Fantasy Football Week 5 Quarterback Who Should I Start? Drake Maye, Daniel Jones, and More
Comparing Dak Prescott to three quarterbacks who he has been matched up with often on the FantasySP start/sit tool.
Are the Cowboys still America's Team? Dak Prescott is getting a lot of attention, so if the FantasySP start/sit tool is any indication, the Cowboys are still hot across the nation!
More realistically, fantasy owners are questioning Dak's spot in the fantasy hierarchy with a mix of quiet and loud performances and a matchup against a vulnerable opponent in the New York Jets. Prescott is a good fantasy option in Week 5.
Let's look at Prescott and three quarterbacks he has been compared to often on the FantasySP start/sit tool: Justin Herbert, Daniel Jones, and Drake Maye. Most stats are from NFL.com.
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Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys @ New York Jets
The matchup is a positive one: New York has allowed the ninth-most yards per pass attempt and 12th-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. That's not a top-level matchup, but it's above average, and it puts Prescott in a good position.
Prescott led the league in passing yards coming into Week 5, though he's doing it more by volume than efficiency. At 6.7 yards per attempt, Prescott has been slightly below average. With so many attempts, though, it's impressive to be able to stay at even that middling level.
Raw numbers are what matter in fantasy football, and Prescott's performance so far has him sitting as QB10. There are likely to be more big games for the Dallas quarterback, even as his top receiver, CeeDee Lamb, is still sidelined.
The good matchup along with big numbers so far project Prescott to have another positive day against the Jets. He's a good fantasy player.
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers vs. Washington Commanders
Herbert ranks fourth in passing yards; before Week 5 started, he was just 56 yards behind Prescott for the top spot. He struggled last week against the Giants, but before that, Herbert looked as good as any quarterback in the league, playing at a very high level while leading his team to a 3-0 start.
Even after the shaky game last week, Herbert is still averaging 265.8 passing yards per game on 7.1 yards per attempt (very average) with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also topped 20 rushing yards in three of four games. It's all enough to put Herbert at QB9 on the season, 0.8 points ahead of Prescott.
Washington has allowed the third-most yards per pass attempt and 10th-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. They were much closer to the middle last season and even better than average in limiting fantasy points to QBs, but the Commanders' defense hasn't looked as good this season, as much of a concern as Jayden Daniels' knee injury.
Herbert lost left tackle Rashawn Slater in the preseason, and now his replacement, Joe Alt (who would have started on the right side), is out with a high-ankle sprain. If both starting tackles being out wasn't enough, free agent signing Mekhi Becton is in concussion protocol and missed Week 4; their front is shredded.
So, we have a productive quarterback and a good matchup, but there are issues in front of him. I still feel mostly positive about Herbert this week. He's a good option but maybe a half-step lower than he would be at full strength.
Advice: This is about as 50/50 as it gets. Washington's defensive line has graded out well, so I'm giving the slight advantage to Dak Prescott and saying start him over Justin Herbert.
Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts vs. Las Vegas Raiders
I'm finding it hard to bet against Jones. Against both tough opponents and soft, he has continued to play strong football through the first month of the season. He ranks third in passing yards (1,078), and his 8.9 yards per attempt are third among starters behind just Lamar Jackson and Sam Darnold.
Jones has been good all season, with last week being the first time he has faltered at all: Jones threw two interceptions in the team's 27-20 loss to the Rams. He still threw for 262 yards on 7.9 per attempt, and Jones has added 54 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in 2025, all coming together for a QB7 ranking.
The Raiders offer a decent matchup, as they have given up the 11th-most yards per pass attempt while ranking right in the middle in terms of fantasy points given up to quarterbacks. They have allowed close to 25 rushing yards per game to QBs, but they have faced four mobile guys in Maye, Herbert, Marcus Mariota, and Caleb Williams.
Jones is very close to must-start fantasy territory. He had a few phenomenal games to open the season, including a QB2 performance in Week 1, and the matchup here points toward more good things possibly coming.
Advice: Start Daniel Jones over Dak Prescott, though it's closer than you might think.
Drake Maye, New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills
Everyone else listed here has a middling or better matchup in Week 5. Maye is the only one with a tougher go of things. The Bills have allowed the fewest yards per pass attempt, though they sit in the middle in terms of fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks.
Stopping the run game has been a big issue for Buffalo, and that extends to the QB, where they have been gashed this season:
- Week 1 vs. Lamar Jackson: 6 attempts, 70 yards, and a touchdown
- Week 2 @ Justin Fields/Tyrod Taylor: 8 attempts, 70 yards
- Week 3 vs. Tua Tagovailoa: 2 attempts, 10 yards
- Week 4 vs. Spencer Rattler: 6 attempts, 49 yards
The Bills have allowed the third-most yards per rush attempt to all players, with running backs, quarterbacks, and even receivers finding success on the ground. This is going to benefit Maye.
Some guys who run the ball often aren't good at throwing the ball. The top fantasy quarterbacks, like Jackson and Josh Allen, do both at such a high level that they could often be close to fantasy starters with just one aspect, let alone excelling at both.
Maye can get closer to the latter group and move into top fantasy territory one day. He's not there yet, but Maye can throw and run the ball and could develop into a top player: he's averaging close to 250 passing yards and 25 rushing yards per game with seven passing touchdowns, two interceptions, and two more scores on the ground.
That all has Maye as QB4 on the season, maybe a peek at the top fantasy quarterback some are expecting. The running is real, and Buffalo has given it up often, but the tough matchup throwing the ball makes this a tougher outlook.
Advice: It's another one close to 50/50, but start Drake Maye over Dak Prescott because Maye is going to run the ball more against a team that has allowed plenty of production on the ground.
