We’re a full month into the NFL Season, so we know who’s who by now. Time flies when you’re having fun! But if you’re reading this article, it’s probably because you’re not having fun because one of your starting QBs have gone down. It’s ok. We’ll adapt. We know winning your leagues takes a lot of work. But don’t fear! FantraxHQ is doing the work for you. Whether it’s matchups to exploit, injury replacements, or flat-out hot takes, we’ve got your fix. In this article, we’ll highlight three potential quarterback sleepers and streamers for NFL Week 5 that could help you win your matchups.
Week 5 Quarterback Sleepers and Streamers
Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers
One of my favorite ways to target a quarterback streamer is to find the weak defensive line and hope it matches up with a streaming option. The Dallas Cowboys have the 2nd-worst defensive line in the league regarding the “yards before contact” stat that I use on PFF. Only the Philadelphia Eagles have the worst defensive line (and you see what Baker Mayfield just did to them). However, what the Cowboys lack in push, they make up for in simulated pressures, so guys like Micah Parsons cover up a lot of the defense’s inefficiencies. However, Micah Parsons is battling an injury and is less than 100%, if he plays at all.
Enter Justin Fields. Not only is he a mobile quarterback who can give any defense problems (he already has two rushing touchdowns in four games this season), but Fields finally seems to be getting on the same page as his receivers. In the first two games, Fields threw for a combined 270 yards passing. In Week 3, he threw for 245 passing yards, and last week vs. Indy, he threw for 312 passing yards. Fields can expect to have all day to pass this week, and even if he doesn’t, Fields has demonstrated what a nightmare he can be on the ground. If Fields is on your waiver wire and you need a QB to start, he would be my first choice.
Gardner Minshew, Las Vegas Raiders
As mentioned above, the best way to find a good quarterback matchup is to find a defensive line that will give a quarterback plenty of time to throw. An NFL quarterback that isn’t pressured, is an NFL quarterback that passes for 250+ yards. The Denver Broncos have the 3rd-worst defensive line in the league. How they sacked Aaron Rodgers five times last week, I don’t know. But I’m going to call that an outlier and blame the poor offensive performance on the inclement weather. The Broncos defensive line doesn’t get push and they’re matched up with a Raiders team that will be desperate to show off they can pass the ball without DaVante Adams.
While Gardner Minshew is coming off of a pretty abysmal performance (14/24, 130 yards), through four games, Minshew has thrown for just under 850 yards passing. That’s 12th in the league, and more indicative of who Minshew has been his entire career. He’s a gunslinger. This is the same Gardner Minshew that threw for 4800 yards at Washington State and 3300 yards last year with Indy. 120 yards passing is not in his DNA, and he doesn’t need Adams in the lineup to eclipse 250 yards passing, even though he’s an elite WR. Expect Minshew to bounce back against a weak Denver front, riding high off of an improbable win.
Jacoby Brissett, New England Patriots
As I write this article, the Dolphins have yet to play their Week 4 Monday Night Football Game. However, I have seen the future. It went something like this: the Dolphins struggled to move the ball consistently, after starting Tyler Huntley a week after bringing him in and showing him the playbook. However, the Titans who were equally inconsistent on offense, kept the game close. It doesn’t matter who won. The issues for Miami will remain the same issues when they take on the Patriots in Week 5.
Last year, we saw an unprecedented number of QBs come in off the street and play well on short notice. However, the Miami Dolphins have an incredibly complicated, timing-dependent offense that utilizes their speed with Hill and Waddle using lots of motion. That’s not something the Miami backup QBs have been able to pick up in practice with limited reps. It’s definitely not something a free agent QB will pick up with limited reps. The offense was tailored for Tua, and that’s that. McDaniels doesn’t seem interested in dumbing that offense down. So I expect Miami to struggle offensively. Struggling offensively means lots of punts. Lots of punts mean additional possessions for the Patriots.
Jacoby Brissett has a PFF grade of 63.8 this season. Obviously, that’s nothing to get excited about, but the Patriots average under 50 plays per game, while the Dolphins average over 70. If the Dolphins offense is as bad as I expect it to be in Week 5, I think you can expect those statistics to flip. If you give an average QB an extra 20-ish plays to work with, you can expect more production (at least from a statistical perspective). Not necessarily quality production, but production nonetheless. I expect 20+ fantasy points this week from Brissett with his expected additional possessions.
Make sure to check out all of our Week 5 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!
Got a beef with Bradlee’s Week 5 Quarterback Sleepers and Streamers? Let him hear about it in the comments below!