Getty Justin Herbert #10 of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Welcome to Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Quarterbacks edition for Week 5 of the NFL season. In this week’s quarterback edition, we feature a rookie skyrocketing up the ranks of must-starts at his position. Plus, a shoo-in Hall of Famer met with a daunting matchup.
* Reminder: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em is intended to present you with the non-obvious choices for your fantasy lineup. We dig deep into player matchups, scoring trends, and other factors to best help you with your fantasy decisions. Superstars such as Patrick Mahomes will not be found in this column. If you’re looking for players of his caliber check out our weekly fantasy football quarterback rankings.
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QB: Start ‘Em
Start of the Week: Cam Newton vs. DEN *POSTPONED
We got a glimpse of what the Patriots offense looks without Cam Newton this past Monday and it was a view we never want to see again. In reality, Cam is the Patriots’ offense, accounting for six of the team’s 10 offensive touchdowns on the year. Newton gets a more than welcoming matchup in his return, as the Broncos have allowed two-plus touchdowns to opposing QBs in all but one game this season. The lone game they didn’t surrender two-plus TDs to the position, they still managed to cough up 23.60 points to Sam Darnold.
Teddy Bridgewater at ATL
The QB4 in fantasy a week ago, Bridgewater has put the panthers on his back since the loss of Christian McCaffrey. Bridgewater has averaged nearly 38 pass attempts over three of his four games this season. Atlanta allows the third-most pass attempts in football this year, mainly due to their atrocious secondary which ranks second to worst in pass defense and allows the most fantasy points to opposing QBs in the NFL.
Justin Herbert at NO
Justin Herbert is essentially Josh Allen-lite, which in the realm of fantasy means very good things for your lineup. Since taking over for Tyrod Taylor in Week 2, Herbert is QB10 in scoring (20.98 ppg), outscoring reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson over that span. The Saints allow the seventh-most points to QBs, as no player at the position has scored below 21.66 points against them this year.
Sleeper: Kirk Cousins at SEA
The volume for Cousins to be a consistent fantasy play has not been there this season, as he’s yet to complete more than 19 passes in a single game. However, that could very well change against a Seahawks defense that allows the most attempts, completions and passing yards to quarterbacks this season. No opposing quarterback has thrown for less than 315 yards against Seattle in 2020.
Deep Sleeper: Daniel Jones at DAL
No touchdowns since week 1. No more than 190 passing yards since Week 3. No Saquon Barkley. No Sterling Shepard. The cards are certainly stacked against Daniel Jones. However, there may be light at the end of the tunnel, a tunnel which leads straight to a Dallas defense who is tied for the league-lead in touchdown passes allowed (12).
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QB: Sit ‘Em
Sit of the Week: Baker Mayfield vs. IND
Mayfield has played within his skillset over recent weeks, putting forth his best string of games in recent memory. With that said, what the Browns need from Baker to succeed is not conducive to fantasy success. The QB26 on the year, Mayfield is met with a daunting matchup in Week 5 against the league’s top-ranked pass defense. Opposing QBs have averaged just 8.03 points against Indy over the past three weeks.
Nick Foles vs. TB
A buyers beware selection for us last week, Foles struggled in Week 4, finishing as just the 24th-highest scoring QB (12.86 points). His opponents this week, the Buccaneers, were torched by Justin Herbert a week ago. However, they’ve also held three of their four opponents at the position this season to an average of 12.17 points, as well as limiting two of those passers to fewer than 177 yards through the air.
Joe Burrow at BAL
The fact that only Dak Prescott has attempted more passes than Burrow this season makes the No. 1 overall pick a potential weekly start, based on sheer volume alone. However, this week should likely not be one of those weeks. Baltimore’s stats are vastly skewed due to a matchup with Patrick Mahomes in Week 3. If you eliminate that game from the statistics, the Ravens allow just 15.14 ppg to the position, which in return would rank as the third-fewest in football.
Buyers Beware: Tom Brady at CHI
Over the past two weeks, Brady is QB5 in fantasy, averaging nearly 29 ppg on the coattail of eight touchdown passes. However, Chicago has allowed just three touchdown passes all season, tied for fewest in the NFL. Chris Godwin and OJ Howard are both out, while Mike Evans and Scotty Miller are hobbled heading into a short week. Tread carefully with the future Hall of Famer.
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Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Quarterbacks: Week 5