Start 'Em, Sit 'Em For Week 5 Fantasy Football: Start Emari Demercado, Bench Jordan Mason

That … stunk. Why my long face? Well, I told you to start Carolina’s Hunter Renfrow in a pinch, who got summarily replaced in real-time by second-year UDFA Brycen Tremayne. Sigh. Then I recommended sitting DK Metcalf, last weekend’s WR7 from half a world away. Head sunk, Ben Affleck gif-like, extra-audible sigh. My bad, everyone. Ick.

Only one direction to go after last week’s debacle from your faithful narrator, right? Hey, you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, and there you have the facts of fantasy life.

Transparency matters, and so does maintaining a strong work ethic in the face of poor short-term results. As Jefferson Starship once said, nothing’s gonna stop us now …

Let's get into our bold Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for Week 5 from me and Coach Gene Clemons.

Bold Week 5 Starts For Fantasy Football

Emari Demercado, RB, ARI

LAGHEZZA: When the fantasy gods slam a door, they often open a window in the meantime—we just need the courage to climb through it. Unfortunately, this game we love so much and hold so dear is also a never-ending war of attrition. After Wednesday afternoon’s big news, we can add newly crowned Arizona starting RB Trey Benson to the list of latest fantasy commodities swallowed up in the injury wormhole.

The second you thought it was safe to blow all your FAAB … wham! A minimum four-week stint on the IR for Benson’s bum knee. Prepare to move on, there’s zero certainty we’ll even get a true return to peak power this season. Next man up.

Social media’s currently ablaze with brilliant minds on both sides, jousting over how backfield workload will shake out in the desert. I won’t pretend to be positive, but I will assure you it created a massive amount of consternation in some work chats today.

After some back-and-forth with one of our resident backend sharps, I flip-flopped my initial instinct to prioritize Michael Carter over Emari Demercado. The more I dug, the more I needed to pivot off priors. The first thought that came to mind? Carter finishing as the Cardinals’ clear starter down the stretch last season.

However, Demercado missed all of those games due to injury. And despite carrying the moniker of a satellite pass-catching back, he’s actually two inches taller and nearly 15 pounds heavier than Carter. Myth number one busted. Oh, Demercado also owns a 20-carry game on the ledger (Week 8, 2023), so he’s done it before. Just saying.

Narrative two surrounding the debate is Carter’s supposed efficacy as a runner—but the fantasy-related head-to-head stats point in Demercado’s direction. See for yourself …

RUSHING STATS, 2023-2025 — Emari Demercado // Michael Carter

Yards Per Rush: 6.0 // 4.8
Yards After Contact Per Rush: 4.4 // 2.6
Target Per Route: 19.1% // 17.5%
Fantasy Points Per Touch: 1.10 // 0.89

How could I forget? Arizona’s expecting a positive game script as a touchdown favorite against the lowly Titans this Sunday, who just allowed RB6 and RB1 overall finishes in back-to-back weeks.

Ladd McConkey, WR, LAC

CLEMONS: Everybody seems to be off the Ladd McConkey train. Some fantasy managers are looking to sell him and others are thinking of dropping him. But unless you are in a 10-team league or smaller, you paid a premium for the young Ladd (see what I did there), you can’t afford to let him go for peanuts or nothing at all.

It is usually when the populace is ready to give up on a player that I feel it is ready for a turnaround. Week 4 was the low for McConkey. He recorded one reception for 11 yards. That is not exactly what fantasy managers envisioned when they drafted him with a second-round pick. The hopeful side is that McConkey is still being targeted this season like he was in 2024. He averaged seven targets per game last season and he is averaging 6.75 targets this season; the difference is the production.

That should change this week with the Commanders coming to town. They are ranked 27th in passing yards allowed and 19th in passing touchdowns. With the emergence of Quentin Johnston as the WR1 and rookie running back Omarion Hampton living up to the Matthew Berry “Ride or Die” designation, that has taken significant defensive focus off McConkey. The homecoming for long-time Charger Keenan Allen has also been successful. With all of these other elements to focus on, McConkey could be the forgotten man in the Washington defensive game plan. Look for him to earn his normal targets in this matchup, but he should find more open areas that give him the chance to run after the catch and possibly put one in the endzone.

