Fantasy Football: Week Five Staff Must Start, Must Sit and Sleeper Picks

Hal Bent

Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports

START:  Joe Flacco, QB – Baltimore Ravens

OK, stop laughing. Seriously, stop. I mean it. Flacco is a legitimate start option right now in fantasy football.  Maybe it was the arrival of Steve Smith Sr., maybe it was the need to step up with Ray Rice suspended and the turmoil around the team, but Flacco has seven touchdowns and two picks in four games. He shredded a solid Carolina defense last week. This week he faces Andrew Luck and the Colts and he is going to have to throw the ball to keep up with the most valuable quarterback in the league to date. All the better for Flacco to have a good day.

SIT:  Zach Ertz, TE – Philadelphia Eagles

Ertz has great upside and is a viable fantasy backup to plug-in for a week, but not this week. After two big games to open the season, he has seen his targets and receptions drop. St. Louis has a strong defense and has played well against receiving tight ends to date. Expect the Ertz enthusiasm to continue to wane for another week.

SLEEPER:  Brian Quick, WR – St. Louis Rams

Before the season I had figured a St. Louis receiver would have a break-out year, but I thought it would be Tavon Austin, not Quick. Quick has 16 catches through four games for 235 yards.  Expect Quick to match his full season stats from last season this week. Quarterback Austin Davis has made Quick his top target and with the news today that Austin is the starter for the foreseeable future, Quick is going to continue to see a number of passes thrown his way. If you have not grabbed him yet, go get him now.