Cody Carpentier has been playing Fantasy Football since the age of 12 and working in the Fantasy and NFL Draft space since 2019.Outside of doing Shows and Rankings for Sportstopia, you can find Cody atRosterWatch.com where he travels throughout the year, attending events such as the NFL Combine, NFL Draft, Pro Days, and NFL training camps to gain that next-level edge that everyone desires. Outside of work, Cody enjoys barbequing and smoking meats, as well as competing in powerlifting competitions.
Cody ranks the running backs for Week 6
After a slow start to the season, the Raiders have turned up the volume on XM-Josh Jacobs. His efficiency in the run game has stabilized, the rust has been shaken off, he scored in back-to-back games and has earned 21 targets over the last three weeks. Look for Jacobs to again be a top-5 option in Week 6 against the injured and miserable Patriots.
After a massive win in England for the Jaguars, Travis Etienne is on a tear to continue building his case to be the “next best” all-purpose back in the NFL. He has four receptions in three of five games in 2023, a number he never hit in 2022.
The sleeper play of the week belongs to the Chargers' Joshua Kelley at RB43. I don’t love that ranking, but this is one I can see myself adjusting over the next 72 hours. Austin Ekeler is back in Week 6 and fixated at the top of the sheet at RB5, however the last time these two played together was Week 1, when Kelley finished as RB12 and Ekeler RB1.
Kelley has been dropped in a ton of fantasy leagues, but as a strong No. 2 in this offense, Kelley holds standalone value, with Ekeler in the lineup.
Cody ranks the quarterbacks for Week 6
The Vikings and Chiefs did not disappoint in Week 5, finishing with a 47-point total and 88 pass attempts. Patrick Mahomes and Kirk Cousins finished as top-12 quarterbacks. However, the top game duo was Bears vs Commanders. Justin Fields finished as QB1, while Sam Howell threw for 388 yards in garbage time, finishing as QB5.
In Week 6, Fields -- a back-to-back top-3 finisher -- hosts Kirk Cousins and the Vikings, with the total at 44.5 in the Windy City. On Monday, we may just get a “Monday Knighting” from the Chargers and Cowboys game, with both teams looking for big bounce backs. The Cowboys were crushed by the 49ers in Week 5 and the Chargers had a bye.
The biggest differentiator this week is the consensus trust in the New Orleans Saints' defense to put up a repeat performance against C.J. Stroud and the Texans. In Week 5, the Saints blanked the Patriots and Mac Jones, while Stroud and the Texans fell in a heartbreaker to the Falcons. I am riding the pine with Stroud this week as QB10 in a bounce-back spot at home. The consensus is QB16.
Cody ranks all the positions heading into Week 5
Last week was a MASSIVE win at the Tight End position, after the late week pivot to Mark Andrews as TE1. Coming into the Week, Andrews was TE5 due to a notoriously difficult matchup with Cleveland. But sometimes as the week goes, things just don’t make sense/compute in your head and you have to lean on what you know and what you’ve seen. What we have seen, is Lamar Jackson finding his favorite target when he needs him and when he wants him. Lamar had 2 rushing touchdowns in the first half, and just 8 pass attempts before the 2-minute warning of the 2nd quarter. He then reeled off 6 in the final 2 minutes, with an Andrews touchdown just before halftime, to give Baltimore a 21-3 lead.
Keep a keen eye on and be careful starting Chig Okonkwo, Dallas Goedert, Logan Thomas and Dawson Knox. Instead, trust Noah Fant, AGAIN, who is cheap and attainable EVERYWHERE. And finally, Andrew Ogletree who Indianapolis is telling us, matters. Ogletree missed Week 2, but over the last two week shis snap share went from 0 to 33 and finally 44% in Week 4, while Mo Alie-Cox dropped down to 27%. Ogletree is 6’5, 261lbs with a 72nd percentile speed and burst score.
Cody ranks the wide receivers for Week 5
My favorite game in Week 5 will be on Monday night, when the Green Bay Packers play in Las Vegas against Davante Adams and the Raiders. Adams is currently tied for third in the NFL with 33 receptions, including 3 touchdowns. Romeo Doubs has three top-20 finishes so far, but Christian Watson returned from injury in Week 4, playing just 46% of snaps.
One can expect Watson’s presence to jump into the 80% snap area, causing the Raiders to focus on two outside stretch receivers, along with inside gadget guy Jayden Reed. Between the Raiders and Packers, I have five MNF receivers ranked in the Top 45.
