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Dan's top quarterback Week 5 fantasy pickups (2024). The best QB fantasy waiver wire pickups to add and Week 5 QB streamers for 1QB, 2QB and superflex leagues.
Five quarterbacks had more than 20 fantasy points in Week 4. Three quarterbacks (Justin Fields, Baker Mayfield, and Jordan Love) exceeded 28 fantasy points. Things will get even more bleak with bye weeks finally starting in Week 5.
The quarterback position still hasn’t been great for fantasy, but at least four quarterbacks exceeded 300 passing yards. In Week 4, however, only two quarterbacks (Sam Darnold and Love) had three or more passing touchdowns.
In this article, I will focus on players under 65% rostered in fantasy leagues while adding a couple of deep sleepers for two-quarterback leagues (less than 25% rostered).
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings (redraft)
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Single-QB Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers
Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings
Yahoo: 55% rostered
Sam Darnold’s rostership keeps climbing, but it isn’t high enough. With three straight games with 20+ fantasy points and four games with at least two passing touchdowns (with two consecutive games of three or more), Darnold is a legitimate fantasy option.
Sam Darnold threw a perfect ball 😭 pic.twitter.com/ANofuGm4k6
— Alex 👋 (@Dubs408) September 29, 2024
If Darnold is still on your waiver wire, you may have time before you add him. The Vikings play a stout Jets’ defense in Week 5 before having their bye week in Week 6.
After the bye, the Vikings have a murderer’s row of positive fantasy matchups, with games against the Lions, Rams, Colts, Jaguars, and Titans. That is five straight games with secondaries that struggle to stop opposing quarterbacks.
The veteran quarterback has been great with the Vikings and showed that he can be a top fantasy quarterback with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison in the passing attack. Darnold is proving to not only have a great ceiling in fantasy but also a steady floor in an offense that is designed to make the quarterback’s life easy.
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
Yahoo: 44% rostered
We won’t know the latest stat line for Geno Smith until after tonight’s game against the Lions. Smith has been steady at quarterback so far this season and has streaming upside as we enter the 2024 bye weeks.
Smith started the season with two straight games of 17+ fantasy points against two strong defenses (Denver and New England). He put up just 13.3 fantasy points against the Dolphins, but the team had the game in check early and leaned on the run game.
Even though you won’t benefit from the fantasy goodness of a potential shootout against the Lions, Smith has a string of good fantasy matchups on the horizon. He will have solid streaming appeal in five of the next six weeks, with the lone exception being a Week 8 matchup against the Bills defense.
Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers
Yahoo: 31% rostered
Week 4 was a vintage Justin Fields fantasy performance. Fields threw for 312 yards and a touchdown while adding 10 carries for 55 yards and two touchdowns. He finished the week with 31.9 fantasy points.
This is why Justin Fields is such a good fantasy football QB. The rushing upside is undeniable and so potent. Two TDs on the ground today! pic.twitter.com/1MJQhreWUo
— Joshua Cho (@jbchoknows) September 29, 2024
Fields has scored at least 11.0 fantasy points in each of the Steelers’ games this season. He has back-to-back weeks with 20.0 or more fantasy points scored.
The Steelers were forced into a pass-heavy game script for the first time this season and Fields responded with a QB1 overall week. Fields needs to be rostered in all leagues, but there is risk in starting him if Pittsburgh is playing a team that cannot force them to throw the ball.
Two-QB Waiver Wire Pickups and Stashes
Andy Dalton, Carolina Panthers
Yahoo: 14% rostered
It wouldn’t be fair to expect Andy Dalton to replicate his Week 3 performance (319 passing yards and three touchdowns) every week. However, Dalton once again played a solid game and put up a decent fantasy total.
Diontae Johnson has 20+ fantasy points in every game with Andy Dalton pic.twitter.com/vsft4rOdG3
— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) September 29, 2024
Dalton now has back-to-back games with at least 15.0 fantasy points scored. He was able to throw for 220 yards and two touchdowns with an interception in Week 4’s loss to the Bengals.
The veteran quarterback is operating the Panthers offense at a high level. Carolina has a tough defensive matchup in Week 5 (Chicago) but follows that up with back-to-back weeks against Atlanta and Washington.
If you know you have a quarterback bye on the horizon, Dalton is a worthy addition in the coming weeks. He’s looked good enough to justify Carolina keeping Bryce Young on the bench for the foreseeable future.
Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
Yahoo: 22% rostered
It hasn’t been great, but Deshaun Watson has been steady as a fantasy quarterback this year. He started the season with four straight games with 10+ fantasy points. He’s recorded a passing touchdown in three of four games. He also has at least four carries and 20 yards in every game this season.
Watson should be in fantasy consideration in Week 5 with a matchup against the Commanders’ awful secondary. Additionally, he has fantasy upside in the next four weeks with matchups against the Eagles, Bengals, and Ravens on deck.
Quarterback fantasy production has been largely underwhelming this season, but if you’re in a pinch and need a quarterback for fantasy, Watson has good matchups on the horizon.
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