Late-round quarterback drafter? Had an injury to your starter? In need of a bye-week replacement? In this article, you'll find 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 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 and becomes an every-week starter. 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 publishing. Any post-publication edits will be noted.
Last Week's Results
Let's take a look at how last week's recommendations fared.
Josh Allen - at N.Y. Giants
Allen continues his remarkable, yet hard-to-believe, consistency. And he continues to put up QB1 performances in large part due to rushing production. Allen only rushed for 21 yards, but he added another touchdown and finished the week with the second-most rushing fantasy points among quarterbacks this week. Allen's QB8 finish validated his place as last week's cover boy.
Derek Carr - vs. Kansas City
After picking apart a tough Denver defense in Week 1, Carr seemed like a natural addition to the column against a softer and more volume-friendly Kansas City defense. But his 198 yards and 1 touchdown led to him falling outside the top-24 quarterbacks. Carr's Week 2 is a prime example that playing from behind and the enhanced volume it brings doesn't guarantee high-end production.
Andy Dalton - vs. San Francisco
A fun trivia question at the end of the year will be to which two players had over 700 passing yards through two weeks. One is Patrick Mahomes II; the other is Dalton. On the strength of his 311 yards and 2 touchdowns, Dalton finished as the QB10 this week -- another success for us here.
Some Thoughts on the New Starters
With Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees sidelined for the season and at least six weeks, respectively, Mason Rudolph and Teddy Bridgewater will be the starting quarterbacks for Pittsburgh and New Orleans. Neither is a strong recommendation this week, but both players have exceptional talent around them. Don't be surprised if they appear in this column before they are picked up in many leagues.
9-18-19 edit: Kyle Allen is also likely to start for Carolina (at Arizona) this Sunday. Allen doesn't make the QB1 list, but he is intriguing in deeper and two-quarterback leagues. Also, he's dirt cheap in DFS - especially on DraftKings.
This Week's Candidates
Here are the players available in at least 40% of typical leagues who could provide QB1 production this week.
Matthew Stafford - at Philadelphia
Stafford continues to work through the soft underbelly of Detroit's early-season schedule as he gets Philadelphia this week. It's a limited sample (one game), but Eagles weren't ferocious at home in Week 1 when they allowed 320 yards and 3 touchdowns to Case Keenum. They were last seen allowing 320 yards and 3 touchdowns to Matt Ryan in Atlanta Sunday night.
Detroit may want to be a run-first, conservative team, but Stafford still has some gunslinger qualities, as evidenced by his 50/50 ball to Kenny Golladay for the game-winning touchdown Sunday.
Jimmy Garoppolo - vs. Pittsburgh
Garoppolo's Week 1 was disappointing, but Tampa Bay's defense also held Cam Newton in check last Thursday. Perhaps that unit is stronger than we thought heading into the season. Garoppolo and the 49ers get their first home game in Week 3, hosting a Pittsburgh team looking to pick itself off the mat after an 0-2 start and losing Roethlisberger for the year.
It's a great spot for San Francisco and Garoppolo. The only reason for concern is the potential that Pittsburgh's offense won't create a good game environment for the Garoppolo and his offense.
9-18-19 edit: Pittsburgh added Minkah Fitzpatrick, who should play in Week 3. That could make life a bit harder on Garoppolo. Josh Allen should be prioritized above him if there is a decision to be made between the two.
Josh Allen - vs. Cincinnati
Due to how he accumulates fantasy points, looking at opposing passing offenses doesn't matter as much for Allen as it does for many other quarterbacks. But Cincinnati is yielding 10.7 yards per passing attempt through two weeks, second-most in the NFL behind only the lowly Miami Dolphins. Allen likes to throw the deep ball, so that's a positive for his Week 3 prospects.
Deep Leagues Only
If Jameis Winston (currently rostered in 63% of Yahoo leagues) is available, he's in play this week hosting the Giants. But the players above should be prioritized ahead of him.
These selections are best saved for deeper leagues and/or 2QB/Superflex leagues.
- Edit 9-18-19 Kyle Allen - at Arizona: Due to the pace of the game and the lack of quality of the opponent, Allen is viable but mostly as a cheap DFS punt play.
- Teddy Bridgewater - at Seattle: The Seahawks have played six quarters against Dalton and Rudolph. In those quarters, they have yielded 530 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, and a total of 42.2 fantasy points (more than 7 per quarter). Part of the "wait-and-see" necessary with Bridgewater is how much Taysom Hill will be utilized.
- Mitchell Trubisky - at Washington: Washington is allowing 29.8 fantasy points and 291 yards per game. They have allowed 3 passing touchdowns in each game. They could be just what the doctor ordered for the floundering Chicago offense.
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.
- Matthew Stafford - vs. Kansas City: If you haven't picked him yet, this must be your first time here. Welcome, and come back next week.
- Case Keenum - at N.Y. Giants: The Giants are going to be a defense we target here every week we can.
- Andy Dalton - at Pittsburgh: How long can he keep it up? Come back next week to see if makes the cut.
- Jacoby Brissett - vs. Oakland: The yardage isn't there, but the touchdowns are. And that matters more for our purposes here.
Questions, comments, suggestions, and other feedback on this piece are always welcome via e-mail hester@footballguys.com
