Justin Fields Fantasy Football Outlook for Week 5 - Can We Trust Him in Lineups?

October 4, 2024

Ellis Johnson's Justin Fields fantasy football outlook for Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season. Can we trust starting Justin Fields in fantasy football lineups?

Is Justin Fields good at football? Maybe. Was he a great acquisition for a sixth-round pick? Absolutely.

The Steelers were arguably the most surprising 3-0 team heading into last week. Although they always seem to have a winning record, going 3-0 with only three offensive touchdowns was anything but normal.

Last week, Fields had his best week for fantasy, finishing as the QB1 overall. On the season, he has also been excellent, sitting as the fantasy QB6. Despite his outstanding fantasy value, will his NFL play allow him to keep the starting job? Let's find out.

The Justin Fields Fantasy Football Experience

I will use a story from one of my leagues to help summarize the 2024 Justin Fields experience so far this season.

In my home Dynasty Superflex league, Fields was traded to the resident Steelers fan in May for an early 2025 second and Aaron Rodgers. As a Bengals fan and professional pot stirrer, I couldn’t believe he gave that much to get the Steelers backup QB.

My strongest conviction was that the NFL didn’t even view Fields as that valuable. After all, he was just traded for a sixth-round pick. That was less than Kenny Pickett and Trey Lance. Even with his rushing upside, I thought it was one of the most egregious deals I had seen.

Then, in perfect dynasty fantasy football fashion, you never know how trades end up. The next thing I knew, Russell Wilson was injured, and Fields was their starting quarterback. With his rushing upside, suddenly, it looked like a "steel" for Fields.

Through four weeks, Fields is now the QB6 overall and is coming off a QB1 finish on the week. 

Is Justin Fields a Good NFL QB?

This is one of those cases where Fields may produce for fantasy; however, the film of his performance is not pretty. So, is he good? Shockingly, this question is still very much in the air. From an NFL standpoint, it seems like the best answer is sometimes. This season has very much reflected this, as he played his best football over those first three weeks (from an NFL standpoint).

Right in Week 1, changes to his game were evident. Mostly, the Steelers turned him into a game manager while using his rushing as a backup/wild-card plan. With these short, conservative throws, Fields managed relatively mistake-free performances, with only one interception over that span. Ultimately, this was working and led to their 3-0 start.

Then Week 4 came around. The Fields we saw last week was reminiscent of his Chicago days. Although he didn’t throw an interception, he took some brutal sacks and fumbled twice. Instead of handling the pressure in the pocket, he often dropped his eyes and scrambled around, sometimes running directly into defenders. It was clear that once the Colts had an early lead, Fields panicked and reverted to his old self.

Is He Good for Fantasy Football?

Despite a sloppy NFL performance, Fields finished as the QB1 on the week. Not many QBs can do what he did and rush for two touchdowns and throw for 300 yards. As long as he is the starter, I think Fields should be played weekly as a low-end QB1 with potential upside.

What concerns me is the fact that Wilson might take the reins if we see another NFL performance like last week. It was clear that head coach Mike Tomlin was not happy with how Fields managed against the Colts. It gave me the Titans' Brian Callahan talking about Will Levis vibes. Thankfully, Fields has built some leeway after going 3-0, but his struggles are still worth noting.

⁦@WillGravesAP⁩ Could you just decide to ride the hot hand and go w Justin Fields going forward? #Steelers Mike Tomlin pic.twitter.com/7jgn2U5rMy

— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) October 1, 2024

What's Next?

Fields does not have an easy schedule coming up. In his next three games, he faces Dallas, Las Vegas, and the New York Jets. From a passing standpoint, the Cowboys are averaging the fourth-most interceptions per game and the 10th-fewest completions.

Thankfully, they are also giving up the second-most rushing yards and half a rushing touchdown per game to opposing QBs. As a result, we could be in for another big fantasy week, but we need to keep our fingers crossed that he doesn't have any egregious turnovers.

After the Cowboys, Fields takes on the Raiders, who have yet to allow a rushing TD to the quarterback position (they played Lamar Jackson earlier), then the Jets, who are allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to the position. For fantasy, he will still be a fringe QB1; however, Wilson’s calf might start feeling better if he doesn't pull out a few wins against these teams.

What To Do With Fields?

I think he is worth riding for as long as you can. Even if he doesn’t produce as well for fantasy, he will hold value due to being a starting NFL QB on a good team. However, if he starts panicking and playing sloppy NFL football, he will be incredible for fantasy, but he may lose his job.

I believe the best advice here is to decide if your fantasy team needs the upside that Fields can bring. You also need to determine whether or not your team can survive him potentially losing his job. If not, there should be a buy window open after a decent rushing matchup against the Cowboys this weekend.

In the end, riding him will leave you with a few great fantasy weeks, then searching for a new QB, or you will have a locked-in starter that consistently produces around QB15-20. It would seem to be a shockingly safe bet, as both outcomes have their positives. 

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