Rashid Shaheed, WR, NO

LAGHEZZA: It's hard to debate that New Orleans is exceeding expectations in 2025. Spencer Rattler overtook the starting job, standing as fantasy’s current QB16. For some perspective, that’s higher than Trevor Lawrence, Michael Penix and Geno Smith. In fact, only Dak Prescott has completed more passes this season. Huh?!?

With that in mind, would you believe not one Saint finished as a top-25 WR yet this season? Well, it’s true … and about to change.

New York’s defense basically stinks on the whole (-0.06 EPA/play, 388.5 yards allowed/game) with a few glaring openings for a breakout from Rashid Shaheed on Sunday. Before anything else, Big Blue’s bottom-three tackle success rate is creating issues at every level of the defense. Miss the wirey Shaheed in open space and it’s see ya later, alligator.

Brian Daboll also runs a ton of man-heavy, Cover-1 schematics—the perfect setup to win one-on-one with nothing but grass ahead. Making just 25 starts since 2023, Shaheed still ranks 10th overall in +20-yard scores, with not one receiver ahead of him playing fewer than 31 games.

New York’s also guilty of overpursuit from their dangerous front-four, leaving lots of slot receptions open over the middle. Can you guess who led New Orleans in slot targets last weekend? Yup, Mr. Need For Speed Shaheed …

Mason Taylor, TE, NYJ

Taylor has slowly been coming along. Over the first two weeks he was nonexistent, only garnering three total targets. However, in the past two games, he has been a bigger part of the passing attack. He has nine receptions on 13 targets in that time. Last week against Miami he finished with five receptions for 65 yards. He earned his first top-15 finish in half-PPR leagues. The Jets welcome the Cowboys, who are dead last in opponent passing yards per game. They are surrendering nearly 300 yards per game through the air and almost five receptions, over 45 yards and 9.5 yards per reception each game to opposing tight ends this season. It is a perfect opportunity for Mason to continue to build his case for being the second option in the passing game.

Bold Week 5 Sits For Fantasy Football

Jordan Mason, RB, MIN

LAGHEZZA: Funny, my strongest take is also the shortest argument. Unless we’re strictly talking about the most elite offenses, avoid the Browns at all costs. It’s an all-or-nothing proposition, by the way. Find a way to answer the Myles Garrett, Mason Graham, plus Denzel Ward problem like DET or BAL, and there’s over 30 points in it for you. Congrats.

On the other hand, fail to withstand that onslaught from the trenches and face cascading collapses. If you don’t believe me, just ask Joe Burrow and Jordan Love—who failed to combine for 300 yards against Cleveland. And it’s not like the Packers or Burrow-led Bengals make for a soft matchup either.

Now, what do you think they’re going to do to Carson Wentz? Not to mention backup Zavier Scott came out of nowhere last week to soak up a third of MIN’s backfield snaps, most of the routes, a vast majority of RB targets, including both in the red zone. Suboptimal look from a player with three-down aspirations.

Derrick Henry, RB, BAL

CLEMONS: Henry did not have the smoothest first quarter of the season. Ever since the first game of the season against the Buffalo Bills, when Henry rushed 18 times for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Since then, he's had 31 rushes for 115 yards and a touchdown. He also had three fumbles during that time. Now Lamar Jackson could potentially be out for multiple weeks and he provides a defensive focus that allows Henry to run with fewer eyes focused on him. Now that Cooper Rush will potentially be in at quarterback, the defensive focus will shift exclusively back to Henry. His usage should increase with Rush in the game, but there are several factors that would lead you to believe this will not be a great game for him.

The Texans have only surrendered 12.5 points per game this season, so Henry has much less of a chance to score a touchdown in this game. They have only allowed four rushing touchdowns this season. The Ravens offensive line is banged up, which will shrink those rush lanes and when they pass, it could be scary for Rush and put the Ravens in a play script that passes more. The Texans offense should be able to run on a Ravens defense that is riddled with injuries. That should decrease the possessions for the Raven and thus the touches for Henry.

John's Parting Week 5 Start/Sit Thought

Our start/sit piece wouldn’t be complete without my favorite research tool, updated weekly throughout the season! When I’m in a pinch, this image is my favorite picture when I don’t have time for a thousand words.

When you want to win weekly fantasy matchups, attach yourself to the highest-scoring totals. Easy game, right?

(Where it was as simple as attaching yourself to Ravens games, there’s one less offense to chase with the potential of no Lamar Jackson. Push Baltimore left on the chart, closer to the Jets for the time being.)