Week 5 of the 2023 NFL season is in the books. Hopefully, your team pulled out the victory. However, the only easy win was last week’s win. So, let’s look at the top streaming quarterback options for Week 6.
All the quarterbacks in this article are rostered in under 50% of ESPN 1QB leagues and under 25% in superflex leagues.
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Streaming Targets in 1QB Leagues
Matthew Stafford (LAR) vs. Arizona Cardinals (33.9% Rostered)
The veteran quarterback got back Cooper Kupp in Week 5, and the Los Angeles offense looked like it hadn’t missed a beat. Matthew Stafford had 222 passing yards, two touchdowns and 16.9 fantasy points against the Philadelphia Eagles. After totaling only three touchdowns over the first four weeks, the former No. 1 overall pick had two last week despite not throwing one to Kupp. However, that’s likely to change in Week 6 against the division-rival Cardinals.
Stafford has had five passing touchdowns in three career matchups against the division rivals as a member of the Rams. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have surrendered 274.4 passing yards and 21 fantasy points per game this year. Last week, Joe Burrow had 317 passing yards, three touchdowns and 23.4 fantasy points against the NFC West team, all season-highs. By comparison, he had two passing touchdowns and 31.4 total fantasy points before last week. Stafford will have his first 20-point fantasy performance of the season against the division rivals.
Sam Howell (WAS) vs. Atlanta Falcons (17.4% Rostered)
Outside the Week 3 matchup against the Buffalo Bills, Sam Howell has been impressive this season. The second-year quarterback has averaged 294.8 passing yards and 20.4 fantasy points per game in the other four games. He is coming off the best performance of his career, completing 72.5% of his pass attempts for 388 yards and two touchdowns, scoring 25.4 fantasy points against the Chicago Bears. Furthermore, according to Fantasy Points Data, Howell finished eighth among quarterbacks in fantasy points per opportunity (0.44) in Week 5.
Atlanta’s defense has played much better this season after struggling in 2022. They have held quarterbacks to 199.2 passing yards and 15.3 fantasy points per game this year. However, the Falcons haven’t been as impressive since Week 1, giving up 212.5 passing yards, 1.5 touchdowns and 17.3 fantasy points per game. Last week, C.J. Stroud had 249 passing yards and 14.2 fantasy points against Atlanta despite having only one touchdown. Howell has been a top-five quarterback over the past two weeks. While he won’t be that productive against the Falcons, the former UNC star is a low-end QB1 option.
Streaming Targets in Superflex Leagues
Baker Mayfield (TB) vs. Detroit Lions (13.1% Rostered)
Before the season, some thought the Buccaneers would turn to Kyle Trask by their Week 5 bye. Instead, Baker Mayfield has played well, and the team is in first place in the division. The former No. 1 overall pick has averaged 16.8 fantasy points per game this season. Furthermore, he has been excellent outside of the matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, averaging 245.3 passing yards, two touchdowns and 19.1 fantasy points per game. According to Fantasy Points Data, Mayfield ranked eighth in completion percentage over expectation (6.2%) during those three contests.
Meanwhile, the Lions have put together an elite run defense this season. However, their passing defense has been average, surrendering 16.7 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks over the first four weeks. Bryce Young had two passing touchdowns entering Week 5. Then, he had 247 passing yards, three touchdowns and 18.3 fantasy points against Detroit on Sunday, all career highs. The NFC North leaders have surrendered 261.8 passing yards, two touchdowns and 19.7 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks not named Desmond Ridder this year.
Desmond Ridder (ATL) vs. Washington Commanders (2.5% Rostered)
Speaking of Ridder, the second-year quarterback has been inconsistent this season. However, he has just nine career starts on his resumé. The former Cincinnati Bearcat star had the best performance of his career in Week 5, totaling 329 passing yards and 26.2 fantasy points against a solid Houston Texans defense. For reference, the Texans held Trevor Lawrence to 14.4 fantasy points in Week 3. According to Fantasy Points Data, Ridder had the fourth-highest completion percentage over expectation (9.4%) among starting quarterbacks in Week 5 heading into “Monday Night Football.”
The young quarterback has an excellent matchup in Week 6. The Commanders have done well shutting down running backs this season, giving up 4.4 yards per rushing attempt and 86.6 yards per game. By comparison, Washington has surrendered 281.8 passing yards, 2.5 touchdowns and 26.1 fantasy points per game to quarterback since Week 1. According to Fantasy Points Data, the Commanders have given up the second-highest adjusted net yards per pass attempt (8.31) over the past four weeks. Ridder could have his second consecutive top-12 performance on Sunday.
Streamer to Avoid
Ryan Tannehill (TEN) vs. Baltimore Ravens (4.6% Rostered)
Typically, streaming articles tell you which players to target off the waiver wire. However, I will give one quarterback each week that you should avoid.
Thankfully, there are only two teams with a bye in Week 6 – the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers. Therefore, fantasy managers shouldn’t have to turn to Ryan Tannehill to replace Kenny Pickett or Jordan Love this week. Hopefully, that is the case because the veteran quarterback has been awful this season. Tannehill has averaged only 10 fantasy points per game this year, totaling two passing touchdowns. Furthermore, he has scored fewer than 12.8 fantasy points in all but one game, including under 9.8 fantasy points in 60% of the contests.
Unfortunately, the veteran quarterback has an awful matchup this week. The Ravens have held quarterbacks to only 207.2 passing yards, 0.8 touchdowns and 10.5 fantasy points per game this season. They have surrendered under 13.1 fantasy points in all but one game, including three connectives contests. According to Fantasy Points Data, the Ravens have also held quarterbacks to the second-lowest adjusted net yards per pass attempt and the fifth-lowest completion percentage over expectation (-5.4%) this year. Hopefully, everyone can leave Tannehill on the waiver wire where he belongs.
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.