Fantasy Football Week 5 Thursday Quarterback Who Should I Start? Matthew Stafford, Jayden Daniels, and More

Thursday Night Football throws a wrinkle into fantasy football. Many owners wait until the weekend to set their fantasy teams, when they have more time away from work and the hustle of life.

With the Thursday game, though, you have to at least check to make sure any players you have active are properly placed. You don't have to make every decision at that point, but anyone in the Thursday game must be decided as lineup or bench several days before everyone else.

That has fantasy owners scrambling a bit today to decide which guys to keep in the lineup. One name who is showing up a ton on our FantasySP start/sit tool is Matthew Stafford, whose Los Angeles Rams host the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night.

Let's look at Stafford and do a head-to-head quick-hit start/sit with four guys who he has been compared against most often on the start/sit tool. Most stats are from NFL.com.

Use FantasySP's Who Should I Start? tool every week to compare players and help make your toughest lineup decisions.

Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers

Stafford has been very good to start the season, averaging 278.5 passing yards per game at 8.2 per attempt with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. He has the second-most passing yards in football, just five yards behind Dak Prescott.

He has two very good receivers in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams and a highly regarded play caller in Sean McVay; the Rams also rank better than average in both pass block and run block win rate (according to ESPN). His circumstances couldn't be much better.

This is a tough matchup against the 49ers, though. San Fran has allowed the second-fewest yards per pass attempt and the fourth-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. They haven't given up more than 207 passing yards or 6.5 yards per pass attempt in any game this season.

There is concern, as Nick Bosa tore his ACL in Week 3, but last week without Bosa, the 49ers held Trevor Lawrence to 174 yards on just 5.6 per attempt. San Francisco is being tested with injuries, but I'm trusting the numbers and treating them like an above-average defense.

The Rams are much better throwing than the Jaguars, so this will be a different test. Stafford could have a good game, but he also doesn't run the ball, something that has him as just QB12 despite his good start. There's a bit of a low ceiling in this one, though the floor is OK.

Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders @ Los Angeles Chargers

Daniels missed the previous two games with a knee injury, so there's a little injury risk here, as well as maybe a decrease in his running if they're looking to protect him. I'm treating Daniels as a full-go if he's on the field, though, and that means a guy who both throws and runs the ball and is a weekly fantasy starter; he was QB11 in Weeks 1 and 2.

The matchup poses the problem here, as the Chargers have given up the third-fewest yards per pass attempt and 14th-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. LA has let QBs run on them, allowing at least 20 rushing yards to all four quarterbacks they've faced and an average of 41 yards per game.

Daniels finds plenty of ways to put up fantasy points, and even if he struggles throwing the ball, he will probably still run, giving him a nice fantasy floor.

Advice: Start Jayden Daniels over Matthew Stafford because Daniels will run the ball.

Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Seattle Seahawks

Mayfield is dealing with injured players around him, but he did get back left tackle Tristan Wirfs and wide receiver Chris Godwin last week. Those guys were full-time participants, so maybe this is the start of better health, as more players will return in the coming weeks. Mayfield has continued to play to his usual standard, ranking as fantasy QB8 while averaging 226 passing yards per game with eight touchdowns and just one interception.

Seattle presents a tougher matchup, allowing the seventh-fewest yards per pass attempt and 11th-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. They have spent years adding a lot of talent to what's now a deep defensive group, and I don't like going after the Seahawks in the passing game.

Advice: Start Matthew Stafford over Baker Mayfield. This one is very 50/50, as they both have tougher matchups, but at least Stafford isn't dealing with the injuries around him, and he has played better than Mayfield so far. Mayfield's running gives him a possible leg up.

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys @ New York Jets

Everyone we've talked about here so far has a tough matchup, but finally, Prescott has a nicer outlook. The Jets have allowed the ninth-most yards per pass attempt and 10th-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. They might not be a league-worst pass defense, but ranking in the bottom 10 in both categories doesn't portend good things.

Prescott has the most passing yards through four weeks, as mentioned above. He is averaging 6.7 yards per attempt, which is a little worse than average, so Prescott has been building more through volume than efficiency; he has 166 pass attempts, more than anyone else.

The volume might continue, so even if he isn't great, Prescott would be a good fantasy option. With a positive matchup here, I'm looking for another good week from the Dallas QB.

Advice: Start Dak Prescott over Matthew Stafford.

C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens

Stroud has had an OK start to the season, averaging 208 passing yards per game on 7.1 yards per attempt (a number right at average). He was able to take advantage of a nicer matchup last week, throwing for 233 yards on 8.3 per attempt with two touchdowns against the Titans. Stroud has also run for 94 yards, a nice little bump to his fantasy score.

This is another good matchup. The Ravens are dealing with injuries all over their defense and have given up the third-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. They are right in the middle in terms of yards per pass attempt allowed, but Baltimore has given up nine passing touchdowns and two more on the ground to QBs with just one interception.

Advice: Start C.J. Stroud over Matthew Stafford. Stafford is the better fantasy player, but the matchup is in Stroud's favor, and the Houston QB will also run the ball more.