Jake Tonges start or sit: Week 5 fantasy football advice

Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season is upon us and the action will kick off on Thursday night with the San Francisco 49ers visiting the Los Angeles Rams in an NFC West showdown at 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

The 49ers suffered their first loss of the season this past Sunday, falling to the Jaguars in a 26-21 setback that dropped them to 3-1 for the year. Tight end Jake Tonges had his most productive outing since filling in for George Kittle and could be a big piece of the offense once again for this primetime matchup.

Below, we’ll go over Tonges’ outlook in fantasy football for Week 5.

Tonges caught three of five targets for 58 yards and a touchdown that brought the Niners back to within a score in the fourth quarter. The fourth-year tight end has been a decent contributor for the offense since Kittle went down with a hamstring injury in Week 1 and he’s actually been a decent performer in fantasy, ranking in the top 15 in both PPR and standard leagues.

Thursday’s matchup in L.A. is intriguing as the injury bug will not stop biting San Fran with Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, and Brock Purdy all being ruled out after dealing with injuries during the short week.. That could lead to Tonges getting a few extra targets from whoever is starting at quarterback.

Start. I’m going to get bold here and say that Tonges is worthy of a start this week. Again, the 49ers offense could be a MASH unit on Thursday and someone needs to step up in this critical NFC West showdown. Why not Tonges?

Start.