Fantasy football projections, Week 5: Cardinals-Broncos featuring Andre Ellington, Peyton Manning and Demaryius Thomas

The Week 5 matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and the Denver Broncos features two well rested teams coming off bye weeks. We've got the fantasy projections for you courtesy of numberFire.

With Carson Palmer (shoulder) out indefinitely, the Cardinals will have to trust that backup quarterback Drew Stanton will be able to carry the team for the foreseeable future. Although he's not exactly a household name just yet, Stanton did have a solid fantasy date in Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers, completing 18 passes for 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Although he's a free agent in most fantasy leagues, he could be in for a surprisingly big day against the Broncos, a team that has been pretty friendly this season to fantasy quarterbacks.

That's especially true considering that the Broncos might be up by a few points early in the game, forcing Stanton to play from behind. Of course, the Cardinals' objective will be to keep the game close in the first place, and that will mean leaning on running back Andre Ellington. Given that he's only eclipsed the 75-yard rushing mark once this season through three games, it's likely Ellington's fantasy production will be more valued in PPR leagues, where he will get credit for catching a few passes out of the backfield.

While the Denver Broncos haven't looked as dominant this year as they were last year, it hasn't affected the fantasy output of quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning has over 800 passing yards to go with eight touchdown passes and just a single interception in three games so far this season. That's pretty good considering he's already faced Kansas City and Seattle, two teams known for their defense. Things don't necessarily get easier coming off the bye week as Manning will face another solid defense when the team plays Arizona.

That said, he has a solid offensive line in front of him so he rarely gets rushed and that should mean plenty of opportunities to get the ball to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who has actually struggled out of the gate. The star wideout has just 13 catches for 141 yards and one touchdown on the season. Those numbers are okay but they're not the stuff that elite receivers are made of. He will be in for a tough afternoon against Patrick Peterson, so Week 5 might not yield a star-studded performance for Thomas.