“Now that we have to navigate bye weeks, identifying sleepers has never been more important! Let’s get to our NFL Week 5 IDP Sleepers!”
Welcome to Week 5, the week where we, as fantasy managers, have to start accounting for bye weeks. Now it’s more important than ever to consider these sleeper picks as you navigate player availability over the coming weeks. Will you steer your team towards success? We at IDP+ are here to help you do just that! It’s time to look forward to our NFL Week 5 IDP sleepers!
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Week 5 IDP Sleepers
Note: All rankings for this Week 5 IDP Sleepers article are taken from the Week 5 rankings at FantasyPros. As always, let’s start things off by setting some expectations for this article. What this article will NOT be doing is telling you to expect big things from the “stars” of IDP. Projecting that Trey Hendrickson or Chris Jones is going to have a great week isn’t really rocket science, nor will that help you.
What this article WILL be doing is giving you players that have a great chance to outperform their weekly NFL ranking. When you get rankings right you can use them to in different areas of sports gaming. When you have the right rankings you can become more successful with your NFL wagers on Stake. Ok, enough logistics! Let’s get to our Week 5 IDP Sleepers!
Defensive Line Week 5 Sleepers
Ranks found here
Josh Sweat – (DL28)
Week 5 Opponent: Hosting the Tennessee Titans
Let’s get this article going with one of my favorite sleepers this week: Josh Sweat! This is a perfect blend of Sweat getting hot at the right time with the perfect matchup to keep up the momentum. Sweat has recorded a sack in the past three games. While he doesn’t show up much in the tackle department, those splash plays can’t be ignored.
So who does Sweat get in Week 5? Only the most-sacked QB in the league in Cam Ward and the Tennessee Titans! Being ranked as the DL28 feels appropriate due to the tackle floor, but the opportunity for a multi-sack game is so tantalizing that I had to highlight him this week. Go ahead and start him as your DL3 or flex spot with confidence.
Laiatu Latu – (DL26)
Week 5 Opponent: Hosting the Las Vegas Raiders
My second DL sleeper comes in the form of a second-year player who is starting to figure it out. Latu recorded the first sack of his 2025 campaign last week, and what a time to get hot! The Colts welcome the Las Vegas Raiders into town in Week 5, who have been more than welcoming to defensive linemen in fantasy. Geno Smith has been knocked around by every defense he goes against, so we can expect nothing else this week.
Latu provides us with a decent tackle floor for a defensive lineman, which is baked into his DL26 ranking. What I think that ranking doesn’t account for is the opportunity for splash plays this week. Similar to Sweat above, go ahead and start him as your DL3 or flex with plenty of opportunities to outperform his ranking.
Linebacker Sleepers
Ranks found here
Pete Werner – (LB27)
Week 5 Opponent: Home against the New York Giants
Pete Werner is the definition of a non-sexy fantasy asset. Much maligned by experts as not being splashy enough, it’s late enough into his career that we know what to expect from Werner. Expectations should be set as a dude who can rack up a bunch of tackles depending on the matchup. Insert the New York Giants!
The Giants, in trying to help Rookie playcaller Jaxon Dart, ran the ball a ton of times in Week 4. The Saints don’t have much of a defensive line to stand behind, which will yield tons of tackle opportunities for Werner in this game. While he might not be the sexiest pick of the bunch, he can definitely outperform his LB27 ranking this week.
Kenneth Murray – (LB31)
Week 5 Opponent: Away at the New York Jets
Rounding out our Linebacker sleepers, we have Kenneth Murray, who is currently ranked as the LB31 this week. This baffles me, as all Murray has done this year is be a consistent tackler. Going into this game, he is averaging just shy of 8 combined tackles a game, which is excellent production for your LB2. This alone makes Murray deserve a better ranking, but then look at who is playing this week!
The Cowboys will be facing off against the run-heavy New York Jets in Week 5! The Cowboys’ defense has shown that it will allow long drives, and the Jets have demonstrated a preference for running the ball. Insert the linebacker who will tackle said runners! Play Murray in your LB3 spot and reap those benefits.
Defensive Back Sleepers
Ranks found here
Jalen Pitre – (DB35)
Week 5 Opponent: Away at the Baltimore Ravens
Once a fantasy darling, Pitre has seen his value decline over the past few years. That being said, Pitre will outperform his DB35 ranking this week against a reeling Baltimore Ravens team. There is a bit of doubt as to which Quarterback will be playing for the Ravens in Week 5, but I see positives to either one for Pitre’s production.
If it’s Lamar Jackson starting, we can expect a decent number of scrambles that will need to be cleaned up by the defensive backs for Houston. If it’s the more likely Cooper Rush show, we can expect the Ravens to be rushing a whole lot more, an area where Pitre has excelled in recent memory. I know that he hasn’t been great thus far this year, but if you are in a deeper league where you start multiple DBs, Pitre should be able to recapture some of that old magic this week!
Isaiah Rodgers – (DB65)
Week 5 Opponent: Away at the Cleveland Browns
Ok, hear me out! Rodgers has been playing 92% of defensive snaps, which is more than enough to warrant starting consideration. He will be playing against Rookie Quarterback Dylan Sampson in his Rookie debut. The Vikings have a good enough defensive line to force Sampson into making some poor decisions.
I know you typically aren’t looking to start a cornerback in a DB spot, but Rodgers has the opportunity to really rack up the points this week. With a ranking of DB65, it’s not hard to imagine that he outperforms this ranking in Week 5. Especially in CB-required leagues, Rodgers should be available and will be a nice spot-start as we start to deal with bye weeks!
Thank you for reading my Week 5 IDP Sleepers article! I’ll be coming to you every week to discuss my favorite IDP sleepers to help you win your fantasy championship. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @mrecord21 and follow @IDP_Plus! Check out other articles here!
