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Hey there RotoBallers! With Week 2 almost in the books, it's already time to turn an eye toward the waiver wire in Week 3. As always, this column will aim to highlight Week 3 waiver wire adds and streamers for quarterbacks, players that you should consider targeting on your league's waiver wire.
In the past few seasons, streaming the quarterback position has become a popular team management strategy. The guaranteed volume at the quarterback position makes it the easiest position in fantasy football to project, which therefore makes it a position that isn't too hard to stream. Everyone has had a star wide receiver who inexplicably only sees three targets in a game. The quarterback position, on the other hand, sees volume that is easier to forecast as even the lower ranked players will see a minimum of 20-25 passing attempts, even in a low-volume passing offense. All ownership percentages come from Yahoo! and are current as of September 17.
Once you're done here, be sure to read about even more Week 3 waiver wire analysis columns, with in-depth analysis for all fantasy-relevant positions. Just click on any link: ALL - RB - WR - TE - QB - DEF - FAAB
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Strategy for Streaming Quarterbacks
Many factors come into play when identifying streamers. These include recent performance, overall upside, talent, opponent matchup, and Vegas totals. Every week, we’ll take a look at six streaming QB options: three for one-quarterback leagues, and three for two-quarterback leagues. The focus will be on streaming for the upcoming week, but there will also be players who break out and should be owned the rest of the season. As always, the goal with streaming is to eventually find a player who can be an every week starter for your team.
Options for one-quarterback leagues could be just about anyone outside of the bigger names at the position. Obviously, no one is going to be able to stream players like Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Tom Brady because they are owned in all leagues. The premium placed on the position in two-quarterback leagues changes expectations for streaming the position. In two-quarterback leagues, most starting NFL quarterbacks are already owned, so the pickings are going to be slim on waivers. Therefore, the players who are recommended for two-quarterback leagues will be lower-owned and most likely not attractive options in one-quarterback formats.
One-QB Leagues - Week 3 Waiver Wire Streamers
Andy Dalton, CIN (57% owned) @ Green Bay Packers
There's no way around it, Dalton and the Bengals offense have been dreadful through the first two weeks of the season. Bad enough, even, that the team just fired offensive coordinator Ken Zampese and replaced him with Bill Lazor. That being said, Cincinnati has faced a Ravens defense that looks like it could be one of the best in the league and a Houston Texans defense that is no pushover, either. Dalton simply has too many weapons at his disposal to continue playing so poorly. The team recently got back its first-round draft pick John Ross, whose record-setting speed should continue to take the lid off of opposing defenses and open things up for A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert.
The matchup for Dalton in Week 3 is a favorable one as the Packers have not been very effective against the pass for a few seasons. Green Bay's pass defense ranked 24th in DVOA in 2016 and is fresh off of coughing up 34 points to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2. Matt Ryan only finished with 252 passing yards and a score but Atlanta also built an early lead and took their foot off the gas in the game.
Alex Smith, KC (51% owned) @ Los Angeles Chargers
Smith wasn't as impressive in Week 2 as he was in the season opener, but he still managed to pass for 251 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 21 yards against a tough Philadelphia Eagles defense. Smith continues to make the most of his weapons in Kansas City, with three stars in Travis Kelce, Kareem Hunt, and Tyreek Hill to distribute the ball to. Not only has Smith been at his best passing the ball through two weeks but he also is not afraid to attack defenses with his legs, which gives him a nice weekly baseline for points.
The Chargers come into Week 3 having just allowed Jay Cutler to pass for 230 yards and one touchdown against them after Cutler spent most of the offseason preparing for a broadcast career. Smith shouldn't have much trouble posting a better stat line than that against the Chargers.
Sam Bradford, MIN (33% owned) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bradford being held out of action in Week 2 was disappointing, as it would have been fun to see what he could do against the Steelers defense. He shredded the Saints pass offense in Week 1, but then again just about anyone could come off the street and hang 300 yards and a few passing touchdowns on them at this point. Anyway, early signs are pointing to Bradford being available to play in Week 3 after a sore knee kept him out of Week 2's action.
The Vikings offense looked mighty impressive in Week 1 with budding star receivers Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen catching passes and rookie running back Dalvin Cook racking up yardage on the ground and through the air. The Buccaneers have only played once this season and managed to allow Mike Glennon to pass for 301 yards against them. As we all know, Glennon isn't exactly #goodatfootball. Bradford shouldn't have much trouble against this defense, just make sure he's active this weekend.
Two-QB Leagues - Week 3 Waiver Wire Streamers
Jay Cutler, MIA (29% owned) vs. New York Jets
Cutler draws the matchup of the week as the Dolphins visit the Jets. Whether they are tanking or not, the Jets simply haven't employed a very effective pass defense for a couple of years now, and that continues to be the case in 2017. In Week 1, they allowed 21 points to a Bills team that nearly got shutout this week. They outdid themselves in Week 2 by allowing the Raiders to put up six offensive touchdowns. The Jets defense is an auto-start for any opposing quarterback, regardless of talent level, going forward. The only concern might be if the Dolphins are so effective running the ball and jump to a huge lead that negates the passing game. It didn't stop Derek Carr from tossing three TD this week, though.
As mentioned above, Cutler was solid in his first start of the season, especially considering no team wanted to sign him this offseason until the Ryan Tannehill knee injury made the Dolphins desperate for a quarterback. Cutler has plenty of weapons at his disposal, including Jay Ajayi, DeVante Parker, Jarvis Landry, and Kenny Stills. He has a good shot at finishing at a low-end QB1 in Week 3 considering his matchup.
Trevor Siemian, DEN (12% owned) @ Buffalo Bills
Is Siemian actually good at football? The former seventh-round draft choice was once the butt of jokes but he's making a case for himself so far in the early going in 2017. Siemian passed for 219 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1 and following that up with a scintillating four-touchdown performance against the Cowboys in Week 2. The young signal caller is buoyed by two of the best receivers in the game, Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders and appears to be growing as a passer before our eyes.
In Week 3, the Broncos travel to Buffalo to take on a Bills team that is an absolute mess and hasn't exactly been trying to hide the fact that they are tanking away the season. Buffalo has a weak pass defense that ranked just 21st in DVOA in 2016 and traded one of their best corners, Ronald Darby, to the Eagles. Siemian has a good chance to stay hot against an unimposing Bills defense in Week 3.
DeShone Kizer, CLE (10% owned) @ Indianapolis Colts
Kizer's Week 2 performance against the Ravens was not pretty. He threw three interceptions and lost a fumble while also missing just about a quarter with a migraine. Of course, his issues were made worse by a matchup against a Ravens defense that has looked impressive so far this season. Kizer is still raw as a passer but he has a big arm and does enough with his legs to provide fantasy value on the ground. If you go back to his Week 1 performance, he passed for 222 yards and a touchdown while adding another score on the ground against a solid Steelers defense. Those types of numbers will play just fine as a second quarterback in a two-quarterback league.
The main reason to be bullish on Kizer in Week 3 is his prime matchup against a leaky Indianapolis Colts pass defense. The Colts have had one of the worst defenses in the league for the past couple seasons, ranking 26th in DVOA in 2016. That continues to be an issue for them this season as they have allowed 300-yard passing games to Jared Goff in Week 1 and Carson Palmer in Week 2. With Kizer's rushing ability, he won't have to reach 300 yards to be a solid fantasy start in Week 3.
Thanks for reading, Rotoballers. Happy streaming and we will see you again next week!
