Mike's Week 5 Player Grid

Welcome back to my (Mjohnson86) Player Grid. The format will vary slightly from JM’s Player Grid, as we each see things slightly differently and play in slightly different contests, but should complement his thoughts and content very well for those looking to build their lineups for the week. The format of this article will vary slightly from my FanDuel Player Grid, which will be more direct in terms of which players I like. Enjoy!!

The Core

This is a list of players that stand out to me at each position from using my “Checking the Boxes” criteria outlined in my course you can find in our Marketplace. This list is a starting point, from which I build out lineups using game theory and roster construction concepts (which we will also touch on) with the mindset being to find the best plays with big ceilings. Low ownership is a bonus, but not a must. This section will focus primarily on three positions – running back, tight end, and defense – as the other two positions (quarterback and wide receiver) tend to have more dependent tendencies which I try to attack from other angles (which we will get into in the other sections). I like all of these plays on all sites unless otherwise noted:

Running Back ::

• Jahmyr Gibbs // David Montgomery – Detroit’s backfield is almost a “must” for me in every lineup. The matchup is incredibly solid, and the Lions have shown they will keep laying it on. I think you can even justify playing them together.

• Omarion Hampton – Absolute stud. The “matchup” isn’t great with Washington’s defense solid against the run, but Hampton can get there in a variety of ways and his talent and role are too much to ignore.

• Breece Hall – In a week with value all over the place, ceiling means something. We know Breece has the talent to post 35-point games and this matchup is too ripe to ignore. The absence of Braelon Allen raises his touchdown equity.

• De’Von Achane – Achane’s role is going to be huge and he is still one of the most explosive running backs in the NFL. Carolina’s run defense is better this year than it was in 2024, but it is still not one to avoid.

• Rico Dowdle – Dowdle is incredibly cheap for the likely massive role he is stepping into in an above-average matchup. Dowdle is trusted as a receiver and pass protector and head coach Dave Canales’ offenses have been churning out backfield production for the last couple of years.

For The MME Crowd ::

• Rachaad White – White’s role and history as a pass catcher make him relatively appealing. Only $4,700 with paths to racking up a few catches and falling into the end zone, an 18-to-22-point game isn’t hard to imagine. 

• Jonathan Taylor – Early in the week, JT wasn’t someone I was thinking I would use this week. As value has continued to open up, however, his ability to drop a 30-point game is too much to leave out of my MME builds.

• Michael Carter – At only $4,000 and in a great matchup, Carter deserves consideration as the potential lead back for Arizona. I really like playing him with Kyler Murray, as the Cardinals could score four or five TDs this week and Carter appears set for the James Conner early-down role.

Tight End :: 

• Tyler Warren – Elite role and talent. His salary will eventually spike, but it won’t happen until he has a big week that we need at his position.

• Jake Ferguson – Massive usage and a great matchup. Don’t overthink it.

• Trey McBride – Tight-end scoring is always tough to find, and with the value available on the slate, paying up for McBride makes plenty of sense. 

Defense :: 

• Cardinals – If you have watched any of the Titans this season, I don’t need to explain this one.

• Lions – If you watched the last two Bengals games, I don’t need to explain this one.

• Colts – The Raiders’ offensive line has been atrocious this season and they just lost their best player. The Colts are an opportunistic defense that could easily expose Geno Smith.

• Giants – The Saints’ offensive line is sub-par, to say the least. They face a talented Giants defensive line and will be without their top player, Cesar Ruiz.

Premium Passing Game Stacks

Los Angeles Chargers (WAS)

The Chargers have the league’s highest pass rate over expectation and a matchup with a Commanders team that allows the third-lowest adjusted line yards per carry. This projects as a game where Los Angeles could easily end up throwing the ball 40+ times and Herbert with two pass catchers could combine for 70-80 points pretty easily. They don’t really use their tight ends, plus they may have them helping in pass protection at a higher rate this week. That leaves them with essentially four players the ball will go to. I won’t be using Keenan Allen at all, which leaves Hampton, QJ, and McConkey as my priorities. On the other side, Jayden Daniels is back on the field, which instantly injects life into this game environment.

Dallas Cowboys (NYJ)

The Cowboys are leading the league in yards per game while surrendering the most yards per game on defense. Sauce Gardner’s presence and likelihood of shadowing George Pickens dims his outlook a bit this week, but Jake Ferguson and Jalen Tolbert are extremely intriguing options. On the other side, the Jets are extremely concentrated with Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, and Mason Taylor likely to combine for a massive amount of the team’s offense. A lot of fun ways you can build around this one.

GPP Game Stack Of The Week

Detroit Lions // Cincinnati Bengals

The more I research and write about this week, the more I fall in love with this spot. The Lions are in a game where they have historically smashed and scored 40+ points. The Bengals are in a much better position than they were the last two weeks, and everyone is ready to write them off. These are the situations that leave people looking back, wondering how they missed it, and I won’t be one of those people.

UNIQUE COMBOS

Kyler Murray + Michael Carter

Let’s imagine that none of the Cardinals running backs were injured right now and we expected a 60/40 split between James Conner and Trey Benson. Then pretend that Conner was only $4,000. This is a bit of a stretch, but the idea here is simply to lock in all of Arizona’s touchdowns in a spot where it wouldn’t be shocking for them to score four or five, and to do it for under $10k.

Rachaad White + Rico Dowdle

This pairing would simply be a bet against the running back position as a whole. It says we don’t expect any 30-point scores, and we see a clear path to both of these newly anointed lead running backs scoring in the 18-to-22-point range at a very low salary.

Jahmyr Gibbs + David Montgomery

This matchup is just too good to ignore. We have seen the Lions run the score up often enough to know what is possible. J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey combined for over 200 total yards and a touchdown on Monday night, showing a glimpse of what the best running back duo in the league could do against this Bengals defense playing on a short week. A total of 40 points from this duo feels like a near-lock, while 50 is well within the range of outcomes and upside from there.