If you're reading this in Week 17, you are either very ill, and I'm sorry, or you've made it to the final weekend of your fantasy season, and congratulations!
I'm sure in August, as you were drafting your team, you were thinking, "man, I sure hope I get to Week 17, I desperately need a waiver quarterback for the finals, and a new guy is writing at Footballguys.com who is living that Dad-of-Young-Kids-Life so hard this Christmas that he is, somehow, simultaneously asleep on the floor and vibrating against the ceiling. And, Santa, it would be great if that man had some thoughts on Drake Maye, Aaron Rodgers, and Bryce Young in Week 17."
Say no more. I am that man. Call it a Christmas Miracle.
I'm also a guy who fades quarterbacks like I breathe air. So I've been down this hole before, Bubba, and I know the way out. Let's look at a few quarterbacks who might be available on your waiver and possess the right momentum, schedule, and luck to bring you fantasy glory off your waivers.
Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Maye is my first choice among these three quarterbacks this week. He's also ranked the lowest of the three over the past three weeks, so I guess we're keeping well with the floor/ceiling motif. Listen, I get it. It's like you want a PlayStation, but you open the package, and it's one of those Tamagotchi things instead. Hear me out, though.
First and most important, Maye is going to play. The Patriots aren't going anywhere, and Maye needs reps. Over the past three weeks, Maye checked in as the 21st-ranked quarterback in standard Footballguys scoring. He isn't setting the world on fire, but he has consistently scored around 21 fantasy points per game during that span. When I'm looking for a quarterback to play off of waivers, I am looking for 20 points. I'd love more, don't get me wrong, but I need 20. Maye seems like a pretty good bet to continue to hit that mark. He's completed 73 percent of his passes in his last three games while chalking up 701 yards and four touchdowns against three interceptions. He's made up for the turnovers by giving you an additional 15 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown. He has been consistent despite the interceptions. If he can turn those negative points into positive plays, he could reach closer to his ceiling than his floor in Week 17.
Maye has a potentially exploitable matchup in Week 17 as well. The Patriots take on the Chargers, who have surrendered 17.2, 34.9, and 25.7 fantasy points to Patrick Mahomes II, Baker Mayfield, and Bo Nix, respectively, in the past three weeks. The Chargers come in with AFC playoff seeding on the line and figure to give the Patriots their best shot.
Maye has been playing well and may be set up to have the best chance of these three quarterbacks to deliver a big game in Week 17.
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
The Ghost of Christmas Past joke almost writes itself with Bryce Young here. It wasn't long ago he was written off for dead. But over the past three weeks? Over the past three weeks, Young checks in tenth among quarterbacks and has averaged the same number of fantasy points per game as Maye.
Similar to Maye, we can presume that Young is going to play the full game this weekend. He is another young quarterback who needs time on the field to see whether he can develop into what the franchise needs him to be. I put Young behind Maye on my list this week mostly due to Young's matchup against the Buccaneers, who have given up an average of just 17.4 points per game to quarterbacks over the past three games. Every point matters, so if I have to choose between otherwise similar players, I'll go with the one I think has the better matchup.
Young has played well, and I'd be happy to plug him in if I didn't get Maye, but a tougher matchup on the road puts him just behind the Patriots rookie for me in Week 17.
Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets
Rodgers is playing the best of the three quarterbacks on this list over the past three weeks. He also travels to Buffalo, where he matches up against a Bills team that has surrendered 26, 51, and 24 points to quarterbacks in its last three games. The Bills are going to score. If you want to beat them, you're going to have to score too. Fortunately, over the past few weeks, they've been willing to let people do that.
The problem here isn't that Rodgers is going on the road; it's that he might stay home.
As Footballguy Adam Hutchison explained in his Injury Roundup From Week 16, "By video, Aaron Rodgers appeared to sustain a high ankle sprain during Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Rams. NFL QBs average four weeks missed when they suffer high ankle sprains."
Now, I'm new here. I've only recently arrived at the Official Footballguys Headquarters, and even though I haven't figured out how to work the Official Footballguys Copy/Fax/Ditto Hub, I have found my way to the Official Footballguys Virtual Water Cooler and, man, It turns out when you hang around there you sometimes witness experts do expert things.
For instance, on Saturday (Joe doesn't let us out on weekends), I was standing by the cooler when I watched in real-time as Hutchison nailed an immediate diagnosis of Tank Dell's injury, including the potential severity. And I don't mean he said, "Oh wow, that's gonna hurt for a while," either. I mean, he knew from a quick look at the video that Dell likely suffered a dislocated kneecap, had potential for ligament damage, and even gave us the name of a player who suffered a comparable injury and knew how it impacted that player's career.
The Jets have zero reasons to keep playing Rodgers this year, so I am paying extra attention to Hutchison's note regarding the possible ankle injury and ramifications. I am also putting Hutchison on notice that I am onto him and his voodoo.
Conclusion
If I'm choosing between these three players for a Week 17 waiver flyer, I am taking Rodgers off the list and making it a choice between Maye and Young. If you're choosing between these three players for a Week 17 waiver flyer, you should check out our Upgrades/Downgrades Tool for more insight.