Jalen Hurts is the fantasy football QB3, Cooper Kupp is the No. 1 fantasy wide receiver, and Cordarelle Patterson is shaping up to be a league-winner — just like we all predicted.
All jokes aside, the NFL season has already been an emotional rollercoaster ride of ebbs and flows. The constant change and variance in the NFL have made it critical to continually adjust fantasy football player rankings based on new information and trends.
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Now that the season has accumulated four weeks of games, we have enough data to adjust rankings based on a player’s high-value opportunities, expected fantasy point output, fantasy football utilization and routes run participation. Those key data points — along with PFF player grades, implied team totals, PFF fantasy projections and strength of schedule — are all factored in to create my position-by-position Week 5 fantasy football rankings.
Trade targets are also highlighted because making sharp transactions beyond the waiver wire can go a long way to helping your fantasy squad.
Related content for you: Fantasy Football Week 5: 5 to Waiver Wire Add, 5 to Drop, 5 to Buy Low, 5 to Sell High via Nathan Jahnke
2021 WEEK 5 QB FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS
| Name | Team | Rank |
| Josh Allen | BUF | 1 |
| Kyler Murray | ARI | 2 |
| Patrick Mahomes II | KC | 3 |
| Tom Brady | TB | 4 |
| Jalen Hurts | PHI | 5 |
| Dak Prescott | DAL | 6 |
| Lamar Jackson | BAL | 7 |
| Matthew Stafford | LAR | 8 |
| Justin Herbert | LAC | 9 |
| Joe Burrow | CIN | 10 |
| Aaron Rodgers | GB | 11 |
| Russell Wilson | SEA | 12 |
| Daniel Jones | NYG | 13 |
| Kirk Cousins | MIN | 14 |
| Trey Lance | SF | 15 |
| Ryan Tannehill | TEN | 16 |
| Derek Carr | LV | 17 |
| Sam Darnold | CAR | 18 |
| Trevor Lawrence | JAC | 19 |
| Jameis Winston | NO | 20 |
| Jared Goff | DET | 21 |
| Taylor Heinicke | WAS | 22 |
| Mac Jones | NE | 23 |
| Jacoby Brissett | MIA | 24 |
| Justin Fields | CHI | 25 |
| Zach Wilson | NYJ | 26 |
| Matt Ryan | ATL | 27 |
| Baker Mayfield | CLE | 28 |
| Carson Wentz | IND | 29 |
| Teddy Bridgewater | DEN | 30 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | PIT | 31 |
| Davis Mills | HOU | 32 |
| Taysom Hill | NO | 33 |
| Drew Lock | DEN | 34 |
| Andy Dalton | CHI | 35 |
| Gardner Minshew II | PHI | 36 |
| Mason Rudolph | PIT | 37 |
| Brett Hundley | IND | 38 |
JOSH ALLEN, BUFFALO BILLS
Allen didn’t quite deliver the overall QB1 performance I had him pegged for versus the Houston Texans, but that’s no reason to even consider moving him outside the No. 1 spot. His 29.1 expected fantasy points per game still lead all quarterbacks, and the matchup versus the Kansas City Chiefs screams explosion. KC’s defense has just been downright awful against quarterbacks, allowing the second-most fantasy points and third-highest explosive pass-play percentage.
Allen should shred in a Sunday night matchup that has a 57-point projected total.
MATTHEW STAFFORD, LOS ANGELES RAMS
Stafford should have gone nuclear versus the Arizona Cardinals with his 33.5 fantasy-point expected output, but he fell drastically short, finishing with the most points scored under expectation. But as savvy fantasy gamers know, good quarterbacks who perform under expectation one week tend to bounce back in a massive fashion the following week, especially when the opponent is the Seattle Seahawks, who rank 31st in passing yards allowed in 2021. Stafford ranks second in the NFL with 11 passing touchdowns so be confident that he blows up on Thursday night.
JOE BURROW, CINCINNATI BENGALS
Trading for Burrow is the move to make at the quarterback position because the Bengals quarterback is about to light the fantasy world ablaze. He owns the second-easiest strength of schedule through the next four weeks and has been on fire over his last two contests.
The second-year quarterback has a 92.0 PFF passing grade, 10.4 yards per attempt, 135.0 passer rating and a 78% completion rate — all of which rank first or second. His real-life efficiency finally resulted in fantasy points, as he finished with a season-high 22.3 fantasy points versus the Jacksonville Jaguars.
What also works in Burrow’s favor is that without Joe Mixon in addition to Tee Higgins‘ return, fantasy gamers can expect the Bengals to drastically rev up their pass attack. Through four weeks, they rank 31st in early-down pass-play rate.
DANIEL JONES, NEW YORK GIANTS
The Dallas Cowboys have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing signal-callers this season, setting the stage for Danny Dimes to continue his hot fantasy streak. The Giants passer is the fantasy QB9 and is PFF’s second-highest graded quarterback through the first month of the season.
His 188 rushing yards rank third at the position, which gives him a super-secure weekly floor.
SAM DARNOLD, CAROLINA PANTHERS
Eventually, Darnold’s rushing touchdowns will come down but in the meantime, fantasy managers should look to add him off the waiver wire as an option ahead of Week 5.
Carolina ranks fifth in plays per game, which is helping boost Darnold’s fantasy value, as the uptick in pace is giving him more opportunities to rack up fantasy points. Expect more of the same from PFF’s No. 5-ranked quarterback in expected fantasy points per game when he takes on a Philly defense that has allowed the league’s fourth-highest passer rating this season (118.8).
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