It is now Week 5 and to be honest, this is the first week writing this column I actually feel confident. It has been a stranger year than most. Usually the first week or two are not indicative of who is really going to make an ultimate and consistent impact. However, this season I feel like this lasted for a month. I felt like I was as much in the dark as you, my faithful were. Now, though, I feel like I have made a breakthrough. I am feeling like the quarterback and tight end landscape has had its foundation established. Sure, there will be hits and misses along the way still, but I do feel like I have a grip on the situation moving forward.

Be sure to also check out:

• Defense rankings and streaming targets
• Kicker rankings and streaming targets
• Players to cut to make room for waiver wire additions

A brief look at my Week 4 suggestions helped me become more confident moving forward. My quarterback streamers excelled. I had Sam Darnold (32 points), Taylor Heinicke (33 points), and Mac Jones (17 points) as my dark horse. For tight ends, the results were not as good but I did suggest Dawson Knox who had the second-most points among tight ends. I still stick by Tyler Conklin who had six targets but have cooled down on rookie Pat Freiermuth, who finds himself in a hot mess down in Pittsburgh.

The truth is this week I like a lot of players and not just quarterbacks. Yes, this week I feel excited about the tight end possibilities too. And trust me, this does not often happen…

Import your team to My Playbook for instant Waiver Wire advice

Quarterback Streamer of the Week: Sam Darnold (CAR) vs Philadelphia Eagles

Been on the Sam Darnold train this season and he has not disappointed. This week he faces Philadelphia who gave up five passing touchdowns to Patrick Mahomes. The nice thing about Darnold is the fact that he loves to run it in as well. He has five rushing touchdowns which leads the league among quarterbacks. I truly do not think that Darnold is elite yet but he’s definitely better than average. And with his confidence being restored this early after Adam Gase destroyed it in two years with the Jets, Darnold could end up being elite. He’s definitely heading in the right direction. He’s accurate (68.7%) and has an exciting young group of pass-catchers despite not having CMC. This should be a great offensive battle as Jalen Hurts will be a great adversary for Darnold.

Alternate Streamer of the Week: Daniel Jones (NYG) @ Dallas Cowboys

Is he Josh Allen or Mitchell Trubisky? I feel like he’s closer to Trubisky but coached better. For the record, I liked Trubisky’s talent but felt that Chicago and Matt Nagy never backed him up fully causing his demise. Daniel Jones, I feel, has performed well knowing that this season is pivotal for his career moving forward. He rocked it out last week despite not having two of his most important pass catchers, Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton. He’s also the kind of player that has the ability to score points with his legs. I love the matchup this week with division rivals Dallas. The Cowboys allowed Sam Darnold to score two rushing touchdowns. Jones also had two rushing touchdowns last week. This bodes well even if the passing game isn’t elite. This will be a fun game to watch with lots of fantasy points to throw around. I love seeing players like Josh Allen, Daniel Jones, and Zach Wilson silencing the harsh critics. I’m rooting for Jones to keep up the momentum and tear it up this week.

Dark Horse: Trey Lance (SF) vs Arizona Cardinals

I didn’t think I would see the full-on Trey Lance sighting until Week 7 at the earliest and to be honest, Jimmy Garoppolo was playing well enough to ward off Lance for the season. However, JimmyG’s hurt again. Lance played like Lance did in the preseason in Week 4. Inconsistent but electric. If he can improve on his accuracy he could be rookie of the year. And the good news is, he will probably have a few games to prove himself to his coach with Garoppolo out. The fans are already in love with him. If he can put it all together, Lance is Dangerous with a capital “D”. And this week he has a great test. The matchup is not ideal but he faces the closest thing to his doppelganger in style if not size. This game will have the two most exciting quarterbacks on the planet. Their combined age is 45 – one year older than Tom Brady. This may be too soon to start Lance with extreme confidence but he’s already 31% rostered in Yahoo leagues and the window for you to pick him up disappears as he will be the hottest commodity on waivers, even in 1QB leagues.

Other QBs I like:

Zach Wilson (NYJ) @ Atlanta Falcons – coming off a fourth-quarter comeback, invigorated by the return of Jamison Crowder, I like Wilson’s confidence, ability and matchup. He’s starting to heat up and be the quarterback I was hoping to see.

