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Who Should I Start for Week 5? Fantasy Football outlooks for Jacoby Brissett, Aaron Rodgers, C.J. Stroud, Drake Maye, Tyler Shough, Matthew Stafford, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 5 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Jacoby Brissett, Aaron Rodgers, C.J. Stroud, Drake Maye, Tyler Shough, Matthew Stafford, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, and Trevor Lawrence. However, don't worry; we are here to help you make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 5. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 5 of the 2026 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Week 5 Fantasy Football Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider starting in Week 5:
C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud had his best game of the season in Week 4, scoring over 23 fantasy points by throwing for 347 yards and two touchdowns. Since Week 1 he's played mistake-free football, as he hasn't turned the ball over a single time since Week 1. The return of wide receiver Nico Collins adds a lot to Stroud's upside, as he caught two touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys.
Collins is one of the NFL's best receivers, and the offense is completely different when he's on the field. Stroud averages nearly 20 fantasy points per game in games Collins starts and finishes, and if he were to keep that same pace for the rest of the season, he would be one of the clear best QBs in fantasy football.
He's still on waivers in a large portion of 1QB leagues, but just a few more games will Collins will likely make his rostership rise and make it much more difficult to pick him up. You may even be able to use your waiver claims on more highly-coveted players and wait for free agency to start to pick up the Texans starting quarterback. He's likely undervalued currently, and is one of the better QB pickups on waivers right now, despite the Texans being 0-4 and his poor fantasy performance last season.
Drake Maye, New England Patriots
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye came into Week 4 with zero touchdowns and three interceptions over his last two games. The 24-year-old rebounded hugely during Sunday's victory over the Buffalo Bills. He completed 22-of-37 passing attempts for 269 yards with three touchdowns and one interception during the three-point dub.
The Pats were on the verge of losing this game until Maye charged down the field and connected with Efton Chism for a 23-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter. This was a much-needed bounce-back performance for Maye. Fantasy managers can be hopeful that Maye can carry this momentum into next week's matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers turned in his second performance in a row of over 23 fantasy points in a Week 4 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Rodgers, despite his age, is still a productive passer, and has a trio of competent wideouts to throw the ball to as well as an offensive-minded head coach that has a history of aiding productive passing games.
Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy has put together a good offensive scheme so far this season, and as a result, Rodgers has racked up nearly 600 passing yards across his last two games. On film, Rodgers is still able to get zip on the ball and find his targets downfield. Week 5 and Week 6 feature the Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers as opponents for Rodgers and co., and those two squads have among the NFL's worse pass defenses.
Rodgers is hardly rostered, but is a legitimate waiver target even in 1QB leagues, and should be 100 percent rostered in 2QB leagues. He's a startable QB1 for the next two weeks as well.
Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett is coming off an ugly Week 4, but the schedule gives fantasy managers a reason to go right back to him. Brissett completed 21 of 35 passes for 166 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions against the Giants, his first three-pick game of the season. He has still attempted at least 35 passes in three of four starts, and that volume matters heading into a home matchup with Detroit.
The Lions have been the most generous defense to fantasy quarterbacks through four weeks, allowing 27.9 points per game at the position. RotoBaller lists Brissett as its top quarterback waiver option for Week 5 and recommends a 2-4% FAAB bid in one-quarterback leagues, with a much larger investment in Superflex. The turnovers make him difficult to trust long term, but this is exactly the kind of matchup where Brissett makes sense as a short-term streamer.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 5 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Jacoby Brissett, Aaron Rodgers, C.J. Stroud, Drake Maye, Tyler Shough, Matthew Stafford, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 5.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do, is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 5 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 5 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 5 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 5 for Jacoby Brissett, Aaron Rodgers, C.J. Stroud, Drake Maye, Tyler Shough, Matthew Stafford, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence.
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