Week 4 Quarterbacks: Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds

Welcome to week four of NFL football.  It's crazy how quickly things are moving this year, and even though the season feels like it's flying by, you can't let those potential waiver wire additions fly by as well. Hopefully you’re all coming off of a win in week three, but win or loss, I am here to give you some quarterback waiver wire pickups to help boost the value of your fantasy team in week four and beyond. Let’s get started.

 

Fantasy Football Quarterbacks (QB) - Week 4

Kirk Cousins – Washington Redskins (44% Owned on FleaFlicker)

Week Four Matchup: New York Giants

BALLER MOVE: Cousins is Worth starting in all 12+ team leagues this week.

ANALYSIS: Kirk Cousins put up some silly numbers in week three against the Eagles and we should look for him to do much of the same in week four, even though the Giants secondary has been pretty solid through three weeks. He went above and beyond our expectations in against the divisional rival Eagles, with 30 completions on 48 attempts for 427 yards, three touchdowns and only one pick in the 34-37 loss on Sunday. This was a wonderful first start on the season for Cousins, and a big first step to claiming the Skins QB job as his even when RGIII returns.

Look for Cousins have a very solid performance this Thursday night vs. the G-Men. While the Giants defense has potential to scare some away from this matchup after three interceptions vs. the Texans, Cousins is better than Fitzpatrick and has a nice chance to put up a very solid start.

 

Ryan Tannehill – Miami Dolphins (45% Owned on FleaFlicker)

Week Four Matchup: Oakland Raiders

BALLER MOVE: With the matchup he has this week, look for Tannehill to produce some stronger numbers and to bolster his TD total. Tannehill is worth a start as a low end QB1 this week in 14 team leagues.

ANALYSIS: Ryan Tannehill has weapons. The puzzling piece is why he cannot find these weapons in the end zone. He only has four touchdowns on the year, giving fantasy owners just one in each of the last two weeks. The matchup this week against Oakland could produce Tannehill’s best fantasy week thus far in the season, and he could be the first QB to pick apart the Oakland D on the year.

 

Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers (85% Owned on Fleaflicker)

Week Four Matchup: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

BALLER MOVE: Big Ben is good, and Tampa Bay is bad. Start Roethlisberger this week in all 12+ team leagues.

ANALYSIS: I don’t really need to say a ton about the matchup here for Big Ben. He has similar weapons to Matt Ryan in Atlanta, and we all saw what happened to the Bucs on Thursday night vs the Falcons. In week three, Ben tossed a great game of football. He threw for 196 yards, going 22 for 30 with two touchdowns on the night against a stout Carolina defense.

He has a solid running game to fall back on, and a talented wide receiving core to toss to. This matchup is not much of a risk, and I think that the Steelers could treat their fans to a blowout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Even if Tampa Bay doesn't embarrass themselves for a second straight week, Roethlisberger is a solid play in all leagues.

 

Teddy Bridgewater – Minnesota Vikings (6% Owned on FleaFlicker)

Week Four Matchup: Atlanta Falcons

BALLER MOVE: Go snag this young man if you have the chance. He’s got a solid matchup this week and he looked somewhat impressive in week three coming in off the bench. He's only an option for 2 QB leagues right now, but he may be one to watch going forward.

ANALYSIS: Matt Cassel broke his foot in week three against the Saints. Enter the rookie, Teddy Bridgewater. In his twenty attempts in week three, Bridgewater threw for 150 yards, going 12 for 20 on the day. He also rushed for 27 yards on six attempts. Leaving New Orleans, Bridgewater had an 83.3 passer rating, which has got to be noted coming from a rookie.

I think that Bridgewater could impress the league in week four against a struggling Falcons defense that has given up nearly three hundred passing yards per game on average, as well as just over twenty fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks on the year. There is definitely a risk in starting Bridgewater this week, but I think he is likely worth the risk.

 

Geno Smith – New York Jets (23% Owned on FleaFlicker)

Week Four Matchup: Detroit Lions

BALLER MOVE: Smith has a decent schedule coming up, and is a solid bye week fill in for the foreseeable future.

ANALYSIS: Smith played very well vs. the decimated Bears' secondary, throwing 26 completions on 43 attempts for 316 yards and a touchdown, and adding in 20 yards rushing on 3 attempts.  It was his second highest total of passing yards in his young career, which just goes to show the arrow is pointing up. Smith had some opportunities for more rushing yards that he passed up, and we should look for him to utilize his legs more moving forward.  While his next few matchups aren't spectacular (DET, @SD, DEN), they aren't terrible either, so we can expect solid performances and 15-20 points. He is a fine bye-week fill in moving forward, but without his main weapon Eric Decker his ceiling will be somewhat limited.

 

Blake Bortles – Minnesota Vikings (14% Owned on FleaFlicker)

Week Four Matchup: San Diego Chargers

BALLER MOVE: Open the FAAB wallet in 2 QB leagues; start in super deep 1 QB leagues

ANALYSIS: Blake Bortles' time has arrived. Unlike Teddy Bridgewater, who saw playing time because of the starting QB's injury, Bortles got into the game because of Chad Henne's pure ineptitude. Bortles made the Jaguars regret not making the switch earlier, as he completed 14 passes on 24 attempts, for an impressive 223 yards and 2 TDs.  He also racked up 30 rushing yards on 2 attempts.  All in all it was a smooth 21.92 fantasy point day, and all those points came in just 1 half.

The Jaguars have some talented receiving options in Shorts, Robinson, Hurns and Lee, and their upcoming schedule (@SD, PIT, @TEN) isn't so imposing.  Even if the Jags find themselves trailing, this bodes well for garbage time yardage. Bortles will be a lock to start in 2 QB leagues moving forward and he even has sneaky appeal in super deep (14+ team) leagues during these bye weeks.