Jalon Daniels · Malik Willis · 2026 week 5

Jalon Daniels or Malik Willis?

Wondering who you should start this week — Jalon Daniels or Malik Willis? The start/sit call and the numbers behind it are below, plus who wins a straight-up trade. Rebuilt nightly.

Start Jalon Daniels — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 0.2 points. The matchup leans Jalon Daniels (DAL allow the 2nd-most QB points), but you can defend either call.

Player	Wk 5	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
Jalon Daniels START	@ DAL	15.1	2nd · soft	6.7	12	healthy
Malik Willis	vs CIN	14.9	19th	8.7	34	healthy

QBs vs DAL recently: Jayden Daniels 14.7 pts (W2) · Lamar Jackson 20.4 pts (W3) · C.J. Stroud 23.1 pts (W4).

QBs vs CIN recently: C.J. Stroud 17 pts (W2) · Aaron Rodgers 23.7 pts (W3) · Trevor Lawrence 13.1 pts (W4).

🎓 The coach's read

Projections are 0.2 apart — too close to call on projection alone.
Jalon Daniels has the higher floor (6.6) — the safer start if you are favoured.
Malik Willis has the higher ceiling (27.2) — the play if you need points.
Malik Willis is boom-or-bust — about 42% more volatile week to week than a typical QB projected here — wider range in both directions.
Jalon Daniels faces DAL, 2nd most generous to QBs.
Malik Willis faces CIN, 19th most generous to QBs.

Who wins a straight-up trade?

Malik Willis carries the higher trade value — 34 against 12 (a 65% gap). In a one-for-one, the side receiving Malik Willis gets the most. Momentum: Jalon Daniels +12 and Malik Willis -150 over the last 30 days.

Open in Start/Sit (any scoring) Open in the Trade Analyzer

More QB decisions

Jalon Daniels or Jameis Winston?Jalon Daniels or Aaron Rodgers?Malik Willis or Daniel Jones?Malik Willis or Cam Ward?Malik Willis or Jameis Winston?

All numbers are the 2026 season, refreshed nightly.