We’ve reached Week Five in the NFL season, over a fourth of the way done. The first four weeks have seemed to fly by this year. This is the second week for teams on bye weeks, and there are some starting quarterbacks that aren’t playing this week. Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, Blake Bortles, and Alex Smith are the bye week quarterbacks. There are also some guys that may miss time due to injury. Carson Palmer already missed his Thursday Night Football game, and Cam Newton and Andrew Luck have also showed up on the injury report this week. With all these quarterbacks missing, here are the top five quarterbacks to stream in week five.
Quarterbacks to Stream in Week Five
Brian Hoyer, Chicago Bears
Brian Hoyer comes in at the number five streaming quarterback this week. Hoyer stepped into the starting role in week two against the Philadelphia Eagles when Jay Cutler went down with a thumb injury. It was thought that Cutler could return this week, but head coach John Fox stated that Cutler isn’t guaranteed his spot when he returns. This points in the direction that Hoyer will be the starter for at least another week.
The Bears hit the road this week to take on the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts have struggled this year defensively. They’ve lost numerous players and those that have had to step in have struggled. The Colts also cut Antonio Cromartie this week, supposedly due to issues taking place before the actual game. They are currently in the bottom third in the league in passing yards allowed. They have given up five passing touchdowns and have just one interception on the season.
The emergence of Jordan Howard will keep the defense honest. The Bears did lose second year receiver Kevin White to an ankle injury. However, Eddie Royal is a veteran that has impressed so far this year, and should fill the role as the number two option behind Alshon Jeffery. Hoyer is owned in just 15 percent of ESPN leagues.
Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins
The fourth streaming option in Week Five is Ryan Tannehill. So far this year, Tannehill has been able to put up top 12 numbers at the quarterback position, and he should be able to again this week. He’s struggled against top defenses, putting up less than 200 yards passing against the Seattle Seahawks and Cincinnati Bengals, but he plays the Tennessee Titans this week at home. The Titans have only allowed 963 passing yards this year. However, they gave up 250-plus yards and two touchdowns to Brock Osweiler last week, without using DeAndre Hopkins at all. They also gave up 250 yards and a touchdown in Weeks Two and Three.
The Dolphins have stated that they don’t plan on using a four-headed monster at running back this week. Instead they plan to mainly use Jay Ajayi. Ajayi is nothing special as a running back, but the hope is that if he is the main guy he can at least produce an okay performance. If the run game is average, then Tannehill should be able to put up decent numbers this week. He has pretty good weapons around him as well. Jarvis Landry is one of two players with ten targets in each game this year. He relies on his go-to guy a lot and should be able to find him in this match-up. Tannehill is owned in just 30 percent of ESPN leagues.
Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
Joe Flacco and the Ravens take on the Washington Redskins at home this week. Flacco is coming off a Week Four performance in which he had almost 300 yards, a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. Flacco has been a perfectly adequate fantasy quarterback this year. He has two straight games in which he’s run for a touchdown, so he’s showing his ability to run that we haven’t really seen out of him yet.
Washington is the 27th ranked defense against the pass this year. They’re allowing 6.3 yards per play, tied for second-worst in the league. Opposing quarterbacks are completing 70 percent of their passes against the Redskins.
Steve Smith Sr. has emerged as a top fantasy receiver after coming off his double tear in his achilles last season. Smith is easily becoming Flacco’s go-to guy, as his receptions have increased each week. Flacco also has a new deep threat this year in Mike Wallace, who has three touchdowns on the year, one of which was a deep bomb from Flacco.
Terrance West is also coming off a 100-plus yard rushing performance last week, and rookie Kenneth Dixon will get his first action this week. The rushing attack should help Flacco as Dixon is a good receiver out of the backfield and West should be able to run against the Redskins. Flacco is owned in just 43 percent of ESPN leagues.
Paxton Lynch/Trevor Siemian, Denver Broncos
It is still unclear which of the two quarterbacks will start in Week Five against the Atlanta Falcons. Trevor Siemian is currently struggling with a left shoulder injury that he sustained in Week Four. Siemian was seen doing light throwing and practicing hand-offs in practice, but the Broncos have said this will be a game-time decision.
Whichever quarterback starts against the Falcons should be a good streaming option this week. The Falcons have given up the second most passing yards in the NFL this year. They’ve allowed 13 passing touchdowns in just four weeks, which is the most in the league.
The Broncos have one of the best receiving duos in all of football in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanual Sanders. They’ve shown that both receivers can put up huge numbers in the same game. Thomas has 90 or more receiving yards in the last three weeks, with two touchdowns. Sanders has over 200 yards combined in the last two weeks, with three touchdowns.
Paxton Lynch came into the game last week after Siemian went down. He immediately showed that he can produce with this team, as he threw for 170 yards and a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Whichever quarterback starts in the game should be a very viable fantasy option. Siemian is owned in just 15 percent of ESPN leagues, while Lynch is owned in just four percent.
Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles
Carson Wentz is number one on the list of quarterbacks to stream in Week Five. He faces off against the Detroit Lions in Detroit. Wentz is coming off his bye week, so he should have had enough time to scheme against the Lions defense.
The Lions are 21st in the league in passing yards allowed this year. They’ve allowed 12 passing touchdowns, which is second worst in football, compared to just one interception. They are also tied for second to worst in yards per play at 6.3.
The emergence of Jordan Matthews as a good target for Wentz should help in this match-up. Matthews has 70 yards or a touchdown in every game so far this season. Zach Ertz is also returning from injury this season, and should add another strong redzone target for Wentz. Ertz received six receptions from Wentz in their only game together in Week One. A tight end is a young quarterbacks’ best friend, so look for Ertz to get a high volume of targets. Wentz is owned in 75 percent of ESPN leagues, but could be a top-ten quarterback for the remainder of the season.
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