Week 5 of the 2026 fantasy football season featured massive games by Drake Maye, Jaylen Warren and Jahmyr Gibbs. On the flip side, Jonathan Taylor and Chase Brown had disappointing outings.

Who were the big winners and losers around the league during the fifth week of the fantasy football season?

Matt Bowen and Tristan H. Cockcroft offer their analysis.

Jump to a topic:
Ranking winners | Ranking losers
Biggest injuries and what’s next

Ranking fantasy winners of Week 5

His 39.46 fantasy points blew his previous career high out of the water — during his breakthrough 2025, he exceeded 30 points only once (32.44, in Week 17) — and they came at an opportune time. He has alleviated concerns about his bad September, when he scored 21.60 points in three games total, and he’s playing at a clear fantasy QB1 level right at a time when New England faces the meatiest portion of its schedule (NYJ, @CHI, @MIA, GB, @DET). — Cockcroft

Warren had career-high 36.8 points in Sunday’s win over the Colts, rushing for 101 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown, while adding 87 yards and another score on six receptions. Warren has now scored 20 or more points in two of his past three games and had at least 20 touches in all three. Despite Warren’s recent run on production, we recommend keeping him in the higher-end RB2 range for a tougher Week 6 matchup against the Buccaneers’ defense. — Bowen

His stellar, almost record-setting start to the season continued Sunday, as Gibbs’ 37.7 fantasy points led all running backs through the Sunday late games and gave him a third week with at least 30-plus. He now has a league-leading 153.7 points through five games, seventh most through that many team games by any player since at least 1950 and fifth most since the merger. Gibbs, as the wrecking ball of the Lions’ offense, gets a much-deserved bye week’s rest in Week 6, but he should return reenergized and ready to resume what might well wind up an all-time season in the end. — Cockcroft

Love dropped a season-high 25.28 points on the Bears’ defense, throwing for 367 yards and two touchdowns. And it was the vertical passing game here, as Love completed six throws of 20-plus air yards. Watson caught three of those third-level targets, finishing with 143 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions (32.3 points). With upcoming matchups against Dallas, Detroit and Carolina, teams that struggle to defend the deep ball, Love will be in the QB1 mix, and Watson should be viewed as a WR1 in 12-team leagues. — Bowen

In a wild overtime game against Washington, Nabers had a season-high 28.3 points, catching 10 of 19 targets for 123 yards and a touchdown. Nabers has now produced two straight games of 23 or more points and a touchdown. Likely’s 32.4 points were a career high, as he brought in 11 of 13 targets for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Game flow did play role here, but with the aggressive throwing mentality of quarterback Jameis Winston, both Nabers and Likely are set up with volume and big-play opportunities. Nabers should be played as a WR1 for the Week 6 game against the Saints, and Likely remains a midtier TE1. — Bowen

He’s emerging as Brock Purdy’s go-to guy, as Evans’ 10 targets boosted his seasonal share to 37% and his 26.3 fantasy points gave him four of five games with at least 12. Evans’ matchup-oriented track record reminds us to always check his upcoming opponent, but Week 6 against the Commanders is an outstanding one. — Cockcroft

His 30.4 fantasy points — fully supported by high-level usage (84% route participation, 24% target share) — reminded us that he can reach the fantasy WR1 tier when he’s on the field with Trevor Lawrence. Washington is currently a fantastic trade target, as his Jaguars have one of the position’s softest remaining schedules. A disappointing Texans team is up next, but Tennessee entered Week 5 with the fourth-best schedule adjusted wide receiver matchup, and Washington’s 31% target share in the Jaguars’ nine games (including last year’s playoff loss) assures he’ll get enough work to warrant starting in the vast majority of fantasy leagues. — Cockcroft

He was a “winner” for fantasy purposes, because he remarkably returned from a dislocated elbow after only two absences and scored 32.26 fantasy points, his second-most in 27 career starts, but Daniels’ Week 5, in the end, was anything but. Daniels attempted to scramble in the final seconds of overtime, with his team within range of kicking a potential winning field goal, and the Commanders were unable to stop the clock before time expired in what was ultimately a 27-27 tie with the Giants. It was a head-scratching moment, and one can only wonder whether the quarterback’s 38- and 26-yard rushing touchdowns during regulation stoked his confidence to the point that maybe he felt himself capable of putting the game away himself? Daniels’ passing performance was neither here nor there, but it was good to see him running as effectively as he did, especially with a much tougher Week 6 road matchup against the 49ers next. He’ll be a lower-end QB1 for that matchup. — Cockcroft

In the blowout loss to the Patriots, Bowers caught eight of a team-high 10 targets for 110 yards and a touchdown (23 points). Bowers has now scored 20 or more points and scored a touchdown in all three games played, and he has had double-digit targets in each. Bowers will remain an elite TE1 regardless of the matchup. — Bowen

Goff’s 28.94 points in the win over the Cardinals were the third most among quarterbacks through the late Sunday window. Goff threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns, plus he added his first rushing score of the season on a goal-line QB sneak. Goff has scored 20 or more points in three of five games played this season, and he’ll remain a matchup based QB1 when the Lions return from the bye in Week 7 to play the Packers in Detroit. —Bowen

He rebounded from a quiet Week 4 — a 5.7 fantasy-point performance against the Bears that now seems almost inexplicable — with an 11-target, 23.4 fantasy-point game, the second time in three weeks that he has had double-digit targets and scored 20-plus points. Quarterback Geno Smith has been getting him the ball plenty effectively as Wilson’s target share is a healthy 31%, and top-10 wide receiver numbers for the season seem well within Wilson’s grasp. Wilson next faces the Patriots, who have been middling against the position without CB Christian Gonzalez the past two weeks. — Cockcroft

