Fantasy football projections, Week 5: Falcons-Broncos featuring Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Demaryius Thomas, more

The Week 5 matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and the Denver Broncos features an elite offense facing off against an equally top-notch defense. We've got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.

Atlanta Falcons

Through the first quarter of the season, many fantasy owners out there would argue that quarterback Matt Ryan is the fantasy football MVP. He’s thrown 11 touchdown passes this season compared to two interceptions, and he is averaging a whopping 368.25 passing yards per game. It’s hard to argue with those numbers. He scorched the Carolina Panthers in Week 4 with four touchdown passes and 503 passing yards. Carolina’s defense isn’t what it was last year, but that’s not exactly a knock against Ryan. Denver has an elite defense by comparison, but it’s hard to bed against Matty Ice right now.

Wide receiver Julio Jones has something to do with Ryan’s success. Jones became just the sixth receiver in NFL history to top 300 receiving yards in one game, doing it last week against Carolina. He finished the contest with exactly that number of yards to go with 12 catches and a touchdown. He may not exactly be over his early-season injury troubles, but he hasn’t missed a game this season. Battling Chris Harris and Aqib Talib this week isn’t exactly a dream matchup, but Jones’ ability make him a threat to go off on any given Sunday.

Denver Broncos

Despite an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, quarterback Trevor Siemian is looking like he will start in Week 5. He’s not exactly throwing up Matt Ryan numbers, but Siemian is making a case for being a fantasy starter this season. He’s leading an undefeated team and threw for over 300 yards and four touchdown passes against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3 before getting hurt last week. Siemian makes for a great under-the-radar start this week against an opposing offense that should force him to keep up in the second half.

The possibility of a high-scoring game should help wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, as well. Thomas has at least five catches and 90 yards in each of the last three games. He’s also found the end zone and back-to-back contests. Thomas doesn’t get as much hype or credit as the Falcons’ Jones, but he’s physically dominant and the best offensive player the Broncos have. Somebody has to step up against the Falcons this week, so it might as well be Thomas.