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Hey there RotoBallers! With Week 10 almost in the books, it's already time to turn an eye toward the waiver wire in Week 11. As always, this column will aim to highlight Week 11 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 November 12.
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One-QB Leagues - Week 11 Waiver Wire Streamers
Eli Manning, NYG vs. Kansas City Chiefs
51% owned, FAAB Budget: 5-7%
Manning was solid against the 49ers in Week 10, passing for 273 yards and two scores on the road. The veteran signal caller has remained a solid fantasy option, despite the fact the Giants have been an outright disaster in 2017. Manning has now passed for two or more touchdowns in five of his past seven games.
He draws a great matchup against a Chiefs pass defense that has been making fantasy stars out of opposing quarterbacks all season long. Kansas City has allowed multiple touchdowns to enemy signal callers in five of the past six games with just the now-benched Trevor Siemian failing to reach that threshold over that span. Furthermore, the explosive Chiefs offense should be able to do whatever it wants against the weak Giants defense, giving this game sneaky shootout potential if Eli is able to hold up his end of the bargain.
Blake Bortles, JAX @ Cleveland Browns
31% owned, FAAB Budget: 3-4%
Bortles was not very impressive against the Chargers in Week 10 but he did get to throw a season-high 51 passes while connecting with Marqise Lee for his lone touchdown. The Jaguars have mostly tried to hide Bortles with their run game this season but they strangely skewed very pass-heavy this past weekend.
The Browns may force Jacksonville to go pass-heavy for a second consecutive week as Cleveland has been tough against the run this season, ranking first in DVOA before this week. Their pass defense, however, has not been as stout, ranking 28th. If this game's script goes to plan, the Jaguars will have trouble establishing the run and this will lead to Bortles having to do the heavy lifting in Week 11 against Cleveland.
Jay Cutler, MIA vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
17% owned, FAAB Budget: 2-3%
Cutler is just one week removed from his best game of the season, which saw him pass for 311 yards and three touchdowns against the Oakland Raiders. He will now look to keep rolling in the game that was supposed to be played back in Week 1 before the hurricane forced the NFL to reschedule.
The matchup for Cutler to do just that is right as everyone has been roasting the Tampa Bay pass defense this season. While Josh McCown didn't do much in Week 10, before that the Bucs were allowing the ninth-most fantasy points per game to the position. While Cutler has been more bad than good this season, a matchup against Tampa Bay is simply too good not to pick on.
Two-QB Leagues - Week 11 Waiver Wire Streamers
Case Keenum, MIN vs. Los Angeles Rams
16% owned, FAAB Budget: 1%
Keenum came to play in Week 10 against Washington, tossing four touchdowns and racking up 304 yards in what was not an easy matchup. Things will get tougher for Keenum in Week 11 as he do battle against a red-hot Rams team at home in Minnesota. The Rams have not been kind to opposing quarterbacks this season, allowing the ninth-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks heading into Week 10. That being said, the entire Vikings offense is looking fantastic right now, with Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen balling and the running game with Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon clicking. The quality of the Vikings' offense upgrades Keenum's outlook for Week 11, making him a rock-solid QB2.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, TB @ Miami Dolphins
12% owned, FAAB Budget: 1%
Look for Fitzpatrick to run the Tampa Bay offense for the next few weeks and possibly the rest of the season as Jameis Winston will be sidelined by an injury to his throwing shoulder. Fitzpatrick wasn't great against the Jets in Week 10 in what was a windy game but he managed to do enough to help his team win.
The veteran quarterback finds himself in an excellent spot in Week 11 when his team travels to Miami to take on the Dolphins. Miami employs a tough run defense that funnels extra work to the passing game, where they ranked just 30th in the league in DVOA before this past weekend's action. With Fitzpatrick getting star wide receiver Mike Evans back from a one-game suspension, he's squarely on the streaming radar in two-quarterback formats.
Joe Flacco, BAL @ Green Bay Packers
11% owned, FAAB Budget: 1%
The Ravens come out of their bye to take on a Green Bay pass defense that has struggled to contain opposing signal callers this season. Before Week 10's action, the Packers ranked just 23rd in the league in pass defense DVOA. Flacco, on the other hand, has been showing signs of improvement over his past two games. He was well on his way to a great game back in Week 8 against the Dolphins before a concussion forced him to leave before halftime. He bounced back from the injury in Week 9 to pass for 261 yards and two touchdowns against the Tennessee Titans. Flacco, and the entire Baltimore offense, has limited upside, but he's a good choice as a QB2 this weekend.
Cut Them Free
The following quarterbacks aren't necessarily must-drops but they haven't quite been living up to expectations and can be cut loose if you need roster space for one of the above players.
Andy Dalton, CIN - 54% owned
Dalton didn't quite live up to expectations against a Titans pass defense that has been vulnerable against enemy quarterbacks this season. Now, in Week 11, he will take on the elite Denver secondary in a road matchup. Dalton isn't a must-cut as he has a tasty matchup against the Browns in Week 12, but he can be set free if you need to make extra space on your roster. There's no way you can start Dalton against the Broncos this weekend.
C.J. Beathard, SF - 4% owned
Beathard played extremely well against the Giants in Week 10 but he will be on bye in Week 11 and there's a good chance recently acquired Jimmy Garoppolo will be under center when the 49ers are back in action against the Seahawks in Week 12. Even if San Francisco sticks with Beathard after the bye, you don't want any part of him against a tough Seattle defense.
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.
