Late-round quarterback drafter? Had an injury to your starter? In need of a bye-week replacement? This is the place to find your weekly quarterback choices. In this article, which is new to Footballguys this season, I'll highlight a couple of quarterback options likely available in most leagues (we'll use players rostered in fewer than 60% of Yahoo leagues) who could provide some punch at the quarterback position.
Unless most teams in your league carry a backup quarterback, there should be plenty of starting NFL quarterbacks on your waiver wire each week. Instead of starting a low-end QB1 facing an elite secondary, look to the waiver wire and play the matchups. Ideally, a player who appears in this space gets hot for multiple weeks and becomes an every-week starter. But if not, throw him back to the wire and come back here next week. Quarterback is one of the most predictable positions in fantasy football. Simply by using matchups, fantasy GMs can start a mid-to-high QB1 every week by using the waiver wire.
Disclaimer: this column will typically be written on Monday evenings. Should any relevant events occur on Monday Night Football that do not make it into the article, it will be edited after publish. Any post-publication edits will be noted.
Week 3 Results
Let's take a look at how last week's recommendations fared.
Ryan Fitzpatrick - vs. Pittsburgh (Monday Night)
It took him a while to get going (in fact, he started the game miserably), but Fitzpatrick turned in another QB1 performance. He surpassed 400 passing yards for the third straight game and is now the only quarterback in NFL history to accomplish that feat. More importantly, for our Rent-a-Quarterback feature, Fitzpatrick got us a QB3 finish on the week.
Andy Dalton - at Carolina
Dalton threw for a whopping 352 yards but only had 2 touchdowns and was dragged down by 4 interceptions. That was good enough for a QB14 finish, though. Expect Dalton's passing volume to continue, unless the interceptions keep coming in high volumes.
Blake Bortles - vs. Tennessee
Bortles and his struggles against Tennessee continue. Splits with players against certain teams can be dangerous to trust, and Bortles vs. Tennessee is a good example. In 2016, he finished as the QB6 and QB5 in his two starts against the Titans. But last season, he finished as the QB20 and QB31 with just one touchdown and four interceptions in the two matchups. In Week 3, the struggles continued, as Bortles put up a pathetic 155 passing yards and no touchdowns. His 27 rushing yards were over a quarter of his fantasy output. 10.4 fantasy points and QB27 isn't going to cut it.
Week 4 Candidates
Here are the players available in at least 40% of typical leagues who could provide QB1 production this week.
Andy Dalton - at Atlanta
Dalton is on his way to being a staple in this space for the next few weeks. But savvy fantasy GMs should pick him up as a plug-and-play option for the next month. In fact, Dalton should be rostered in enough leagues by next week that he won't qualify for this space. Look at this schedule, with each opponent's fantasy points against ranking in parentheses:
- at Atlanta (29 - 4th-most)
- vs. Miami (7)
- vs. Pittsburgh (31)
- at Kansas City (30)
- vs. Tampa Bay (27)
- Bye Week
- vs. New Orleans (32)
Further aiding Dalton is the injury to Joe Mixon. The team showed Sunday that they will lean more on the pass with only two healthy running backs, especially when the most accomplished of that duo is a small pass-catcher in Giovani Bernard.
Monitor A.J. Green's groin injury, though, as that could limit Dalton's ceiling. Regardless of Green, though, Dalton has a solid floor at Atlanta this week. The Falcons have allowed the most receptions to running backs for three straight years and are yielding 12 per game to backs this season. Their scheme puts an emphasis on shutting down the perimeter.
Case Keenum - vs. Kansas City (Monday Night)
The Kansas City offense forces opponents to play aggressively and continue to emphasize scoring. The Kansas City defense is happy to oblige, mostly due to a lack of talent. This game opened with a total of 55. Denver isn't favored, but the line is only 4.5 points, suggesting they could keep up enough to make Keenum a worthwhile play.
Joe Flacco - at Pittsburgh
Flacco's weekly finishes this season are QB10, QB11, and QB17. The ceiling is limited, but the floor is there. Pittsburgh's defense lacks talent, though, which increases the ceiling of any opposing quarterback.
Deep Leagues Only
These selections are best saved for deeper leagues and/or 2QB/Superflex leagues.
- Eli Manning - vs. New Orleans: It doesn't matter for this game, but back in 2015 when these teams met, an Arena League game broke out. This season's Saints team is allowing plenty of production to opposing passers.
- Baker Mayfield - at Oakland: The fact that this is his first start and it's on the road is scary, but Oakland was sliced and diced by Miami last week. And Mayfield showed plenty of flash on a short week with no reps.
Looking Ahead
If others in your league are also playing the "Rent-a-Quarterback" game, it might be wise to get a jump on next week's potential choices.
- Alex Smith - at New Orleans: The Saints continue to engage in shootouts.
- Blake Bortles - at Kansas City: comments if necessary
- Andy Dalton - vs. Miami: This isn't a great matchup, but Miami is not as good as their stats suggest (they've played vs. Tennessee, at N.Y. Jets, and vs. Oakland).
Questions, comments, suggestions, and other feedback on this piece are always welcome via e-mail hester@footballguys.com
