Fantasy Football Week 5 Quarterback Projections and Rankings: Jared Goff is For Real, Deshaun Watson is Fake
Can a brand-new player be started in Week 5 fantasy football? Perhaps. Kirk Cousins has floated to top-10 status, as has Tyler Shough to QB5 and Bryce Young to QB3. Using data, we project which trends are likely to happen each week in the NFL. Nothing is certain, but the projections below will try to tell the Week 5 story.
Top-12 Quarterbacks
The top two quarterbacks in fantasy football are Josh Allen (QB1) and Brock Purdy (QB2). Despite facing a tough Seattle defense, Purdy is matchup-proof.
Averaging about 30 points per game on offense, Jared Goff has reached weekly star status. He is the QB4 in fantasy football and faces one of the NFL's worst secondaries.
Tyler Shough would scare me as an owner, facing the Vikings' No. 1-rated defense in the NFL. They are allowing 11.5 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. He is ranked highly based on immense volume through four weeks, but Shough is actually benchable depending on who your backup is. Use these projections to gauge that.
Love or hate Jalen Hurts, Jalen Hurts must be started. As bad as the Eagles have been at times, Hurts is the QB12 in fantasy football and, of course, has massive rushing upside.
High Upside Plays
Jayden Daniels should have little to no drop-off in his passing efficiency. The elbow dislocation was in his non-throwing arm, and he will wear a brace, assuming he plays.
The Detroit Lions are allowing 32.8 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. If you have Jacoby Brissett, I would disregard the modest projection and start him, given his top-5 upside this week. The team is averaging 7.0 red zone passing attempts per game.
Fade These Quarterbacks
Bo Nix, the QB20 in fantasy football, hasn't shown enough to confidently start him. He is averaging 205 passing yards and 1.3 passing touchdowns per game. Worse, Nix has 25 rushing yards all season, which is unexpected.
Deshaun Watson has caught wind as a start-'em, sit-'em candidate. Despite what you may think of the Jets, they are power-rated as a top-10 coverage in my projections. They are allowing the 7th-least fantasy points per game to quarterbacks.
Justin Herbert has been bad. Plain and simple. I attribute this to Mike McDaniel's system, which is wired all wrong right now. Herbert is the QB24 with four touchdowns and six interceptions.
Sleeper of the Week
As stated earlier, Brissett is facing a Lions defense that cannot stop a nosebleed. They are permitting 327 passing yards and 2.8 passing touchdowns per game. If Marvin Harrison Jr. ever has a breakout game, it will be this week. Michael Wilson is absolutely a must-start, as is Jeremiyah Love.
Week 5 Projected Leaders
- Completions: Joe Burrow (28.9)
- Attempts: Dak Prescott (41.8)
- Passing Yards: Dak Prescott (296.8)
- Passing Touchdowns: Brock Purdy (2.55)
- Rushing Yards: Jalen Hurts (30.5)
- Rushing Touchdowns: Josh Allen (0.42)
More Fantasy Sports On SI News:
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.