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How NFL DFS Ownership Affects the Week 5 Slate

Adam Levitan projects ownership for every NFL DFS player each week in the FantasyLabs Player Models. Gauging ownership is important when it comes to tournaments so you can try and gain leverage on the field. You don’t need a team of 1%-owned plays to win a tournament, but it’s also unlikely you’ll win a tournament with an abundance of highly-owned plays.

The goal of this article is to give a brief rundown of some of the highest-owned players heading into the week, along with how they can affect roster construction.

Be sure to check the ownership projections throughout the week as breaking news can cause these to fluctuate.

Note: Ownership percentages as of Friday morning. 

Quarterbacks

As usual, quarterback ownership projections are relatively flat and there isn’t too much to note here. Deshaun Watson owns the highest projected ownership at 13-16% on both sites for large-field Guaranteed Prize Pools (GPPs).

I’d expect Watson to garner the most ownership in cash games and tournaments for Week 5.

Running Backs

On DraftKings and FanDuel, Dalvin Cook, Christian McCaffrey and Ezekiel Elliott are all projected for heavy ownership at 26-30%. But where DFS players decide to go with these three running backs will have huge impact on roster construction.

Adam Levitan projects ownership for every NFL DFS player each week in the FantasyLabs Player Models. Gauging ownership is important when it comes to tournaments so you can try and gain leverage on the field. You don’t need a team of 1%-owned plays to win a tournament, but it’s also unlikely you’ll win a tournament with an abundance of highly-owned plays.

The goal of this article is to give a brief rundown of some of the highest-owned players heading into the week, along with how they can affect roster construction.

Be sure to check the ownership projections throughout the week as breaking news can cause these to fluctuate.

Note: Ownership percentages as of Friday morning. 

Quarterbacks

As usual, quarterback ownership projections are relatively flat and there isn’t too much to note here. Deshaun Watson owns the highest projected ownership at 13-16% on both sites for large-field Guaranteed Prize Pools (GPPs).

I’d expect Watson to garner the most ownership in cash games and tournaments for Week 5.

Running Backs

On DraftKings and FanDuel, Dalvin Cook, Christian McCaffrey and Ezekiel Elliott are all projected for heavy ownership at 26-30%. But where DFS players decide to go with these three running backs will have huge impact on roster construction.

About the Author

Justin Bailey is the Lead Editor for RotoGrinders and FantasyLabs. He’s been playing DFS since 2013 and specializes in small-field NFL and PGA contests. Justin qualified for the DraftKings Fantasy Golf World Championship in 2023.