This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Football series.
The Week 5 NFL main slate begins Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT and features 10 games. The Chargers, Eagle, Lions and Titans will be on bye, while the Thursday Night Football (Buccaneers-Falcons), London Game (Jets-Vikings), Sunday Night Football (Cowboys-Steelers) and Monday Night Football (Saints-Kansas City) participants play outside the main slate in Week 5. Yahoo will be running plenty of NFL DFS contests for Week 5, but the biggest is the Sunday Baller, which pays out a guaranteed prize pool of $125,000 to the top 1,336 finishers, including $10,000 to the winner. You can submit up to 150 entries into this contest, which has a maximum total capacity of 7,300 entries but will still run if it doesn't fill, potentially providing you with enhanced odds of winning, also known as overlay.
Playing in guaranteed prize pool (GPP) contests is about chasing upside, while lineups geared towards head-to-head, 50/50 or double-up formats should prioritize high floors. The players you want to target for these different contest types aren't mutually exclusive, but winning a GPP tournament usually requires finding a hidden gem or going against the grain in a spot or two, while building a solid base of the same chalk plays you would use anywhere. Against-the-grain plays typically consist of big-name players in tough matchups or boom-or-bust types with uncertain roles.
Keep in mind that Yahoo DFS contests use 0.5 PPR scoring rather than full PPR, which lowers the comparative value of wide receivers and running backs (in that order) while especially affecting high-volume pass-catchers. Your NFL $125k Sunday Baller lineup will consist of one QB, two RBs, three WRs, one TE, one FLEX (RB/WR/TE) and one D/ST unit. Among suggested Week 5 plays are a thriving QB who has been flying under the radar, a bargain RB poised to fill in for an injured star, and a WR who has bounced back from a slow start.
QUARTERBACK
Brock Purdy, SF vs. ARI ($27): Purdy was the MVP frontrunner for a decent chunk of last season, and he's back in MVP form to begin 2024. Despite missing Christian McCaffrey (Achilles), Deebo Samuel (calf) and George Kittle (hamstring/ribs) for a combined six games and dealing with Brandon Aiyuk's slow start after a holdout, Purdy ranks second in the NFL with 1,130 passing yards and leads all players with at least 35 pass attempts in yards per attempt (9.3), half a yard clear of second-place Sam Darnold. Purdy should keep rolling along against a Cardinals defense that's surrendering 26.5 points per game, and he's a perfect 4-0 with an 8:0 TD:INT in his career against Arizona. Purdy's also an underrated runner, having rushed for double-digit yards in seven consecutive starts dating back to last postseason, with two games over 40 rushing yards during that span.
Honorable Mentions:
Jayden Daniels, WAS vs. CLE ($35); Jordan Love, GB at LAR ($30); Geno Smith, SEA vs. NYG ($27)
Against the Grainers:
Deshaun Watson, CLE at WAS ($25); Trevor Lawrence, JAC vs. IND ($24), Joe Flacco, IND at JAC ($20)
RUNNING BACK
Kenneth Walker, SEA vs. NYG ($27): Walker didn't skip a beat in his return from a two-week absence scoring three TDs in Week 4 against a normally stout Detroit run defense. He has 225 scrimmage yards and four TDs in just two games this season, and Walker should continue to make up for lost time against a Giants defense that's giving up 5.1 yards per carry to RBs. Seattle's favored at home and likely to call plenty of runs, especially if an already unimpressive Giants offense is without its top playmakers in Malik Nabers (concussion). Zach Charbonnet could siphon off some playing time in passing situations, but Charbonnet got only two carries against Detroit.
Trey Sermon, IND at JAC ($10): Sermon's a low-risk, high-reward play at the minimum salary if he gets the start in place of Jonathan Taylor (ankle), who suffered a high-ankle sprain in the Colts' previous game. Sermon is the next man up in Indianapolis' backfield, and in two previous career games with more than 10 carries, Sermon logged 19 carries for 89 yards and 17 carries for 88 yards. Regardless of whether the Colts roll with Anthony Richardson (oblique) or Joe Flacco at QB, Sermon should be a key part of the offense against a winless Jaguars team that has allowed five scrimmage TDs to RBs en route to giving up 27.3 PPG overall.
Honorable Mentions:
Kyren Williams, LAR vs. GB ($34); Jordan Mason, SF vs. ARI ($30); D'Andre Swift, CHI vs. CAR ($22)
Against the Grainers:
Joe Mixon, HOU vs. BUF ($29); Rhamondre Stevenson, NE vs. MIA ($27); Alexander Mattison, LV at DEN ($16)
WIDE RECEIVER
Jayden Reed, GB at LAR ($29): Reed has at least 138 receiving yards in both of the games Jordan Love has started under center for the Packers, and the second-year wideout has scored three total TDs in those two games after posting 10 scrimmage TDs in his rookie season last year. Having emerged as the clear No. 1 option in a Green Bay passing game that's likely to be without Christian Watson (ankle), Reed should continue to see heavy volume against a Rams defense that's tied for the second-most TDs allowed to WRs (seven).
