Quarterback Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 3

September 21, 2021

Dan Fornek's fantasy football quarterback waiver wire pickups before Week 3 of the 2021 NFL season. His free agent QBs to add, stream and stash off waivers.

Week 2 of the NFL season featured a ton of great games, especially in the late part of the evening. Minnesota and Arizona and Tennessee and Seattle, and Tampa Bay and Atlanta all featured competitive games between teams moving the ball and putting up points. Beyond that, we had several stellar passing performances once again as we start to figure out the offensive firepower teams are working with this season.

Kyler Murray was the only quarterback to throw for 400-yards this week, but eight other quarterbacks threw for at least 300 yards. Tom Brady paced the passing touchdown effort, throwing for five touchdowns and zero interceptions in a game against Atlanta that was closer than the score suggests. Only two other quarterbacks (Kyler Murray and Kirk Cousins) threw for three touchdowns but nine quarterbacks threw two touchdowns. Points were scored in a hurry this Sunday, leaving us with some solid waiver wire additions heading into Week 3.

In this article, I will be focusing on players who are under 65% rostered in fantasy leagues while adding a couple of deep sleepers for two-quarterback leagues (less than 20% rostered).

Editor's Note: Be sure to also read our other Week 3 waiver wire articles for even more in-depth waiver wire analysis on running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, defenses, kickers, recommended FAB waiver wire bids and players to consider dropping.

Top QB Streamers and Adds

Justin Fields, Chicago Bears

Yahoo: 51% rostered ESPN: 48.5% rostered

A knee injury forced Andy Dalton to the sideline against the Cincinnati Bengals, leading to Justin Fields playing most of the second half. Fields had a modest showing at quarterback, completing six of 13 passes for 60 yards and an interception while adding 10 carries for 31 yards in a Bears victory. Fields could have had a touchdown in there as well, but it was dropped by Allen Robinson. At this moment, it is unknown if Andy Dalton will miss any extended time, but regardless Fields is worth a pickup and stash at this point.

Chicago has a tough game against Cleveland next week before a favorable three-game stretch against the Lions, at the Raiders, and against the Packers. Most analysts believed Fields would take the lead quarterback position in that timeframe regardless, so he is worth a spot given his solid play throughout the preseason and the always important dual-threat rushing upside.

Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders

Yahoo: 26% rostered ESPN: 16.5% rostered

Derek Carr continues to sling the ball around in Las Vegas, leading the Raiders to a 2-0 start to begin the 2021 season. Carr completed 28 of 37 passes for 382 yards and 2 touchdowns with zero interceptions against a strong Steelers secondary. In two games against top defenses, Carr has a combined 811 passing yards and four touchdowns with just one interception. Carr has a brutal stretch of defenses coming up (Miami, at the Chargers, Chicago, at Denver), but so far he has been up to the challenge despite injuries to the offensive line and Josh Jacobs in the backfield. Carr has an array of weapons in Darren Waller, Henry Ruggs III, and Bryan Edwards and a bad defense, giving him the perfect storm of quarterback passing production weekly.

Daniel Jones, New York Giants

Yahoo: 19% rostered ESPN: 10.7% rostered

Even though the Giants offense hasn’t looked good through two games, Daniel Jones is throwing up great fantasy statistics. Against a stellar Washington Football Team defense, Jones completed 68% of his passes for 249 yards and a touchdown. He also added nine carries for 95 yards and a touchdown as Saquon Barkley continued to round into form. Through two games against two strong defenses, Jones has thrown for 516 yards and two touchdowns while adding 15 carries for 122 yards and two touchdowns. It will never be pretty for Daniel Jones, but he has great weapons in the passing game and an explosive pass catcher in the backfield.

Jones is at least worth playing next week with an abysmal Atlanta secondary on deck and worth keeping around for a few weeks when the Giants travel to Dallas in Week 5.

2QB League Options and Stashes

Teddy Bridgewater, Denver Broncos

Yahoo: 17% rostered ESPN: 14.2% rostered

There were initially a lot of questions once the Broncos named Teddy Bridgewater their starting quarterback over Drew Lock. Through two games, it would seem that Denver has made the right choice after a 2-0 start. Through two games, Bridgewater has completed 54 of 70 passes for 592 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions. The loss of Jerry Jeudy was bad, but Tim Patrick (three catches, 37 yards, and a touchdown), Noah Fant (four catches, 33 yards, a touchdown), and Courtland Sutton (nine receptions for 159 yards) all stepped up to give Bridgewater ample targets downfield. Bridgewater has moved well through two games to buy time and hasn’t shown any reservations throwing the ball down the field.

Bridgewater has an excellent Week 3 matchup against the Jets on the horizon followed up by tough games against Baltimore and at Pittsburgh. If Bridgewater can continue to get the ball out on time and lean on his pass-catchers, he’s an excellent option as a QB2 with occasional back-end QB1 upside.

Sam Darnold, Carolina Panthers

Yahoo: 15% rostered ESPN: 5.9% rostered

Through two games, we can say that the Sam Darnold experiment in Carolina has had positive results. In two games, Darnold has completed 50 of 73 passes for 584 yards and three touchdowns, and an interception. Darnold also had a rushing touchdown in Week 1 to add to his fantasy stats. While Darnold isn’t going to blow away fantasy managers, he has shown flashes that make him a usable QB2. It is worth noting that his first two games were against the Jets' awful defense and a Saints team that was missing numerous defensive players due to injury and coaches due to a COVID outbreak.

That being said, few quarterbacks have a stretch of favorable matchups in the coming weeks. Darnold plays at Houston in Week 3, at Dallas in Week 4, against Philadelphia in Week 5, and against Minnesota in Week 6. That is four straight matchups against terrible secondaries before also having a game at Atlanta in Week 8. It is hard to trust Darnold given his career with the Jets, however, he has a group of pass-catching weapons in Carolina that could make any quarterback look good. Throw him on your bench (or at your QB2 spot) and hope he keeps racking up stats against overmatched defenses for the next few weeks.

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