Week 5 Fantasy QB and RB results, with Week 6 injury watch

Saturday’s remaining backfield decisions

Washington downgraded Jeremy McNichols to out with his quad injury. He remains on injured reserve after his return-to-practice designation; practice did not activate him. Chicago elevated Zavier Scott, Miami elevated Carlos Washington Jr. and Pittsburgh elevated Lew Nichols. Green Bay placed Chris Brooks on injured reserve. Those moves change depth without assigning replacement carries. The London lineup window is closed, and Shipley was ruled out after a foot injury.

The Monday final reports are published. Buffalo rules Joshua Palmer out and lists DJ Moore questionable, while the Rams give Colby Parkinson no game designation. An inactive list and usual workload remain separate questions. Current availability: October 11, 2026 at 10:43 a.m. Mountain Time.

Lamar Jackson, Breece Hall and Saquon Barkley are unavailable for Week 5. Baltimore names Tyler Huntley as its starter. Will Shipley was ruled out with a foot injury during the London game, whose lineup window is closed. Jaylen Wright is active for Miami. Compare eligible replacements according to scoring, roster needs and individual game locks.

This guide assumes a 12-team PPR redraft league with one starting quarterback, one point per reception, one point per 10 rushing or receiving yards, six points per rushing or receiving touchdown, four per passing touchdown and one per 25 passing yards. It uses completed Week 4 production to make Week 5 decisions. Player availability in your league must be checked before a claim; these recommendations do not assume an ownership percentage or a particular waiver budget. Adjust the order of your moves to your actual lineup vacancies.

Build Jackson’s alternative before Sunday night

Baltimore’s Friday report rules Jackson out and names Huntley as the Sunday starter. This supersedes the earlier open decision. Jackson’s absence does not announce a return date, and Huntley’s starting assignment does not guarantee Jackson-level production.

Baltimore visits Atlanta on Sunday, October 11, at 6:20 p.m. Mountain Time. That late kickoff affects the roster decision. If your chosen replacement plays earlier, decide whether to use him before his game locks. An eligible Sunday night alternative must not have already played. Check how your platform handles individual player locks and whether a late waiver claim can actually be processed in time. Ravens schedule.

Huntley is an announced starting option for a Jackson manager, especially when an additional quarterback slot makes the opportunity valuable. He completed eight of nine passes for 63 yards after replacing Jackson against Tennessee, with four carries for 16 yards. That short relief appearance does not establish his passing volume for a full game. Compare the other available starters before making a one-quarterback league add.

If you already roster a usable quarterback, fill the running back need rather than adding Huntley automatically. If you have no alternative, the quarterback vacancy takes priority over a speculative backfield claim. A second bench quarterback is most useful when it prevents a likely empty starting position; after securing a usable Week 5 starter, reassess whether you still need multiple backups. This advice assumes one starting quarterback. A league that requires two changes the cost of leaving a possible starter available.

Gordon deserves a claim, with Wright still in the picture

Recommendation: Add Gordon where available if you need running back depth, and consider him for a flex vacancy after checking the new injury reports. Miami placed De’Von Achane on injured reserve September 28. Gordon carried 17 times for 41 yards and a touchdown against Kansas City in Week 3, followed by nine carries for 100 yards and another touchdown at Minnesota. His official log also credits three catches for 14 yards in Week 3 and two catches for no yards in Week 4. Miami transactions; Gordon game log.

The two games show different ways to produce points. Under this guide’s scoring, Gordon supplied 14.5 PPR points in Week 3 and 18.0 in Week 4. Those are calculations from his recorded yards, catches and touchdowns, without bonus scoring. He reached the better total on fewer carries because his rushing output improved sharply. Miami’s game report identifies a 53-yard run against Minnesota, accounting for more than half his rushing yards. Do not turn that play into an expectation of another 100-yard game. Gordon game log; Miami game figures.

Jaylen Wright remains first on Miami’s published depth chart, with Gordon second. Wright’s official log lists five carries for seven yards against Minnesota. Gordon’s production makes him worth rostering, but the chart and the game line do not amount to an announced permanent takeover. For a manager who has one open bench spot and no immediate starting emergency, Gordon offers exposure to an active backfield opportunity while allowing time to see how Miami distributes its next set of carries. Miami depth chart; Wright game log.

Miami has Wright active for Sunday’s game, superseding his questionable practice-report designation. Gordon remains a roster option, but Wright’s availability does not establish a fixed carry division or a permanent change in the rushing order.

If you already roster Wright, do not make the decision solely from Gordon’s long run. Consider whether keeping both prevents you from carrying a needed starter at another position. Gordon has the stronger recent production case, while Wright’s chart position keeps the distribution uncertain. A flex recommendation for Gordon is most useful to a manager replacing a missing starter; it does not require benching an established back whose role is already clear. There is no verified fixed carry split to plug into a Week 5 projection.

Allen is a replacement option with Hall out

Recommendation: Add or hold Braelon Allen as an available replacement with Hall ruled out. The Friday Jets report confirms Hall’s quad-related absence. Allen and Isaiah Davis remain backfield options, with no carry or receiving split assigned by that report. Allen’s Week 4 role remains useful evidence, rather than an automatic repeat workload.

Hall did not practice during the week and is out. Make the replacement before the chosen player’s kickoff. Keep Hall as a season-long hold if roster space and platform rules permit it; the designation does not supply a return date.

