Week 5 Rankings (2019): Top 25 Quarterbacks: Surprising Names Surge Into Top 15, Options Worth Sitting & More

After losing a few seemingly trustworthy options the quarterback group took another hit in Week 4, though not necessarily a large one (Mitchell Trubisky was injured). While a few quarterbacks have emerged as locked in starters, after that top tier or two things get a lot more wide open and as the injuries mount the picture becomes even cloudier. Who should we trust this week? Who is better left on your bench? Let’s take a look:

1. Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs – vs. Indianapolis
2. Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens – at Pittsburgh
3. Russell Wilson – Seattle Seahawks – vs. Los Angeles Rams
4. Tom Brady – New England Patriots – at Washington
5. Deshaun Watson – Houston Texans – vs. Atlanta
6. Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers – at Dallas
7. Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons – at Houston
8. Carson Wentz – Philadelphia Eagles – vs. New York Jets
9. Jameis Winston – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – at New Orleans
10. Kyler Murray – Arizona Cardinals – at Cincinnati
11. Andy Dalton – Cincinnati Bengals – vs. Arizona
12. Philip Rivers – Los Angeles Chargers – vs. Denver
13. Jacoby Brissett – Indianapolis Colts – at Kansas City
14. Jared Goff – Los Angeles Rams – at Seattle
15. Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys – vs. Green Bay
16. Baker Mayfield – Cleveland Browns – at San Francisco
17. Kyle Allen – Carolina Panthers – vs. Jacksonville
18. Jimmy Garoppolo – San Francisco 49ers – vs. Cleveland
19. Daniel Jones – New York Giants – vs. Minnesota
20. Kirk Cousins – Minnesota Vikings – at New York Giants
21. Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills – at Tennessee
22. Gardner Minshew II – Jacksonville Jaguars – at Carolina
23. Chase Daniels – Chicago Bears – at Oakland
24. Teddy Bridgewater – New Orleans Saints – vs. Tampa Bay
25. Marcus Mariota – Tennessee Titans – vs. Buffalo

Thoughts:

• Deshaun Watson has been among the most valuable quarterbacks this season, though his production has been buoyed by 3 rushing TD.  Over four games he has averaged 234.5 passing yards/game and has two games without throwing a TD.   He does have a favorable matchup against the Falcons and he’s obviously going to be a good play, but there is some risk that suppresses his ranking a few spots.
• Talk about a disappointing performance…  After watching the Los Angeles Rams get torched by Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who put up 55 points behind Winston’s 385 yards and 4 TD, is anyone going to be scared about throwing their QB up against them?  This week it’s Russell Wilson who gets the draw, who has thrown for 8 TD (and rushed for another 2) without throwing an interception.  Wilson has to be among the better options in the league.
• Speaking of Winston, who saw this one coming?  There’s no question that the passing offense has this type of potential, and drawing a Saints defense that’s consistently been torched (before surprisingly shutting down Dallas in Week 4) seems like a perfect scenario.  Obviously we don’t want to go too crazy, especially since New Orleans showed signs of life, but view Winston as a potential QB1 this week depending on your alternatives.
• Matt Ryan has thrown for over 300 yards in each of the four games the Falcons have played this season, with 8 TD vs. 6 INT.  Against a middle of the road defense, though one that hasn’t had an interception since Week 1, is anyone going to shy away from him?
• It’s been a very good season for Dak Prescott and the Cowboys, but the passing game was stymied by the New Orleans Saints in Week 4 (223 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT).  This week he draws a Packers defense that has allowed the second fewest points per week to opposing quarterbacks (only the Patriots have been better), and while we can’t call him unusable he’s a borderline QB1 at best for this week.
• If the Vikings offense was more based around the passing game Kirk Cousins would be a no brainer QB1.  Some of it has been matchup based (he’s drawn the Packers and Bears), but Cousins has yet to top 233 yards or 1 TD in a game this season.  Maybe he erupts against the porous Giants’ secondary, but could the offense still run through Dalvin Cook?  He’s more QB2 than QB1, despite the favorable matchup.
• It’s flown under-the-radar, but Jacoby Brissett has thrown for at least 2 TD in each game (10 TD vs. 2 INT).  It’s very possible that the Colts need to throw early and often to try and keep up with the Kansas City Chiefs, making the TD trend something that could easily continue.  Throw in 575 yards over the past two weeks and as a potential QB1 fill-in he deserves to be squarely on your radar.
• Both Mitchell Trubisky and Sam Darnold would bring high-level QB2 upside if they were healthy enough to play, but both appear to be tough sells and their understudies are going to be tough to trust.  Keep an eye on the news to see how things play out in terms of their health, but have a contingency plan in place.

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Make sure to check out all of our Week 5 rankings: