For Week 5, I recommended Ryan Tannehill at the Commanders, Teddy Bridgewater at the Jets, and Andy Dalton against the Seahawks. Tannehill played well, but as prefaced in last week’s article, he unfortunately passed for just one touchdown with Derrick Henry scoring twice on the ground. Bridgewater was sadly knocked out of the game early with a concussion scare, and while Dalton played well overall in a high-scoring game as predicted, Taysom Hill vultured not one, not two, but three touchdowns.
Overall, Week 5 offered only lackluster performances for fantasy GMs who eschewed drafting a quarterback early and have been streaming the position. If you drafted Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes early or managed to snag Kirk Cousins or Geno Smith later on in your drafts, this article probably isn’t for you. But if you’ve been streaming quarterbacks this season or have Jared Goff or Derek Carr on bye, here are some viable Week 6 quarterback streamers with good matchups to target.
Week 6 Quarterback Streamers
Check out our Week 6 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | PPR |
Note: The below quarterback streamers are the “best of the rest”, meaning that they’re generally rostered in less than about 50-60 percent of major fantasy football platforms at the time of this writing even after waivers have run on Wednesday.
Daniel Jones (18% ESPN, 26% Yahoo)
Through five weeks, Daniel Jones‘s 41 rushing attempts ranks fourth among quarterbacks, and he had 10 carries last week in London against the Packers even in his first game back from a high ankle sprain. Jones is now tied for second among quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns with names like Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, and Jones ranks third in rushing yards among quarterbacks behind only Jackson and Jalen Hurts. Rushing production greatly increases a quarterback’s fantasy floor and ceiling, which is partly what makes Jones among the top quarterback streamers this week.
In addition to his ability to create points on the ground, Jones has an excellent passing matchup this week against the Ravens’ defense. Baltimore leads the league in passing yards allowed to opposing quarterbacks through five weeks and ranks just 19th in pass rush win rate. Adding to their struggles, the already injury-riddled secondary will now be without safety Marcus Williams after he dislocated his wrist against Cincinnati this past Sunday night. Jones should have a nice game at home against this reeling Baltimore defense.
Jimmy Garoppolo (14% ESPN, 33% Yahoo)
The 49ers have been among the most run-heavy offenses in football through five games, but that could change this week after suffering various injuries on defense in their win over the Panthers last week. San Francisco is tied with Buffalo for least points allowed to opponents thus far on the season, but with safety Jimmie Ward out with a broken hand, Emmanuel Moseley out with a torn ACL, and star defensive end Nick Bosa questionable with a groin injury, Jimmy Garoppolo could need to throw more in this game than he has over his last three starts.
Atlanta’s defense has allowed the 12th most points to opponents and has allowed the fourth-most passing yards to opposing quarterbacks through five weeks. If their offense can keep this a close game against an injured 49ers defense, Garoppolo & Co. may need to keep passing the ball in this matchup. Garoppolo is always a risky option, especially with the 49ers running a lot near the goal line, but he’s among the best quarterback streamers this week despite having a shaky floor.
Justin Fields (27% ESPN, 38% Yahoo)
We finally got to see Justin Fields‘s speed and agility on display in Week 5 during the Bears’ near-comeback against the Vikings. Unfortunately, his 52-yard rushing touchdown was negating by an illegal block in the back, but the theoretical ceiling is there for Fields again this week. He has one more rushing attempt on the season than the aforementioned Daniel Jones, and he would have more rushing yards than Jones were it not for that penalty last week.
Fields’s rushing ability keeps him among the useable quarterback streamers for Week 5, though the risk is that Chicago could lead in this Thursday night matchup after playing from behind in their last two games, leading to more David Montgomery on the ground and another sub-20 pass attempt game from Fields. There aren’t many great options this week though, so Fields remains in the mix at home facing a Washington defense that ranks 29th against the pass and has allowed the eighth-most points to opponents thus far.
Honorable Mentions
In deeper leagues, if none of the above-recommended quarterback streamers are available, we know what we’re getting out of Jacoby Brissett most weeks, a little over 200 passing yards and hopefully at least one touchdown. The ceiling isn’t particularly high, but you could do worse than Brissett as a floor play. And if you’re desperate, Skylar Thompson could get his first NFL start this week against a Minnesota defense that ranks 26th against the pass and has allowed the 10th most passing yards to opposing quarterbacks through five weeks.
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