Adam Thielen returned a favor in Week 3, finishing as WR20 once again, his third consecutive inside the Top 24. Wan’Dale Robinson is a guy we are continuing to watch and key on in New York. In Week 3 he finished with 5 targets on a 22% snap share, and on Monday Night Football his snap share climbed to 64% as well as a “double down” with 6 targets, with 5 receptions and 40 yards.
Stay ahead of your league-mates and keep adding Wan’Dale as a depth piece. His snap share has risen from 0 to 22 and 64, while teammate Parris Campbell has dropped from 66 to 42 and down to 31% in Week 4.
Sleepers to target in Week 5 consist of Jerry Jeudy who has yet to crest the top 30 in any week, despite seeing 5+ targets in each of his first 3 games. Down the line is 38, Josh Reynolds, who will be overshadowed by the newsworthy return of Jameson Williams, who has never crested a 25% snap share and has one career catch.
Last but not least, it’s finally, FINALLY a Rondale Moore week.
Week 5 RB Rankings
De'Von 'Double-Down' Achane, was out in full force during Week 4 with another dynamic performance and Top-5 fantasy finish, this time on just 11 touches. He totaled 233 yards and 4 touchdowns on 22 touches in Week 3, in what was looked at as a once in a lifetime game. He “doubled down” in Week 4 with 120 total yards and 2 touchdowns on just 11 touches.
A literal repeat performance on a per-touch basis. Going forward, it is going to be more and more difficult for Mike McDaniel and company to contain this freak of an athlete, but at just 185 pounds, they will need to utilize both Achane and Raheem Mostert to keep this efficiency flowing. Achane is a MUST-START and Top-10 option every week until further notice.
More on the NFL:
Only one running back have finished with 19.9+ fantasy points in both Week 1, 2, 3 and 4 -- Christian McCaffrey.
Alvin Kamara returned from suspension, and made up for missed time, pulling in a whopping 13 receptions on 13 targets. That places him 9th among running backs in receptions, just 6 behind the leader, Bijan Robinson. We hammered Kamara in the rankings last week, he finished exactly where we projected -- 9th.
This week the assumed return of Jonathan Taylor is held in high regard with how impressive Zack Moss has played in 2023. However, when comparing Moss’s stats to that of Taylors first 3 games in 2022, they are eerily similar.
Taylor had 5 less carries, but 6 more yards and 2 more receptions in the same span. The difference of course is this Colts offensive line has been healthy and returned to 2021 form. Taylor is a fringe RB1 this week, coming in at RB16 if he practices on Thursday and Friday.
Cody ranks the quarterbacks for Week 5
The highest game total in Week 5 belongs to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs traveling to Minnesota to take on Kirk Cousins and the Vikings. In Week 3, we saw a high-powered AFC West team in the Chargers, go to Minnesota and take it down to the wire with a 28-24 finish. Cousins and Justin Herbert combined for 97 pass attempts.
While Patrick Mahomes has crested 40 pass attempts just once this season, Minnesota has been friendly to opposing quarterbacks, allowing 27 points per game in their three losses. Mahomes and Cousins are the only duo inside the Top 12 for Week 5, with Cousins averaging 46 pass attempts in the Vikings 3 losses.
The biggest differentiator this week is the consensus trust in Trevor Lawrence to double down and double up on a mediocre performance against Atlanta in Week 4. Consensus rankings have Lawrence has the QB10 this week, despite him finishing as QB 16,18 and 32 each of the last three weeks.
The Buffalo Bills are no easy task, despite Jacksonville having a one-week head start staying in Europe for the past two weeks. The Bills held Tua Tagovailoa to QB18 last week, and in a 37-3 dusting of Washington, they showed Sam Howell what was behind Door #2 and that was QB32 in Week 3, their second consecutive game holding a QB outside the Top 30.
Cody ranks the tight ends for Week 4
The new “Mr. Consistency” did the thing. Sam LaPorta finished as TE1 in Week 3 and supplanted himself in the Tier 1 conversation next to Tj Hockenson, Mark Andrews and Travis Kelce ... until Kelce's snap share gets back to 80%+.
Be careful starting Zach Ertz, Cade Otton, Hunter Henry and Kylen Granson. Instead, get your hands on Luke Musgrave, who is the NEXT rookie tight end to break out; Noah Fant, who is cheap and attainable EVERYWHERE; and Cole Turner, who stepped into Logan Thomas’ role and finished as TE20 in his starting debut.
Tight End Rankings:
Kicker Rankings:
Defense Rankings:
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