Week 5 Quarterback Rankings

Will this last game against the Chiefs mark the death of Tom Brady's fantasy value? Much of the blame has been placed on the offensive line or the lack of weapons, but to this point in the season, decision-making, accuracy, arm strength, and poise in the pocket have all been huge question marks for Tom Terrific. I assume that with the continued improvement to the health of Rob Gronkowski and whatever plan Belichick concocts to solve the offensive deficiencies, Brady should be able to salvage some type of value by the end of the season. However, it won't likely be this week against the stifling Bengals defense.

Another major concern with a top ranked quarterback occurred down south in Georgia. The Falcons officially placed C Joe Hawley and RT Lamar Holmes on IR, joining their starting LT Sam Baker. This offensive line was not stellar in the first place. Now, with three starters lost for the season, Ryan could struggle to get the ball downfield without sufficient protection. Something to watch this week against a solid Giants front that has already produced 9 sacks this year.

Last week, there was much turnover at the quarterback position with new starters such as Mike Glennon, Blake Bortles, and Teddy Bridgewater. This week, the Bills follow suit by benching E.J. Manuel for the veteran Kyle Orton. I do not know if Orton can be the spark that Buffalo needs to jumpstart the offense, but I can assume from watching him in the past that there will be a lot of check-downs to Spiller & Jackson.

Geno Smith will be able to relax this week since he will not be harassed from the fans in his own stadium. He needs to show something this week to prove that he can be a viable starter, but that will be a tough task against the Chargers in San Diego. Michael Vick is waiting for his chance to take over this offense, and that might be coming as soon as this week if Geno fails to show any improvement by halftime.

Enough with the doom and gloom. There was at least some good news from this past week. Eli Manning is startable again! We might've overreacted to the lack of production against a very stout Lions defense. Since then, Eli has put together three straight weeks of good games. The offensive game plan to limit Eli's decisions, get the ball out quick, and let the playmakers make plays, has been the perfect antidote to the disease that was the Giants' offense last year. I still suspect that we will have a couple games this year that we regret playing Eli, but with a very favorable schedule, he will have the upside of a top-10 quarterback for the rest of the season.

Below are the rankings for week 5. Should you have any questions on who to start this week, I would suggest starting the player ranked the highest in this chart.

Quarterbacks on Bye: Ryan Tannehill, Derek Carr