New York ran only 32 offensive plays in that game, according to the team. That limits what the raw yardage says about Allen’s opportunity. It does not justify multiplying his carries to a hypothetical larger play total, because a different game can bring a different distribution. The relevant roster fact is that the Jets used him when Hall was unavailable. Hall still appears first on the published chart, ahead of Allen, so the contingency remains more useful than treating Allen as a newly established starter. Jets game context; Jets depth chart.

A Hall manager with no suitable replacement has a stronger reason to add Allen than a manager whose running back positions are already covered. The confirmed absence removes the eligibility condition for this game, but it does not divide the available work between Allen and Davis.

Keep Brown’s receptions in the PPR calculation

Recommendation: Hold Chase Brown and keep him in the starting discussion if active. Against Jacksonville, he rushed nine times for just 10 yards but caught 11 passes for 71 yards. That produced 19.1 points under this guide’s PPR scoring without a touchdown. The rushing figure describes a poor ground game; it does not describe his entire fantasy contribution. Cincinnati’s current published chart lists Brown first at halfback, ahead of Samaje Perine and Tahj Brooks. Brown game log; Bengals depth chart.

The catch total needs qualification before Week 5. Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said Monday that the pass-heavy approach reflected what Jacksonville presented and was not a sustainable long-term strategy. Brown’s 11 catches are therefore evidence of involvement in that game, rather than a new weekly reception expectation. His player log lists five, three and two catches in the preceding three weeks. Keep the receiving contribution in his valuation without planning a lineup around another double-digit catch total. Bengals Monday report; Brown game log.

Chase and Higgins are active for Cincinnati. The club says Chase cleared concussion protocol before Saturday’s flight. Colbie Young is inactive. The available receiver group does not assign Brown a target total; a rushing-only disappointment remains insufficient reason to drop a back with a verified receiving role.

Harvey offers PPR depth without a confirmed promotion

Recommendation: Hold RJ Harvey, or add him where available when your bench needs a receiving-capable back. In Denver’s Week 4 loss at San Francisco, Harvey ran seven times for 25 yards and caught 10 passes for 68 yards. Those figures yield 19.3 PPR points without a touchdown. J.K. Dobbins recorded 11 carries for 40 yards and two receptions for 12 yards in the same game. Dobbins still appears before Harvey on Denver’s published chart. Harvey game log; Dobbins game log; Broncos depth chart.

Harvey’s catches create a PPR case that his rushing volume alone would not support. He also caught six passes in Week 3, so the receiving contribution did not begin with one game. Still, two recent catch totals do not guarantee the next one. Managers in formats without reception points should make a different comparison, because 10 catches account for 10 of his Week 4 PPR points. That scoring distinction matters when choosing between a receiving role and a back dependent on carries. Harvey receiving log.

If you roster Dobbins, Harvey’s productive game is a reason to examine both roles, not evidence that Dobbins has lost his job. Keep a starter whose expected work fits your lineup, and treat Harvey as a conditional flex choice when the alternatives have less secure involvement. Neither the chart nor a high catch total provides a verified Week 5 snap share. Check availability again before using either back; an older practice designation does not clear him for a later game.

Warren’s role and the Week 5 roster deadline

Jaylen Warren remains a hold and a starting candidate if active. His Steelers game log shows 17 carries for 93 yards and three receptions for 33 yards in Week 4, following 17 carries for 127 yards and three catches for 49 yards in Week 3. Pittsburgh’s chart lists Warren ahead of Rico Dowdle. Pittsburgh’s dated Week 4 report ruled Dowdle out with a toe injury for the completed Thursday game. That is historical information, not a new Week 5 ruling. Warren game log; Steelers depth chart; Steelers Week 4 injury report.

Pittsburgh lists Dowdle inactive for Sunday’s game. Warren is available, and the club expects him to lead the carries. Warren’s repeated involvement supports keeping him, without promising a carry count or a point total. Use an expendable reserve when filling another vacancy rather than dropping a back with a verified role.

Check byes in the current Fantasy Pulse before submitting the final lineup. Kansas City is on its Week 5 bye, so Patrick Mahomes cannot serve as Jackson’s playable alternative this week. A manager with both quarterbacks needs another option. Preserve an important injured starter where your platform allows it, then use the available bench spot for the vacancy most likely to affect this week’s score. Any claim still needs an eligibility and roster check before you rely on it at kickoff. Chiefs Week 5 schedule.

Availability as of October 11, 2026 at 10:43 a.m. Mountain Time. London and the eight early-game inactive lists are verified. Later Sunday and Monday lists remain pending. Completed statistics retain their original game dates.

Jayden Daniels returns for Washington

Washington confirms Daniels is cleared to play and will start against the Giants. Mariota is out with his knee injury. An announced start makes Daniels available for the quarterback comparison without promising his usual rushing or passing production. Check each available player’s lock time.

Shipley’s London injury closes the Sunday decision

Shipley left Sunday’s London game with a foot injury and was ruled out. The pregame primary-back assignment is dated context, and Philadelphia’s lineup window is closed. Barkley was inactive and Bigsby remains on injured reserve. Shipley’s next-game status and return date remain unannounced; the injury does not establish the future carry division among Dameon Pierce, Carson Steele and other available backs.