Ranking fantasy losers of Week 5

He scored 11.2 fantasy points, the second time in the past three weeks that he has been held to that few or fewer. Taylor couldn’t find any running space against an aggressive Steelers run defense, which stuffed him three times on six plays with a stacked box, per Next Gen Stats, and held him beneath his expected rushing gain on 10 of 15 rushing attempts. Taylor should find it much easier to find holes against the Titans’ defense in Week 6, so keep him in there as a clear fantasy RB1. — Cockcroft

He disappointed for the second time in three weeks, scoring a season-low 7.0 fantasy points, and it’s also worth pointing out that he averaged only 1.1 yards per carry in what was a “productive” Week 4 for fantasy (19.1 points). But Brown’s managers should exercise patience, even with his Bengals now on their Week 6 bye. Recent Bengals teams tend to heat up later, and Brown himself has averaged 8.1 more fantasy points from Week 6 forward than in Weeks 1-5 in his career. — Cockcroft

His 2.2 fantasy points represented the third time in the past four weeks that he has been held under eight. Love’s underlying metrics were also poor, as he was stuffed at or behind the line of scrimmage on 5 of 12 carries and finished with minus-21 rushing yards over expected, per Next Gen Stats. With the Rams up next and a strong backup in Tyler Allgeier challenging for carries, Love isn’t looking playable in ESPN standard leagues. — Cockcroft

St. Brown had 11 targets in Sunday’s game against Arizona, but he finished with six receptions for 69 yards and failed to find the end zone for the second straight game. Yes, St. Brown’s numbers have declined over the past three weeks (13.4 PPG). I get it. But the volume is still up, and he’s also getting the ball in scoring position with at least one end zone target in each of his past three games. Let’s see if St. Brown can post some higher-level numbers when the Lions return from the bye in Week 7 against Green Bay. — Bowen

Negative game flow affected Jeanty’s usage in a loss to the Patriots. But the rushing totals are still down after he finished with 27 yards on 10 carries. Jeanty did have three receptions for 50 yards to boost his totals, (10.7 points), but over the past four games, he is averaging only 2.9 YPC/13 PPG. Jeanty will look to get back on track in Week 6 with a more favorable matchup against the Bills’ defense. — Bowen

The Bears’ pass game was a bust at Lambeau. A lack of rhythm, turnovers and more from backup quarterbacks Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum contributed. And we saw the results with both Odunze and Loveland. Odunze caught only three of nine targets for 40 yards, and he lost a fumble (5.0 points), and Loveland brought in only two of five targets for 19 yards (3.9 points). Both players will look to rebound in Week 6 — with Caleb Williams potentially back for the matchup against the Falcons. — Bowen

Shough is the first quarterback started in at least one-third of ESPN leagues this season to finish with a negative fantasy point total (minus-0.16). Facing one of the stiffest pass defenses in the Vikings, Shough was intercepted twice and completed only one pass thrown 10 or more yards downfield, a significant step backward from his performance the first four weeks and one that adversely affected Olave’s output (8.6 fantasy points). It’s also not something we should expect most weeks, and the Giants in Week 6 should provide the duo a much more favorable matchup. Shough should be a solid superflex starter or bye-week fill-in, while Olave remains a fantasy WR1. — Cockcroft

Injury impact

David Montgomery, RB, Houston Texans

What we know: Montgomery sustained a groin injury early in the second quarter and was unable to return, finishing with 1.1 fantasy points on five carries, the fourth straight week he has scored under seven points.

What’s next: Texans coach DeMeco Ryans indicated afterward that Montgomery will sit out some time, a signal that Woody Marks might be tasked with starting the team’s Week 6 game in London. Marks, who scored 12.5 points on 19 total touches largely in relief this week, would be a volume-driven flex. — Cockcroft

Will Shipley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

What we know: Shipley, starting in place of the injured Saquon Barkley (hamstring, inactive) and Tank Bigsby (core muscle, IR), left after scoring 8.3 fantasy points on six total touches when he sustained his own foot injury in the second quarter.

What’s next: Dameon Pierce, elevated from the practice squad Wednesday, played 78% of the Eagles’ offensive snaps and had 3.2 fantasy points on 13 touches largely in relief of Shipley. Should Barkley and Shipley both be unable to play in Week 6, Pierce and Carson Steele probably would have to shoulder the rushing workload, though the team could add another player via free agency. — Cockcroft

T.J. Hockenson, TE, Minnesota Vikings

What we know: Hockenson went down in the opening drive against the Saints because of a head injury. He left for the locker room and was ruled out because of a concussion.

What’s next: The Vikings head into their bye, then return in Week 7 for a home matchup against the Colts. We will continue to monitor updates on Hockenson throughout the next two weeks. — Bowen

KC Concepcion, WR, Cleveland Browns

What we know: Concepcion sustained a concussion early in the loss to the Jets on an illegal hit from safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Concepcion was immediately ruled out for the game.

What’s next: We’ll monitor the updates on Concepcion this week as he goes through concussion protocol. If he’s out for the Week 6 game against Baltimore, both Isaiah Bond and Jerry Jeudy could be viewed as replacement options. Bond caught three of seven targets for 74 yards (10.4 points) Sunday, while Jeudy brought in three of seven for 19 yards (4.9 points). — Bowen

Kenyon Sadiq, TE, New York Jets

What we know: Sadiq left Sunday’s game in the fourth quarter, following his fumbling on a 6-yard receiving play, because of a concussion.

What’s next: Sadiq might have difficulty clearing the league’s concussion protocol in time for Week 6’s game against the Patriots. Between the injury question and the healthy return of Mason Taylor, Sadiq isn’t worth starting for that game. — Cockcroft