Injuries happen in football; it’s just the name of the game. But when half the league seems to go down the same week and the news drops after salaries are released, you get the chaos that is NFL DFS Week 5. In this week’s Perfect Lineup, Josh Engleman and Dave Loughran built a few tournament-ready lineups using the Single Lineup Simulator, testing which combinations can rise above the field for Sunday’s main slate. Each week, they construct multiple builds, sim them out and see which NFL DFS picks could lead to the elusive NFL DFS perfect lineup.
NFL DFS Week 5 Picks: Build the Perfect DraftKings Lineup with Sims
Jets Stack With Upside
The first build leans into one of the most intriguing stacks of the week: The Justin Fields + Breece Hall + Garrett Wilson trio. With pricing soft across the board and the Cowboys defense looking flat, this Jets core has the rushing ceiling, passing efficiency and target consolidation to deliver tournament-winning upside.
Fields’ rushing ability gives the stack a strong floor, while Wilson (commanding an 18% target share) is one of the league’s most explosive playmakers regardless of coverage. Add in Hall, who’s finally set to handle a full workload after Braelon Allen’s injury, and you have an offense capable of explosive plays through both air and ground.
For one-offs, we added Nico Collins against a depleted Ravens secondary and Rachaad White at $4,700, benefiting from injuries in the Buccaneers backfield. In last year’s comparable role, White ran routes on 80% of dropbacks and saw a 13% target share, more than enough volume to smash at that price.
Contrarian Core: C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins
For the second lineup, the duo pivoted to a contrarian build centered around C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins. The Texans haven’t looked sharp offensively, but the matchup couldn’t be better. Baltimore’s defense is missing multiple starters: Marlon Humphrey, Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton and Nnamdi Madubuike are all questionable or out, leaving their pass rush and secondary gutted.
At just 2% to 3% ownership, Stroud offers natural leverage on a slate where most DFS players will flock to mid-tier chalk quarterbacks. Paired with Collins, the stack retains explosive upside while freeing salary for premium pieces elsewhere.
The difference from lineup 1 is this build trades floor for ceiling. Stroud’s low ownership means fewer cashes but a higher top-1% potential, perfect for DFS players chasing tournament wins rather than safety.
Lineup 1 – Jets Upside Stack
Lineup 2 – Texans Contrarian Stack
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