Week Five Fantasy Football Losers

Week Five did not have a lot of true losers in the context of players that were drafted high and under-performed. Don’t get me wrong, A.J. Brown didn’t break 10 fantasy points, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and Brock Purdy didn’t suit up, and only three teams scored 10 or fewer points in their games. However, I believe there is a group of players that had high expectations entering the season, and while they did not score more than 15 points, they missed their projections, causing nationwide disappointment. Here are seven players who may be in your starting lineup, but are playing with fire, teasing an appearance on fantasy owners' benches.  

RB Derrick Henry – (10.3 Fantasy Points)

Scoring the only touchdown in a 44-10 loss to the Houston Texans at home, the Ravens' defense was not the only problem on Sunday. Without Lamar Jackson, Patrick Ricard, and Ronnie Stanley, Todd Monken’s offense looked bad. Plain and simple. Cooper Rush threw three interceptions, but the icing on the cake was the lack of success in the run game that the Ravens have generally prided themselves on. With 33 yards on the ground from 15 carries, Derrick Henry continues his lackluster start, failing to have more than 50 yards in a single game since his 168-yard performance in Week One. Nothing in Baltimore looks normal, but with the early bye quickly approaching, all of Baltimore is hoping for something to change and fast.

RB James Cook – (4.9 Fantasy Points)

Entering Sunday Night Football, many probably expected the Bills to walk all over the Patriots in Buffalo, but the opposite happened. It was a close game through and through, but James Cook was unable to break 50 yards on 15 attempts. Both of Buffalo’s touchdowns came from inside the 10-yard line, but both were passing touchdowns due to the lack of success in the trenches from Cook. Many thought Cook would continue his streak of four consecutive games with 20 or more fantasy points, but instead found that Cook scored less than five. Cook and the Bills look to bounce back in Atlanta next week.

RB Alvin Kamara – (9.5 Fantasy Points)

It feels like the New Orleans offense refuses to give Alvin Kamara the ball. Kamara averages about 11 fantasy points per game in a full PPR league, but three points are coming from receptions alone. With one touchdown on the year, Kamara just missed his projection of 14 points, and his future projections are slowly decreasing. This can be attributed to the Saints giving more touches to backup RB Kendre Miller, who is matching Kamara’s carry share over the last two games. Many probably avoided Kamara in drafts due to the lack of faith in New Orleans’ offense, but for those who drafted the 30-year-old, it may be a while before he can become a trustworthy start.

RB Chase Brown – (10.8 Fantasy Points)

Chase Brown is not having a good start to his season. While part of it can be attributed to Joe Burrow’s toe injury that will leave the QB sidelined at least another two months, Brown is missing the mark after a spectacular 2024 season. Brown did notch a season-high in receptions with seven, but combined with his eight carries, the 25-year-old only accounted for 48 total yards. Similar to the Ravens game, the Bengals were behind the entire time, but Jake Browning cannot win a game with his arm alone. While they made a valiant comeback effort with 21 fourth-quarter points, the Bengals still lost by 13, and Chase Brown hasn’t hit 50 rushing yards all season. Similar to Kamara, it may be time to lean away from the struggling RB until they can prove they deserve to be in a starting fantasy football lineup.

QB Geno Smith – (5.92 Fantasy Points)

The way the Raiders have been playing in 2025, it is not surprising that Geno Smith has made the list of fantasy football losers of the week. While Smith completed 69% of his passes for 228 yards, the West Virginia product threw zero touchdowns and two interceptions, losing by 34 to the Indianapolis Colts. Geno was by far the worst QB in Week Five, and according to Sleeper, 44% of fantasy teams started him. While the number is decreasing, it might be time to give Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa, or another waiver QB a chance on one’s roster. As for the real-life implications, the Raiders are hoping that this is a problem caused by the lack of offensive line success rather than the QB whom the Raiders paid $75 million over two years.

QB Justin Herbert – (14.64) and WR Quentin Johnston – (5.9 Fantasy Points)

For the first time this season, Ladd McConkey performed better than Quentin Johnston. On the other hand, while 14 points is not ideal for a QB, Justin Herbert’s only downfall was the inability to get drives going, and when they did, he threw a goal-line interception. Herbert completed 22 of his 29 passes for a measly 166 yards, which Herbert has not done since Week 13 of 2024. Johnston brought in all four of his targets for 40 yards, but underperformed compared to his average of five catches on nine targets for 84 yards and a touchdown per game. Although QJ had one bad week in Week Five, 2025 is showing a different Quentin Johnston than fans are used to, so to have one bad week, QJ should easily bounce back and be the big-play machine for LA as they travel to Miami in Week Six. The Chargers will certainly have to rely on the passing game more if Kimani Vidal or Hassan Haskins can’t move the ball on early downs.