Mac Jones (NE) @ Houston Texans – he legitimately beat Tom Brady as a rookie. Let that sink in. He’s mature and smart. He’s not electric but he’s accurate. He understands the game and coached well. Again, love the matchup here.

Taylor Heinicke (WFT) vs New Orleans Saints – love this kid. He reminds me of Gardner Minshew and that is the highest compliment. People who know me, know my love for Minshew. I don’t love the matchup but still think he has the moxy to score an abundant amount of points this week. And WFT’s defense has been abysmal which helps Heinicke.

Tight End Streamer of the Week: Dawson Knox (BUF) @ Kansas City Chiefs

It looks like Dawson Knox is finally ascending. He’s had three weeks of great production out of four. He saw a season-high eight targets, had five receptions, 37 yards, and two touchdowns. The tight end was a position that Josh Allen ignored in previous seasons but in 2021 he’s looking to Knox as one of his main go-to’s in the end zone. And I am here for it. He’s already 47% rostered in Yahoo leagues so if you want him, you’ve got to get him this week. He has the potential to be this year’s younger version of Logan Thomas and Robert Tonyan all rolled up in one. And he’s on one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL. Sign me up today and moving forward.

Alternate Streamer of the Week: Dalton Schultz (DAL) vs New York Giants

I stayed away from Dalton Schultz last week despite him going off in Week 3. I was hesitant because he still was splitting time with Blake Jarwin. Well, in Week 4 he showed all of us that he’s the de-facto numero uno in Dallas. He had eight targets, six receptions, 51 yards, and had a touchdown. He’s the tight end to roster for the Cowboys and despite only being rostered in 33% of Yahoo leagues, I fear he will not be a streaming option next week as he will be joining Knox as the two hottest pickups for tight ends this week off the wire. The matchup is good too. The Giants allowed Kyle Pitts and Hayden Hurst a combined eight receptions. And since this is a division matchup, I feel this could be an intense affair with a lot of scoring.

Dark Horse: Zach Ertz (PHI) @ Carolina Panthers

All of that Ertz is “washed up” mumbo jumbo has been silenced. He’s a discounted Dallas Goedert. He’s seen as many targets and together the tight ends in Philly are favorites for Jalen Hurts. He’s only 26% rostered. Many people shy away from older tight ends because they are old. Let me remind you that Ertz is younger than Travis Kelce and Rob Gronkowski. He’s the same age as Logan Thomas and only one year older than Darren Waller. Ageism may be applicable to running backs but tight ends are like fine wine. They get better with age. Ertz by and large has been a great Shiraz for many years and now he’s been discounted. Get your bottle today before the price goes back up.

Other TEs I like:

Evan Engram (NYG) @ Dallas Cowboys – He’s not fired since returning two weeks ago but saw six targets last week and I feel he’s about to come back. Great matchup versus the Cowboys. Engram eventually produces. It’s that simple.

Hunter Henry (NE) @ Houston Texans – many were all on the Jonnu Smith train. However, sometimes athleticism loses to the “good at football” hashtag. Henry has seen 11 targets in the past two weeks and is ascending. He scored last week and he gets to play the Texans.

Tyler Conklin (MIN) vs Detroit Lions – despite only having 18 yards last week, he did have four receptions on six targets. I believe that a bounce-back game against the Lions will happen. He saw a season-high 85% snap share and still had the second-most receptions on the Vikings. Trust the process.

The last point I’d like to make is you will notice that C.J. Uzomah is not on this list. I am sure he’ll be a popular tight end add this week and will be advocated by many other streamer analysts. He was the overall TE1 last week, so it is understandable. I am leary because he’s done this in the past and then disappeared. The Bengals will most likely have Tee Higgins back. I’m staying away from Uzomah and his huge waiver wire bid this week.

Good luck in Week 4. I feel confident that we will continue to see some great football but with more consistency now from the players who play it.

Be sure to also check out:

• Defense rankings and streaming targets
• Kicker rankings and streaming targets
• Players to cut to make room for waiver wire additions

Get a FREE 6-month upgrade with our special offer

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup, based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – that allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.

Marc Mathyk is a featured writer at FantasyPros and is a co-founder of Veridian Global, a fantasy football apparel company. For more from Marc, check out his archive and follow him @Masterjune70.