Week 5 Quarterback Projections & Rankings: Justin Fields Surges Into Top Tier

Justin Fields surges into the top tier as we break down Week 5 fantasy quarterback projections and rankings.

New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields (7) takes the field to start the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. | Rich Storry-Imagn Images

Last week, six quarterbacks scored 30.00 fantasy points or more, with four players coming from games off the main slate on Sunday. Dak Prescott (34.15) exposed the Green Bay Packers’ secondary without CeeDee Lamb, and his former teammate, Micah Parsons, was pretty much a non-factor in his return to Dallas. Here are the other top six quarterbacks in Week 5:

• Matthew Stafford (31.15)
• Jordan Love (30.65)
• Justin Fields (30.40)
• Patrick Mahomes (30.00)
• Bo Nix (30.00)

Stafford continues to feature Puka Nacua (13/170/1), while riding a late 88-yard touchdown to Tutu Atwell to jump up the Week 4 quarterback standings. Nacua (42/50/3/1) has more catches and receiving yards than these teams:

• Philadelphia Eagles (40/397/2)
• Cincinnati Bengals (40/456/3)
• New York Jets (39/423/4)
• Tennessee Titans (38/371/2)
• Cleveland Browns (35/391/2)
• Arizona Cardinals (33/320/3)
• Pittsburgh Steelers (27/429/6)

Jordan Love, Justin Fields, and Patrick Mahomes took advantage of their favorable matchups while Carson Wentz (26.70) posted his best game despite getting sacked six times. The Vikings’ offensive line has allowed 18 sacks this year.

After four games, here are the top 12 quarterbacks:

• Josh Allen (109.10)
• Lamar Jackson (104.05)
• Patrick Mahomes (98.95)
• Drake Maye (97.40)
• Caleb Williams (93.35)
• Daniel Jones (91.40)
• Jalen Hurts (91.35)
• Baker Mayfield (89.10)
• Justin Herbert (88.45)
• Dak Prescott (87.15)
• Jordan Love (86.20)
• Matthew Stafford (86.10)

Quarterback Bust of the Week 

Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals had the top-rated offense heading into this season, based on their four high-ranking players in drafts – Ja’Marr Chase (WR1), Chase Brown (RB7), Tee Higgins (WR13), and Joe Burrow (QB3). After four games, this group of players had scored only 182.45 combined fantasy points (four-point passing TDs/PPR formats), which breaks down to 45.61 FPPG, 31.96 fantasy points per week behind last year’s results. In essence, Cincinnati players have quickly turned from assets to liabilities in fantasy lineups.

Browning passed for 125 yards on 25 pass attempts against the Denver Broncos. Cincinnati’s defense has been on the field for almost 34.5 minutes per game over the first week while losing the time of possession battle in each matchup (35:49, 33:11, 30.56, and 37:58). 

Runner Ups: Lamar Jackson (14.15) was knocked out of last week’s game after playing 70% of the Ravens’ plays. Unfortunately, his injury (hamstring) will most likely cost him at least two games due to Baltimore having a bye in Week 7.

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Each week, I’ll release my weekly depth charts and projections on Wednesday, with a neutral eye that is informed by hints from previous results or in-season injuries. These statistics represent baseline outlooks, with their potential already factored in. Touchdowns create impact scores and winning fantasy days, especially in non-PPR formats. Who scores them each week is the Holy Grail that the fantasy market searches for weekly.

My projections will be sorted into rankings, which won’t resemble the weekly consensus in any way. My man, Matt Brandon, is in charge of finding a balance between my player outlooks and the public view of each week's rankings.

Week 5 Fantasy Football Quarterback Projections Preview

Here’s a look at our opening Week 5 top 12 quarterback projections:

Shawn Childs

Justin Fields, New York Jets

Last week, I had Fields ranked seventh at quarterback, and he rewarded my projections with a four-place finish (307 combined yards with two touchdowns). In shallow leagues, he could have been kicked to the curb after sitting out Week 3 with a concussion. In Week 5, Fields sits second in the quarterback rankings due to facing the porous Cowboys’ defense (16 touchdowns, seven field goals, and 129 points allowed over four games and 41 possessions). Dallas is allowing 9.2 yards per pass attempt with wide receivers scoring three times in each of their past three matchups (NYG – 19/370/3, CHI – 13/208/3, and GB – 17/166/3).

The Jets’ offense doesn’t have enough wide receiver weapons for Fields to have a massive passing day, so he must earn half of his fantasy points via his legs.

Waiver Wire Quarterback

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning (6) throws from the pocket in the second quarter of the NFL Week 4 Monday Night Football game between the Denver Broncos and the Cincinnati Bengals at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals

Yes, I do have Browning ranked ninth at quarterback to open Week 5. I described how bad Cincinnati has been earlier in this article, which is enough information to make you want to run and hide from the Bengals’ offense and players. Last week’s passing failure shouldn’t be a surprise, as the Broncos’ defense was ranked number one by most of the fantasy market this year. Their game vs. the Vikings got out of hand after Minnesota returned two turnovers for touchdowns.

Facing the Lions’ defense doesn’t paint a winning picture, but they did give up 10 touchdowns over the first three games to Green Bay, Chicago, and Baltimore. Cincinnati is a 10.5-point underdog, with a high over/under total (49.5) in their game.

Correction games come all the time in the NFL, and Cinci had enough offensive talent to climb off the mat to post a competitive scoring game at home. The bet here is on Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, with Browning coming along for the fantasy ride. He should be added in shallow leagues this week, and I expect to start in leagues where I drafted Joe Burrow and rostered a Vikings quarterback.

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Here's the Week 5 quarterback projections updates on Friday night:

Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland Browns

The Joe Flacco experiment has ended, paving the way for Gabriel to get his first career start. His running foundation lowers the passing outlook for the Browns this week. He’ll also steal some rushes away from Quinshon Judkins.