Deebo Samuel, SF vs. ARI ($27): This will be Samuel's second game back after missing one due to a calf injury and he hasn't had limitations in practice, so he should be ready to handle a heavy workload as Purdy's top playmaker against the vulnerable Arizona defense. In addition to averaging 74 receiving yards on 8.0 targets per game this season, Samuel has logged 12 rushing attempts and scored a TD on the ground as the 49ers continue to play without McCaffrey. Jauan Jennings has 263 receiving yards and two TDs in his last two games, and Aiyuk is bound to get going at some point, but Samuel's involvement as both a pass catcher and runner coupled with his league-best ability after the catch with the ball in his hands gives him the highest floor in San Francisco's talented WR room if you're looking to stack with Purdy.
Christian Kirk, JAC vs. IND ($21): Kirk and Brian Thomas combined for 147 of Trevor Lawrence's 169 passing yards and both of Jacksonville's TDs last week, so both WRs are appealing plays against a Colts defense that's allowing a league-high 399.8 scrimmage yards per game, but Kirk gets the edge due to his valuation being $5 lower. After posting just two catches for 29 yards on seven targets through two games, Kirk has bounced back with 15 catches for 140 yards and a TD on 22 targets over the past two games -- production right in line with his average of 65.3 yards per game from his previous two seasons in Jacksonville. With RBs Travis Etienne (shoulder) and Tank Bigsby (shoulder), TE Evan Engram (hamstring) and WR Gabe Davis (shoulder) all banged up to varying degrees, Kirk and Thomas should continue to lead Jacksonville's offense.
Honorable Mentions:
DK Metcalf, SEA vs. NYG ($28); Amari Cooper, CLE at WAS ($24); Michael Pittman, IND at JAC ($21)
Against the Grainers:
Nico Collins, HOU vs. BUF ($33); Tyreek Hill, MIA at NE ($27); Tutu Atwell, LAR vs. GB ($15)
TIGHT END
Dalton Kincaid, BUF at HOU ($15): This is a nice buy-low opportunity on Kincaid, who has averaged 50.9 receiving yards per game in his last eight, including the playoffs. The 2023 first-round draft pick's involvement has steadily risen as this season has progressed, as Kincaid has set a season high in targets every game. He climbed up to seven targets last week and could easily match or surpass that total with the Bills possibly operating without top WR Khalil Shakir (ankle) in what's expected to be a competitive matchup with the Texans in which Buffalo will need to rely on Josh Allen's arm. Houston hasn't given up much to TEs outside of a short TD to Minnesota's Johnny Mundt, but the Texans haven't faced a pass catcher of Kincaid's caliber at the position, having taken on TE rooms led by Kylen Granson, Cole Kmet before Caleb Williams looked like an NFL QB, Mundt and Brenton Strange.
Honorable Mentions:
George Kittle, SF vs. ARI ($22); Brock Bowers, LV at DEN ($17); Tucker Kraft, GB at LAR ($13)
Against the Grainers:
Trey McBride, ARI at SF ($20); Evan Engram, JAC vs. IND ($19); Mark Andrews, BAL at CIN ($10)
DEFENSE
New England Patriots vs. MIA ($13): Someone has to come out victorious in this battle between AFC divisional foes that put the East in least. The Patriots got blown out by a combined margin of 54-16 by the Jets and 49ers in their last two games, but they at least showed they can be competitive and defend effectively in the first two games, when they beat the Bengals 16-10 then lost 23-20 in OT to the Seahawks. Tua Tagovailoa's concussion gets a lot of the blame for Miami's tailspin, but the Dolphins won 20-17 on a last-second field goal at home against the winless Jaguars with Tua and were getting blown out at home by the Bills before he got hurt, so this simply looks like a bad team overall. In two subsequent games, the Dolphins were outscored 55-15, including a 24-3 loss to the Seahawks in their lone road game of the season so far. With both teams likely looking to play it safe and hope for a mistake from the other team's lousy offense, this is the perfect time to deploy this unit.
Honorable Mentions:
Denver Broncos vs. LV ($18); Seattle Seahawks vs. NYG ($17); Las Vegas Raiders at DEN ($11)
Against the Grainers:
Cleveland Browns at WAS ($15); Indianapolis Colts at JAC ($14); Washington Commanders vs. CLE ($10)
