Ja’Marr Chase start or sit: Week 5 fantasy football advice

Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season is upon us and the action continue on Sunday with the Detroit Lions visiting the Cincinnati Bengals at 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX.

The Bengals were once again dominated in a 28-3 loss to the Broncos last Monday night and their season is in full free fall mode in the aftermath of Joe Burrow’s injury. Star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase didn’t produce much in the loss and the sound that you hear are fantasy managers everywhere panicking.

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

Chase caught five of eight targets for just 23 yards on Monday Night Football last week, already marking the second game this season where he was held to less than 30 receiving yards. Jake Browning is clearly not Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense has struggled mightily over the past two weeks with the backup QB, leading to a visibly frustrated Chase confronting head coach Zac Taylor on the sidelines in Monday’s loss.

The All-Pro wideout was the consensus No. 1 overall pick in most fantasy leagues ahead of the season with many tabbing him as a favorite to win NFL Offensive Player of the Year. Due to the circumstances, however, he begins the month of October ranked as the No. 18 WR in PPR leagues and No. 25 in standard formats. Chase managers are already getting antsy and the receiver himself jokingly told them to back off after Monday’s loss.

Start. Chase managers should not abandon ship even though his stats are well below where they expected them to be. Despite the disappointing first month of the season by his standards, he is still one of the elite wideouts numbers wise, ranking in the top five in both target share and yards after catch while being tied for ninth in targets per routes run. In other words, the “eff it, Ja’Marr down there somewhere” strategy is still in effect and you will still most likely get a starter-worthy performance out of him.

Start.