Start Jalon Daniels or Justin Herbert? Week 5

Our Week 5 call

Start Jalon Daniels over Justin Herbert in Week 5.

Market-based projections have Jalon Daniels at 16.2 points and Justin Herbert at 16.1, a gap of 0.1. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 16.2 fantasy points for Jalon Daniels, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market has Jalon Daniels at 181.5 passing yards and 45.5 rushing yards, with a 25% chance to score a touchdown (16, 15 and 16 market sources).

Player markets imply 16.1 fantasy points for Justin Herbert, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market has Justin Herbert at 199.5 passing yards, 1.5 passing touchdowns and 25.5 rushing yards, with a 15% chance to score a touchdown (16, 15, 15 and 14 market sources).

That puts Jalon Daniels 0.1 points ahead of Justin Herbert on the market projections.

Week 5 matchups

Justin Herbert and LAC host DEN on Sunday at 4:05 PM ET.

DEN allowed 18.1 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 4 games, the 12th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 245 yards and 1.5 touchdowns a game against DEN, with an interception.

Injury status

Jalon Daniels is not on the injury report.

Justin Herbert is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 5

Through Week 4, Jalon Daniels played 50 percent of TB snaps, dropped back 40 times and threw an average of 7.3 air yards per attempt.

Jalon Daniels, Week 3 against MIN: 4 of 69 snaps, 0 of 3 passes for 0 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception, 1 carry for 9 yards.

Jalon Daniels, Week 4 against GB: 63 of 64 snaps, 19 of 27 passes for 148 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, 8 carries for 55 yards.

Through Week 4, Justin Herbert played 100 percent of LAC snaps, dropped back 144 times and threw an average of 8.8 air yards per attempt.

Justin Herbert, Week 1 against ARI: 55 of 55 snaps, 17 of 27 passes for 209 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 5 carries for 29 yards.

Justin Herbert, Week 2 against LV: 68 of 68 snaps, 15 of 27 passes for 192 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, 3 carries for 2 yards.

Justin Herbert, Week 3 against BUF: 69 of 69 snaps, 20 of 34 passes for 226 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 4 carries for 17 yards.

Justin Herbert, Week 4 against SEA: 71 of 71 snaps, 19 of 31 passes for 189 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, 6 carries for 40 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Justin Herbert played 16 games for LAC and scored 299.9 PPR points, 18.7 a game, finishing QB10.

He completed 340 of 512 passes for 3727 yards, 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, and ran 83 times for 498 yards and 2 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 97 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 5 calls

• Start Aaron Rodgers over Jalon Daniels.
• Start Brock Purdy over Jalon Daniels.
• Start C.J. Stroud over Jalon Daniels.
• Start Aaron Rodgers over Justin Herbert.
• Start Bo Nix over Justin Herbert.
• Start Brock Purdy over Justin Herbert.