What Week 4 tells us about Week 5 wide receiver DFS salaries

The wide receiver position was full of surprises in Week 4 with some unlikely names near the top of the leaderboards in terms of fantasy production. When names like Jarvis Landry are pulling down eight receptions for 167 yards while Odell Beckham Jr is held without a catch until late in the fourth quarter, you know it’s been a wild week. As we head into Week 5, let’s look at two different receivers who the public will have some different perceptions on as we look toward Sunday.

D.J. Chark ($5,000) vs. Carolina Panthers

Despite being the number one option for Gardner Minshew, Chark has yet to receive a real bump in salary and if anything, dropped $400 ahead of their matchup against the Panthers. Chark enters this week averaging 6.5 targets, 80.3 receiving yards and three touchdowns through the first four weeks. Chark had another touchdown in Week 4 but it would end up coming back on a Cam Robinson foul. Because of that, Chark would only end up with 8.4 DKFP, his lowest fantasy output of the season and the first time he was held out of the end zone. Does Week 5 provide a bounce-back spot? I’m not loving it.

Chark could end up drawing James Bradberry, who has been a force in coverage this season. Prior to Week 4, Bradberry had been targeted against 12 times allowing just five receptions for 78 yards. He recently shadowed Mike Evans in their matchup against the Buccaneers on 82.8% of his routes and held him to three catches on six targets for 61 yards. I’m not loving this game for Chark despite the salary drop and this could end up being a game where Dede Westbrook gets a little more love than usual from Minshew.

Phillip Dorsett ($4,900) vs. Washington

With Antonio Brown out of the mix, Dorsett was looked upon to step up in this offense and take on a bigger role once again. In his second week without AB on the field, Dorsett only managed to grab two of his nine targets for 10 yards. Combine that with a single rushing attempt for nine yards and you’ll see a 3.9 DKFP total against the Bills in Week 4. It’s the type of performance that leaves a bad taste in your mouth and will easily allow you to pass right over him in Week 5, right?

Dorsett is in for a major matchup upgrade against Washington in Week 5. This is a secondary that has allowed an average of 47.2 DKFP and 170 receiving yards thus far. As you can imagine, both of those marks are ranked amongst the highest in the league. My guess would be that Josh Norman could end up shadowing Josh Gordon (which shouldn’t be very daunting for Gordon with the way Norman has been playing) so that would leave Dorsett against poor coverage from someone like Quinton Dunbar. Brady has shown his liking for going to Dorsett and he quietly has three touchdowns already this season. With just a $200 increase in salary, don’t be afraid to go back in this spot.

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