Making lineup decisions can be the most frustrating or rewarding part of fantasy football. Here to help you make those decisions are our positional start ’em and sit ’em picks.
Fantasy decisions will only get more difficult from here on out, so let’s look at our Week 5 start/sit plays for the QB position.
Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer, Start/Sit Optimizer, and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!
Which QBs Should You Start in Fantasy This Week?
Jared Goff, QB, Detroit Lions
I want to make a formal petition to the fantasy platforms for the option to split Jared Goff into two separate players: Home Goff and Road Goff.
Since 2021, Goff has averaged 21.7 fantasy points per game at home against 15.0 ppg on the road. In his last 15 home starts, Goff has thrown multiple touchdown passes in 13 of them.
Do not fear the Carolina Panthers’ low fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. So far, they’ve faced Desmond Ridder, Derek Carr, Geno Smith, and Kirk Cousins. Smith threw for nearly 300 yards, and Cousins threw for two touchdowns. The numbers are skewed by Ridder and Carr.
Goff is a top-eight option at QB this week. Start him.
Which QBs Should You Sit in Fantasy This Week?
Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams
Matthew Stafford isn’t the worst fantasy start in the world, but he’s not the same prolific passer he used to be. Through four weeks, Stafford has thrown just three touchdowns and never more than one in a game. Meanwhile, he’s thrown five interceptions.
MORE: Week 5 Start/Sit Options — RB | WR | TE
The Philadelphia Eagles have been surprisingly vulnerable through the air this season, but I attribute that more to a small sample size than anything else. Stafford may get Cooper Kupp back, but I’m expecting another game of around 250 yards and one TD. You can do better.
Trending Searches for QB Start/Sit
Did you know we have a Start/Sit Optimizer at Pro Football Network?! It’s free to use and allows you to enter up to six players to find the best option to plug into your starting lineup.
It also allows us to see the most popular trending searches, and we’ve jotted some of them down here to help provide some clarity.
Should You Start Jared Goff or C.J. Stroud?
The answer to this one should come as no surprise. Jared Goff is my top start of the week (outside of the obvious must-starts). The Start/Sit Optimizer agrees, deciding this one in favor of the Lions QB.
With that said, the answer is not Goff because of anything C.J. Stroud has done wrong. We’ve got Stroud inside the top 12 this week in our PFN Consensus Rankings.
Fantasy managers with Stroud should confidently start him this week…unless you also have Goff. Every time Goff is at home, he is a borderline must-start, and this week is no different.
Should You Start Matthew Stafford or Zach Wilson?
Last week was undoubtedly the best performance of Zach Wilson’s career. While he didn’t win the game, he played better than he ever has.
Wilson threw for 245 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception. He did lose a crucial fumble, though.
This week, Wilson gets a Broncos defense allowing the most fantasy points to quarterbacks, by far. He couldn’t be in a better spot. If you want to stream Wilson, I’m not going to stop you.
With that said, I can’t endorse a QB who has played as poorly as Wilson has based on one good performance. Matthew Stafford has a 15-year track record of success. He’s averaging over 300 yards per game. Yet, he’s thrown just one touchdown. That is going to change, possibly as soon as this week.
The Start/Sit Optimizer finds this in favor of Stafford, and I agree. If you need a streamer to replace someone like Justin Herbert, go with Stafford over Wilson.