The early-season fantasy QB rankings have seen their fair share of upheaval due to injuries to Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Cam Newton, and Nick Foles and the benching of Eli Manning. Heading into Week 5, there's potential for even more shake-up, as Josh Allen and Mitchell Trubisky are dealing with injuries and Case Keenum was benched for Dwayne Haskins. Haskins could be a deep-league sleeper in good matchups (which he doesn't have in Week 5), but literally no one is excited about the prospect of Matt Barkley or Chase Daniel starting professional football games.
All the injuries and benchings -- along with the struggles of Kirk Cousins and, to a lesser extent, Baker Mayfield -- mean that a year we figured would be full of strong quarterback play actually has some weaknesses. There might be fantasy owners in your league who simply are without good QBs right now. Those owners are definitely reading our Week 5 quarterback rankings to try and save their season, so those of you who think you've got them beat? You should read, too.
WEEK 5 NON-PPR RANKINGS:
Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Soon, we'll get into the very consequential bye weeks, but again, Week 5 is a softie. Just Matthew Stafford and Josh Rosen will miss out on action, while Jimmy Garoppolo and potentially Sam Darnold return. With every stud quarterback who hasn't gotten injured in action this week, we need to find the best matchups to create your ideal starting lineup.
WEEK 5 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
That starts near the top with Tom Brady, who we called a bust for Week 4 (we were right, as he had the lowest passer rating of his career in a win). This week, he gets to travel to D.C. and take on the hapless Redskins. It's the perfect opportunity for a bounce back for Brady, who should be in starting lineups.
Kyler Murray (@ Bengals) and Jameis Winston (@ Saints) also have favorable matchups, with Winston coming off a day in which he led the Buccaneers' offense to 468 total yards against the high-powered Rams defense. Even Cousins (@ Giants), who we ragged on above, should have a chance to get on track against a Giants secondary with a lot more questions than answers.
WEEK 5:
Top waiver pickups | FAAB planner | Trade values | Snap counts
The matchups aren't as good for Daniel Jones (vs. Vikings) and Kyle Allen (vs. Jaguars), two sleepers from a week ago who've yet to lose starts in the NFL. This week could be rough for both as they go against strong defenses and are probably best left on fantasy benches.
If you're reeling from the injuries and maybe need a replacement for Josh Allen in Week 5, Teddy Bridgewater wouldn't be a bad option against a Tampa Bay defense that just allowed 500 yards passing to Jared Goff. Bridgewater doesn't go down the field as much as Goff, but he should still find success through the air in Week 5.
WEEK 5 DFS LINEUPS:
Y! cash | Y! GPP | FD cash | FD GPP | DK cash | DK GPP
Reminder: These rankings will be adjusted throughout week, so check back often for the latest updates and analysis!
MORE WEEK 5 DFS: Stacks | Values | Lineup builder
LISTEN TO THE SN FANTASY WEEK 5 PREVIEW PODCAST BELOW
Week 5 Fantasy QB Rankings
These rankings are for standard leagues with 4-point passing TDs.
