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Who Should I Start for Week 5? Fantasy Football outlooks for Kirk Cousins, Deshaun Watson, Bo Nix, Kyler Murray, Sam Darnold, Jared Goff, Jayden Daniels, Brock Purdy, Joe Burrow, Geno Smith.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 5 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Kirk Cousins, Deshaun Watson, Bo Nix, Kyler Murray, Sam Darnold, Jared Goff, Jayden Daniels, Brock Purdy, Joe Burrow, Geno Smith. 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:
Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins has played his way into the waiver conversation after another productive afternoon. Cousins threw for a season-high 365 yards and two touchdowns against Kansas City, completing 31 of 52 passes and adding one interception. He has now thrown multiple touchdowns in all four games and owns 1,026 passing yards with 11 scores against four picks. The Week 5 matchup at New England is not ideal, so Cousins is not the top one-week streamer on the board.
His value goes beyond this Sunday, though. Las Vegas has been willing to put the ball in his hands, and there is little reason to worry about his starting job after three straight 22-point fantasy performances. Cousins should be rostered in Superflex leagues and is worth adding in standard formats for managers who want a quarterback with staying power beyond one matchup.
Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has surprisingly been reliable through the first four games of the season. Heading into Week 5, Watson has thrown for 855 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions. He has also rushed for 127 yards on 31 rushing attempts this season.
Watson carries a 69.6 percent completion rate into this Week 5 matchup against the New York Jets. A defensive unit that has struggled to contain quarterbacks this season. Watson is currently the QB12 heading into this big road matchup against the Jets. Given that some teams are on bye, Watson is looking like a priority streaming appeal for this weekend while he enjoys a career resurgence.
Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (elbow) has officially been cleared to play in Week 5 against the division-rival New York Giants on Sunday, according to Zach Selby of the team's official website. Daniels is making his return to the Commanders' offense after missing the last two games due to a dislocated left (non-throwing) elbow that he suffered in the Week 2 loss to the division-rival Dallas Cowboys.
Unfortunately, the 25-year-old will not have one of his top receivers, Stefon Diggs (hamstring), available this weekend, and he could also be missing Terry McLaurin (hamstring), who also did not play last weekend. The signal-caller's return is coming at a good time for Washington, though, after veteran backup Marcus Mariota (knee) suffered a sprained MCL in the Week 4 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in London. If McLaurin is ruled out for a second straight week, fantasy managers may want to consider fading Daniels and leaving him on the bench for another week as his receiving weapons get healthier.
Kyler Murray, Minnesota Vikings
Since returning from the concussion that knocked him out of his team's season opener, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray has thrown for 415 yards, one touchdown, and one interception across two games. Murray has not quite gotten going as a rusher yet either, recording 33 rushing yards on eight carries. While the 29-year-old's production has not been particularly useful for fantasy managers just yet, there's some reason to believe better days could be ahead.
For one, Murray has barely shared the field with star Vikings wideout Justin Jefferson (ankle), who could return in the team's Week 5 matchup against the New Orleans Saints. Murray could also start using his legs more as he gets further removed from the concussion. In his last fully healthy season in 2024, Murray recorded 572 rushing yards and five touchdowns over 17 games. In deeper league formats, Murray remains a viable quarterback streamer for fantasy managers heading into Week 5.
Geno Smith, New York Jets
New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith threw for just 119 passing yards and one touchdown in Week 4, totaling under 8.8 PPR fantasy points just a week after dominating with 26.0 points. Smith's 14th season as an NFL QB has been a bumpy road, as at times he's looked like one of the NFL's better QBs and at other times like one of its worst. But he was missing his WR2, Adonai Mitchell (thumb) in Week 4. Mitchell is expected to be back in Week 5, and he was a huge part of the offense when he played.
Having another legitimate threat as a separator across from WR Garrett Wilson, the team's WR1, helped the passing offense be much more productive, it seems. Week 4 also was a very odd game script for the Jets, as Smith attempted just 15 passes, of which he completed nine.
His 7.9 yards per pass attempt was a very solid mark, it's just that he wasn't throwing the ball much. He attempted 41 and 37 passes in his previous two games, and a return to that volume at that efficiency rate would help him finish nicely in fantasy football. In deeper leagues, especially those with two quarterback spots or one superflex spot, Smith is a priority add if he's available on waivers.
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 - Kirk Cousins, Deshaun Watson, Bo Nix, Kyler Murray, Sam Darnold, Jared Goff, Jayden Daniels, Brock Purdy, Joe Burrow, Geno Smith. 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 Kirk Cousins, Deshaun Watson, Bo Nix, Kyler Murray, Sam Darnold, Jared Goff, Jayden Daniels, Brock Purdy, Joe Burrow, Geno Smith.
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