run the ball less often to avoid big hits, they told us James Cook would be the primary back, and they brought in Latavius Murray and Damien Harris to be their goal-line backs.

Through the first four weeks of the 2023 season, that's exactly how things have played out. Murray leads the crew with four rush attempts inside the five-yard line, while Cook and Harris have each handled two carries and Allen has made just one attempt.

While both Murray and Harris were signed to perform that goal-line role for Buffalo, it looks like Murray might be running away with the job. And if a high-powered offense has a running back who gets near-exclusive goal-line opportunities, that running back is going to be worth rostering in fantasy football.

We've seen 11 of Harris' 19 carries this season come in the fourth quarter, an indication that he's playing behind both Cook and Murray.

For example, while the final box score for Week 4 would show that Harris handled more carries than Murray during the game, four of Harris' six total rushes came in the final minutes of the game while the Bills led the Dolphins by multiple scores. Meanwhile, Murray drew multiple targets in the passing game, while Harris hasn't seen a target since Week 1.

Murray is never going to make for an exciting start without an injury to Cook, but the veteran back earns enough high-value work in the Bills' offense to be a flex option at the running back position.

Jonnu Smith, TE, Atlanta Falcons

FanDuel Salary: $5,000

If you're at all invested in the future of former eighth-overall pick Kyle Pitts, you may want to avert your eyes. You're probably not going to enjoy reading about how journeyman tight end Jonnu Smith is running laps around him in the Atlanta Falcons' frustrating offense.

Smith played the best football of his career under Falcons head coach Arthur Smith while the two were together with in Tennessee. While Jonnu leveraged his final two years of efficient work into a huge contract with the New England Patriots (which did not work out), Arthur leveraged their work together into the Falcons' head coaching gig. Now reunited, it seems like the pair have picked up where they left off in Tennessee.

On a per-touch basis, Smith has been one of the most efficient tight ends in the league this year. His 1.99 yards per route run rank eighth among all tight ends (Pitts' 0.95 mark ranks outside the top 40 tight ends) and only five other tight ends in the league have generated more yards after the catch than Smith's 88.

Given starting quarterback Desmond Ridder's struggles in the passing game, it makes sense that the team would shift its focus to yards-after-catch threats like Smith as opposed to downfield pass-catchers like Pitts, whose 12.3 average depth of target leads all tight ends.

In the Smiths' final year in Tennessee, Jonnu caught 8 touchdown passes in an offense led by 2,000-yard rusher Derrick Henry and stud wideout A.J. Brown. Arthur Smith clearly values getting the ball into Jonnu's hands, and given the success they've had so far this year, it doesn't look like they'll stop any time soon.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.