Start David Montgomery or Will Shipley? Week 5

Our Week 5 call

Start David Montgomery over Will Shipley in Week 5.

Market-based projections have David Montgomery at 9.9 points and Will Shipley at 9.1, a gap of 0.9. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 9.9 fantasy points for David Montgomery, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market has David Montgomery at 43.5 rushing yards, 7.5 receiving yards and 1.5 receptions, with a 43% chance to score a touchdown (18, 10, 14 and 18 market sources).

Player markets imply 9.1 fantasy points for Will Shipley, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market has Will Shipley at 33.5 rushing yards, 14.5 receiving yards and 2.5 receptions, with a 24% chance to score a touchdown (17, 16, 16 and 17 market sources).

That puts David Montgomery 0.9 points ahead of Will Shipley on the market projections.

Injury status

David Montgomery is not on the injury report.

Will Shipley is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 5

Through Week 4, David Montgomery played 54 percent of HOU snaps, took 52 percent of the carries, drew 5 percent of the targets and had 35 percent of the red zone chances.

David Montgomery, Week 1 against BUF: 39 of 79 snaps, 20 carries for 60 yards, 3 targets and 3 catches for 19 yards, 3 touchdowns.

David Montgomery, Week 2 against CIN: 42 of 80 snaps, 6 carries for 10 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 14 yards.

David Montgomery, Week 3 against IND: 34 of 54 snaps, 11 carries for 33 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 15 yards.

David Montgomery, Week 4 against DAL: 31 of 55 snaps, 10 carries for 24 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Through Week 4, Will Shipley played 38 percent of PHI snaps, took 15 percent of the carries, drew 6 percent of the targets and had 19 percent of the red zone chances.

Will Shipley, Week 1 against WAS: 10 of 55 snaps, 2 carries for 4 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 8 yards.

Will Shipley, Week 2 against TEN: 39 of 76 snaps, 7 carries for 24 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 5 yards.

Will Shipley, Week 3 against CHI: 13 of 50 snaps, 0 carries for 0 yards, 2 targets and 1 catch for 11 yards.

Will Shipley, Week 4 against LAR: 29 of 61 snaps, 6 carries for 23 yards, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, David Montgomery played 17 games for DET and scored 166.9 PPR points, 9.8 a game, finishing RB27.

He ran 158 times for 716 yards and 8 touchdowns, and caught 24 of 29 targets for 192 yards.

He was on the field for 37 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Will Shipley played 15 games for PHI and scored 17.5 PPR points, 1.2 a game, finishing RB96.

He ran 14 times for 49 yards and 0 touchdowns, and caught 9 of 12 targets for 56 yards.

He was on the field for 10 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 5 calls

• Start Alvin Kamara over David Montgomery.
• Start Bucky Irving over David Montgomery.
• Start Cam Skattebo over David Montgomery.
• Start Alvin Kamara over Will Shipley.
• Start Will Shipley over Blake Corum.
• Start Will Shipley over Brian Robinson.