| 1 | Patrick Mahomes II, KC vs. IND |
| 2 | Lamar Jackson, BAL @ PIT |
| 3 | Tom Brady, NE @ WAS. The Redskins' pass defense made Mitchell Trubisky look good. Something tells me that Brady will have no issues putting up big numbers in this one. The only worry would be an early lead and lots of running, but an early lead almost certainly will mean plenty of fantasy points for Brady. |
| 4 | Dak Prescott, DAL vs. GB |
| 5 | Deshaun Watson, HOU vs. ATL. Watson and the Houston offense have looked out of sorts the last few games, which is odd considering how well they started the season. Watson was working with his quarterback coach on the field hours after Sunday's loss, which has to count for some level of football karma. Considering Atlanta just made Marcus Mariota look good, we like Watson's bounce-back potential here. |
| 6 | Carson Wentz, PHI vs. NYJ |
| 7 | Matt Ryan, ATL @ HOU. Call Ryan the king of garbage time. Each week, his fantasy owners are ready to burst with anger in the first half. Then each week this season so far, they look down and he's thrown for 300 yards. It might not mean the Falcons win on the road, but fantasy owners with Ryan might win because of his late-game, mostly meaningless production. |
| 8 | Kyler Murray, ARZ @ CIN. In Week 3, Murray ran eight times, then the Cardinals called a designed run to get him his first rushing score in Week 4. With the training wheels seemingly off, expect a good floor for Murray in Week 5 to go with a solid ceiling provided by a subpar Cincinnati defense. |
| 9 | Russell Wilson, SEA vs. LAR |
| 10 | Jameis Winston, TB @ NO. Winston looked, dare I say, good in Week 4. Like, really good. He threw for nearly 400 yards, and the Buccaneers put up 55 points, against the vaunted Rams defense. In some ways, it feels like a brutal Winston performance should be coming soon, but the Saints' defense should struggle to slow down Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, too. |
| 11 | Aaron Rodgers, GB @ DAL. Coming off a 422-yard outing, Rodgers' fantasy owners will be quick to jump off the bandwagon. But expect the future Hall of Famer to come back to earth in Week 5, especially with Davante Adams dinged up. This could be more like the 250 yards and two touchdowns Rodgers that's become familiar in the last year. |
| 12 | Jacoby Brissett, IND @ KC. Brissett is averaging 2.5 touchdown passes per game in 2019, and he threw for 310 yards in Week 3 followed by 265 in Week 4. Indy's expected to play catch-up against Kansas City on Sunday night, and so Brissett should again work his way into a solid fantasy day. |
| 13 | Philip Rivers, LAC vs. DEN |
| 14 | Baker Mayfield, CLE @ SF. Baker threw for a season-high 342 yards in Week 4, but he could be without Jarvis Landry for Monday Night Football due to a concussion. San Francisco's solid pass rush could expose Mayfield's recent troubles at reading defenses, making him only a borderline start for Week 5. |
| 15 | Jared Goff, LAR @ SEA. A week ago, it looked like Kyler Murray lined up for a good game against the Seahawks, but then he disappointed. Goff's coming off a 500-yard day where the Rams chose to barely run the ball, and anything could happen on a quick Thursday night turnaround, but L.A. might recommit to the run in this one. |
| 16 | Kirk Cousins, MIN @ NYG. Cousins has been dropped in a lot of fantasy leagues recently, but it might be worth picking him up for a matchup with the Giants' secondary. They allowed more than 300 yards passing in Weeks 1 and 3, so in a correlation that means nothing, maybe this third odd-numbered week will be good for Cousins. |
| 17 | Daniel Jones, NYG vs. MIN |
| 18 | Andy Dalton, CIN vs. ARZ. The Cardinals have allowed three 300-yard passers in four games in 2019. Dalton's been surprisingly effective without A.J. Green healthy, at least in non prime-time games. That should continue in Week 5, and he's a solid, low-owned sleeper for this week for anyone who might need to replace Josh Allen if he's out. |
| 19 | Josh Allen, BUF @ TEN. Allen will have to make it back from a concussion to play in Week 5, but it's a tricky matchup against a Tennessee defense that's defended the pass well so far. It's best to make contingency plans for Allen this week regardless of his health. |
| 20 | Kyle Allen, CAR vs. JAX |
| 21 | Jimmy Garoppolo, SF vs. CLE |
| 22 | Teddy Bridgewater, NO vs. TB |
| 23 | Chase Daniel, CHI vs. OAK (in UK). If you're really desperate, Daniel looked competent enough in relief of Mitchell Trubisky and gets a great matchup against the Raiders defense. Who knows what happens in a London game, but you could do worse than Daniel this week. |
| 24 | Gardner Minshew II, JAX @ CAR |
| 25 | Marcus Mariota, TEN vs. BUF |
| 26 | Mason Rudolph, PIT vs. BAL |
| 27 | Joe Flacco, DEN @ LAC |
| 28 | Derek Carr, OAK vs. CHI (in UK) |
| 29 | Luke Falk, Jets @ Eagles |
| 30 | Colt McCoy, WAS vs. NE |