As we head into Week 5 of the 2024 fantasy football season, the quarterback position has a somewhat different look to it than what we expected. The Kansas City Chiefs might be 4-0, but Patrick Mahomes is not lighting up fantasy scoreboards, while Justin Fields has become a must-start.
Let’s examine where both of those options fall in our consensus Week 5 fantasy quarterback rankings and our outlook for them this week.
WEEK 5 POSITIONAL RANKINGS: RB | WR | TE | K | DEF | FLEX
Top 30 Fantasy Quarterback Rankings
1) Josh Allen | Buffalo Bills (at HOU)
2) Lamar Jackson | Baltimore Ravens (at CIN)
3) Kyler Murray | Arizona Cardinals (at SF)
4) Jayden Daniels | Washington Commanders (vs. CLE)
5) Brock Purdy | San Francisco 49ers (vs. ARI)
6) Jordan Love | Green Bay Packers (at LAR)
7) Justin Fields | Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. DAL)
8) C.J. Stroud | Houston Texans (vs. BUF)
9) Baker Mayfield | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at ATL)
10) Joe Burrow | Cincinnati Bengals (vs. BAL)
11) Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. NO)
12) Anthony Richardson | Indianapolis Colts (at JAX)
13) Geno Smith | Seattle Seahawks (vs. NYG)
14) Deshaun Watson | Cleveland Browns (at WAS)
15) Caleb Williams | Chicago Bears (vs. CAR)
16) Dak Prescott | Dallas Cowboys (at PIT)
17) Sam Darnold | Minnesota Vikings (vs. NYJ {London})
18) Kirk Cousins | Atlanta Falcons (vs. TB)
19) Trevor Lawrence | Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. IND)
20) Aaron Rodgers | New York Jets (vs. MIN {London})
21) Joe Flacco | Indianapolis Colts (at JAX)
22) Matthew Stafford | Los Angeles Rams (vs. GB)
23) Derek Carr | New Orleans Saints (at KC)
24) Bo Nix | Denver Broncos (vs. LV)
25) Andy Dalton | Carolina Panthers (at CHI)
26) Daniel Jones | New York Giants (at SEA)
27) Gardner Minshew II | Las Vegas Raiders (at DEN)
28) Jacoby Brissett | New England Patriots (vs. MIA)
29) Tyler Huntley | Miami Dolphins (at NE)
30) Aidan O’Connell | Las Vegas Raiders (at DEN)
Which QBs Are Intriguing for Week 5?
Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. NO)
At what point do we ignore the name on the back of the jersey and focus on the raw production?
Mahomes hasn’t been a top-15 producer at the position in three straight weeks, and this doesn’t exactly profile as a bounce-back situation, with the Saints owning the lowest opponent passer rating (68.0; NFL average: 90.4).
"Patrick Mahomes feels the most confident, and he plays with the most anticipation and trust when he's throwing to Rashee Rice."
—@Hawk on how the Chiefs' offense could look without Rice 👀 pic.twitter.com/3L4lzJvoEc
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL)
If you manage your team like I do and refuse to roster multiple quarterbacks, I don’t think you need to panic and make a move.
The Saints have allowed the second-most yards per pass to the tight end position through four weeks (9.4). That figures to be where Mahomes is leaning this week, as his aging star at the position is seemingly the only skill player on this team who can stay on the field.
Mahomes did drop a dime to Xavier Worthy last week, snapping a 30-game run without a 50-yard touchdown pass, at least giving us a glimpse of what we think could be an impactful connection as this season wears on.
Mahomes is hovering around QB10 in my rankings, his lowest mark of the season. However, I doubt I’ll ever get to the point where I’ll consider him an auto-bench.
– Analysis by Kyle Soppe
Justin Fields | Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. DAL)
Six weeks ago, Fields was viewed as an underdog to start a game in September, let alone finish a slate as fantasy’s top producer at the position like he did in Week 4 (312 passing yards with three total scores).
I’m going to stop short of calling Arthur Smith a QB whisperer, but this month from Fields (70.6% complete with just one interception) is a résumé highlight. He’s shown poise in the pocket and funneled 26% of his completions the way of his clear-cut top option in George Pickens.
Fields is checking every box right now, and that locks him into my top 10 in a matchup that no longer scares me.
Micah Parsons (high ankle sprain) and DeMarcus Lawrence (mid-foot sprain) figure to be sidelined for the majority of October. At the very least, neither is going to be wreaking havoc on the Steelers this week.
The impact of any player or two on a defensive unit is tough to quantify, but Dallas’ defense has underwhelming metrics through four weeks as it is — missing two stars isn’t going to help.
Dallas’ pressure rate when blitzing
- 2019: 44.4%
- 2020: 45.4%
- 2021: 45.7%
- 2022: 46.7%
- 2023: 49.2%
- 2024: 38.9%
It’s possible you added Fields for depth at the position and are now saddled with a tough decision.
My answer is yes. Yes, I’d play him over Mahomes.
It’s a tough click to make and could look dumb, but I follow the numbers, and everything I’ve looked at leans in the direction of Fields.
What a world.
– Analysis by Soppe
All stats are from TruMedia unless otherwise stated.
