No team is officially out of the playoffs quite yet. Yes, that even means the 0-4 teams. However, we do start to see how teams are being coached. Some of these teams have not worked, but a coach has refused to make proper adjustments. The quarter mark is now behind us. Onto week 5 of the NFL. For accountability purposes lets take a look at how last week’s IDP starts and sits did for us.
*Side note- a sit to me is somebody that will get 10 or less fantasy points for you.*
Week 4 Starts (3 Pass, 2 Fail)
Jarran Reed– 6pts – Fail; Danielle Hunter– 8pts – Fail; Henry To’oTo’o– 14pts – Pass; Terell Smith– 13pts – Pass; Brian Branch– 15pts – Pass
Week 3 Sits (2 pass, 3 Fail)
Ed Oliver– 11pts – Fail; Daron Payne– 4pts – Pass; Rashan Gary– 1pt – Pass; Kei’Trel Clark– 11pts – Fail; Kyle Hamilton– 18pts – Fail
Now that we see that let’s get into my week 5 Starts & Sits for the IDP!
START
DL- Aidan Hutchinson (DET) vs Carolina Panthers (START)
Hutchinson is currently on a two-game sack streak. He has the opportunity to continue that streak against a bottom 4 pass blocking team. Rookie Quarterback Bryce Young came back last week to get sacked 5 times. Hutchinson is catching his stride as the season progresses. This game could be another multi-sack game for him like his week 3 outing against another NFC South team the Atlanta Falcons.
Edge- Jadeveon Clowney (BAL) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (START)
The Pittsburgh offensive line is horrendous. Starting Quarterback Kenny Pickett may be out. This means Mitchell Trubisky will get the start at under center. Last time Trubisky played the Ravens he had a QBR of 60.7 and threw 3 interceptions. Talk about the pressure getting to him! Pittsburgh right now has the worst pass blocking grade in the league with 31.8. The last time Clowney played against the Steelers he had 6 tackles, 2 sacks, and one forced fumble. I like the chances that he has a somewhat similar performance this week.
LB- Quay Walker (GB) @ Las Vegas Raiders (START)
He has been on fire this season having two games with 16+ tackles. This game should be no different. He plays against a struggling Raiders team. A team that could end up with number one overall draft pick. Walker through 4 weeks has a miss tackle rate of 4.1%, he gets to his guys. He is starting everywhere you have him.
DB- Kenny Moore (IND) vs. Tennessee Titans (START)
Moore has stepped into the veteran leadership role for the Colts secondary. He has the best coverage grade of all teammates with over 60% snaps. Moore is likely to split his time guarding the slot receiver and matching up against DeAndre Hopkins. This might seem tough. The Titans have thrown nearly twice as much to Hopkins than any other receiver on the team. This leaves plenty of opportunity for Moore to make a play. At the very least get a plethora of tackles. And if you recall, Moore was the top-scoring cornerback in 2021.
S- Kyle Dugger (NE) vs New Orleans Saints (START)
Rookie sensation Christian Gonzalez might be out for the season. The team did just trade for J.C. Jackson, a cornerback that started his career in New England. Jackson might play this weekend. If he does he may not be fully up to speed with what New England needs him to do. Dugger may be called upon once again for more support as the new addition gets acclimated to his old but new team. Start Dugger where you can.
SIT
DL- Aaron Donald (LAR) vs Philadelphia Eagles (SIT)
The Eagles have the best run blocking grade and 6th best pass blocking grade according to PFF. Donald in the past has struggled against the Eagles. This year may not be any different. The Rams do rank top 4 in pass rushing. However, in 4 games against the Eagles Donald has averaged 1.5 tackles per game. Just over 4 fantasy points. This season has been Donald’s worst performance on run defense (66.4) and tackling (35.8). He has a great NFL player, but I am keeping him on my bench if I can.
EDGE- Josh Allen (JAX) @ Buffalo Bills (SIT)
No not Josh Allen the Quarterback. We are benching the pass-rushing Allen because he is playing against Quarterback. Allen lives on the sack. The Quarterback Josh Allen has been sacked 9 times this year. Five came from the “fluke” game against the Jets in week one. Allen’s double digit defensive games have both came from 3-sack performances. He has 6 sacks on the season. In the two games he did not record any sacks, he only has 3 tackles total. He is a threat from the outside, but I am not expecting a strong week from him this week.
LB- Nicholas Morrow (PHI) @ Los Angeles Rams (SIT)
His 3-sack performance should not go unnoticed. However, this was also a career game for him. In his entire career leading up to last week’s performance he only had 4 sacks. The Rams line is not great, but they are in the top 10 in terms of run blocking. They also have a top 7 receiving group according to PFF. This just seems like a week where we see major regression from a stellar performance a week before.
LB/DB- Isaiah Simmons (NYG) @ Miami Dolphins (SIT)
Simmons joined the Giants earlier this season. It was thought he would bring immediate value to the team. He has only seen 26.5% of snaps. He has yet to get over 5 tackles in a game. No sacks. No turnovers. He now plays against one of the best teams in the NFL. If not the best, definitely the fastest. Simmons will have trouble finding any sort of stride this week. Keep him on your bench.
DB- Jeremy Chinn (CAR) @ Detroit Lions (SIT)
He is steadily progressing as the season goes on. He faces his toughest match up yet. Detroit has a top 5 pass and run blocking offensive line. This could prevent Chinn from bringing any sort of pressure. He might be called upon to guard star Wide Receiver Amon Ra St. Brown. This could allude to more tackles for Chinn. Being the best defensive back for the Panthers though could make Goff look elsewhere. The game script could just focus on the run with Montgomery meaning Chinn is just distracted by St. Brown. Either way I do not see a week where Chinn shines.
That is my week 5 start/sits for the IDP positions.
Thank you for reading. Follow me on X at @ThePPRShow for more! If you need offensive start/sit advice, give @TFFGRobbie a follow for his weekly offensive start/sit articles! Peace & Love.
For additional IDP lineup advice, check out our Start/Sit Tool and our Week 5 IDP Rankings.