Welcome to Week 5, and welcome to Quick Grades, your weekly companion for start/sit clarity. We’ve combined consensus rankings and projections with The Primer’s matchup analysis to assign letter grades for every fantasy-relevant player, then added concise notes to illuminate the reasoning. Treat the grade as your default stance and the note as your context check.
Let’s make your weekly lineup calls easy. In general, A means start with confidence, C is matchup-dependent, and F is a bench. Scroll for every position’s call, plus key notes that explain the “why” behind the grade. Prefer a curated view of only your roster? Sync your team for a personalized My Primer experience.
Week 5 Quarterback Start/Sit Grades
Week 5 Wide Receiver Start/Sit Grades
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
Week 5 Running Back Start/Sit Grades
Week 5 Tight End Start/Sit Grades
Week 5 Defense / Special Teams Start/Sit Grades
| Rank | Grade | Name | Team | Position | Opp | Kickoff |
| 1 | A+ | Minnesota Vikings | MIN | DST | @ CLE | Sun 9:30am ET |
| 2 | A | Detroit Lions | DET | DST | @ CIN | Sun 4:25pm ET |
| 3 | A- | Cleveland Browns | CLE | DST | vs MIN | Sun 9:30am ET |
| 4 | B+ | Arizona Cardinals | ARI | DST | vs TEN | Sun 4:05pm ET |
| 5 | B+ | Seattle Seahawks | SEA | DST | vs TB | Sun 4:05pm ET |
| 6 | B+ | Philadelphia Eagles | PHI | DST | vs DEN | Sun 1:00pm ET |
| 7 | B | Buffalo Bills | BUF | DST | vs NE | Sun 8:20pm ET |
| 8 | B | Los Angeles Rams | LAR | DST | vs SF | Thu 8:15pm ET |
| 9 | B | Indianapolis Colts | IND | DST | vs LV | Sun 1:00pm ET |
| 10 | B- | Baltimore Ravens | BAL | DST | vs HOU | Sun 1:00pm ET |
| 11 | B- | Kansas City Chiefs | KC | DST | @ JAC | Mon 8:15pm ET |
| 12 | C+ | New Orleans Saints | NO | DST | vs NYG | Sun 1:00pm ET |
| 13 | C+ | Houston Texans | HOU | DST | @ BAL | Sun 1:00pm ET |
| 14 | C | Los Angeles Chargers | LAC | DST | vs WAS | Sun 4:25pm ET |
| 15 | C | New York Giants | NYG | DST | @ NO | Sun 1:00pm ET |
| 16 | C- | Denver Broncos | DEN | DST | @ PHI | Sun 1:00pm ET |
| 17 | C- | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | TB | DST | @ SEA | Sun 4:05pm ET |
| 18 | D+ | Miami Dolphins | MIA | DST | @ CAR | Sun 1:00pm ET |
| 19 | D | San Francisco 49ers | SF | DST | @ LAR | Thu 8:15pm ET |
| 20 | D | Jacksonville Jaguars | JAC | DST | vs KC | Mon 8:15pm ET |
| 21 | D- | Carolina Panthers | CAR | DST | vs MIA | Sun 1:00pm ET |
| 22 | D- | New York Jets | NYJ | DST | vs DAL | Sun 1:00pm ET |
| 23 | F | Washington Commanders | WAS | DST | @ LAC | Sun 4:25pm ET |
| 24 | F | Dallas Cowboys | DAL | DST | @ NYJ | Sun 1:00pm ET |
| 25 | F | Tennessee Titans | TEN | DST | @ ARI | Sun 4:05pm ET |
| 26 | F | Las Vegas Raiders | LV | DST | @ IND | Sun 1:00pm ET |
| 27 | F | New England Patriots | NE | DST | @ BUF | Sun 8:20pm ET |
| 28 | F | Cincinnati Bengals | CIN | DST | vs DET | Sun 4:25pm ET |
Week 5 Kicker Start/Sit Grades
