Fantasy football rankings 2017: Quarterbacks for NFL Week 5

Welcome back for another week of fantasy football rankings! Deshaun Watson had his breakout game in Week 4. The Titans’ defense was made to look silly by the rookie quarterback. Watson makes a great bye-week replacement for the upcoming weeks. He passed for 283 yards, four passing touchdowns, and rushed for a touchdown. His matchup in Week 5 increases in difficulty, as he faces the Chiefs. With all the quarterback injuries and the bye week, Watson still looks like one of the safest bets.

Cam Newton is coming off his best game of the season as well. In this one game against the Patriots, he matched his fantasy points of the previous three games combined. Newton passed for 316 yards, three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. Coming off this performance, it’s hard to remain doubtful that Newton is back. Despite his recent struggles, he has to be looked at as an every-week starter. I’d much rather start him than have him score 30-plus fantasy points on my bench. His matchup against the Lions in Week 5 will give us a better grasp on what quarterback we can expect moving forward.

Bye weeks start this week with Atlanta, Denver, New Orleans and Washington. That means we’ll be without Matt Ryan, Trevor Siemian, Drew Brees and Kirk Cousins. Being without Brees and Cousins really hurts. They’re two of the top-10 fantasy quarterbacks this season. Siemian and Ryan have had their ups and downs but losing them for a week creates problems as well. Carson Wentz and Watson are two that deserve to be your bye-week replacement in Week 5.

The quarterback injuries in Week 4 came fast and furious. Derek Carr left his game with a back injury. He’s since been diagnosed with a transverse process fracture. This is the same injury that Tony Romo and Newton have suffered in recent seasons. Romo missed one game and Newton missed two games. His timetable is currently two-to-four weeks. In the meantime, EJ Manuel will start for the Raiders.

Marcus Mariota suffered a hamstring injury in the second half of his game. The Titans are saying that he’s day-to-day. He may start this week, but it’s probably going to come down to a game-time decision. The Titans signed Brandon Weeden for insurance behind Matt Cassel. If Mariota is able to play, he has a great matchup against Miami. I can’t say the same if Cassel gets the start.

Andrew Luck may return to practice this week, but Jacoby Brissett should start again. Brissett deserves a look as a bye-week replacement. He faces San Francisco at home in Week 5. Sam Bradford’s status remains day-to-day. Case Keenum would make his fourth straight start if Bradford is out. A return to practice would be a step in the right direction for Bradford.

My sleeper pick for Week 5 is Alex Smith. He’s looked sharp in all four of his starts this season. A big test will come in Week 5 against Houston. With the bye week and quarterback injuries, I think Smith is the safest bet this week. Smith has been completing his deep balls and putting up yards on the ground. I’ve also been impressed by his zero interceptions. I think he’ll pass for 250 yards, two passing touchdowns and rush for 30 yards.

(SK: Scott Kaliska; JG: Jeff Goldberg; DG: Derek Gordon; KB: Kyle Bennett ZS: Zach Senvisky; JM: Jason Marcum)