3 Fantasy Football Quarterback Streaming Options for Week 1
Quarterback streaming isn't for everyone, but if you're in a standard league -- like a 10- or 12-team league that features just one starting signal caller -- grabbing potentially productive quarterbacks in good matchups off the waiver wire is often doable.
Sure, you won't have the luxury of setting it and forgetting it with Patrick Mahomes as your quarterback, but when the top-end signal callers draw a tough matchup, their upside can oftentimes be matched by a waiver-wire option in a more favorable situation.
If you're looking for some quarterback options from the waiver wire -- regardless of league size -- we have you covered. Here are three quarterbacks rostered in fewer than roughly 30% of Yahoo leagues who are in good spots this week.
Teddy Bridgewater, Panthers
Yahoo Roster Percentage: 24%
The Teddy Bridgewater Era begins with a home date against the Las Vegas Raiders, and it's a pretty nice spot for the Panthers' offense.
The Raiders allowed the 6th-most fantasy points to signal callers in 2019, and they surrendered the 10th-most points to wideouts. Our model pegs Vegas to have the league's fifth-worst defense in 2020, including the third-worst pass D.
With no preseason games, we have no idea what the Bridgewater/Matt Rhule offense is going to look like. We can safely assume Christian McCaffrey is going to get his touches, but after that, we can't be sure. But this is a plum opening-week spot, and Bridgewater should flirt with QB1 (top-12) numbers.
We project him as Week 1's QB15, forecasting him to total 17.02 fantasy points. He's my top streaming play of the week.
Tyrod Taylor, Chargers
Yahoo Roster Percentage: 8%
I think we're all sleeping on Tyrod Taylor's fantasy ability. There's very little reason for him to be a free agent in 92% of leagues -- especially with how many superflex/two-quarterback formats are out there.
Taylor has averaged 26.3 rushing yards per game for his career, and in his last extended stint as a starter back in 2018, he averaged 31.3 rushing yards per game. Those are free points, and they raise both his weekly floor and ceiling.
His Week 1 matchup is a superb one as the Los Angeles Chargers are on the road to face the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincy gave up the seventh-most fantasy points to quarterbacks last season, and our projections have the Bengals with 2020's fourth-worst pass D and second-worst overall defense. I think we may be selling the Bengals' defense a tad short short as they did improve down the stretch last campaign, but this is still a good matchup for Taylor.
We have him as our QB18 for the week, projecting him for 16.31 fantasy points.
Gardner Minshew, Jaguars
Yahoo Roster Percentage: 24%
Gardner Minshew is worth a look for those in deeper leagues. His Week 1 matchup is a home one versus the Indianapolis Colts.
Jacksonville does have a lowly 18.50-point implied total, which is scary and the reason Minshew is below the two aforementioned passers, but the Colts are expected to be about an average defense (18th-best), per our algorithm. Indy allowed the 11th-most fantasy points to quarterbacks in 2019, and they gave up the 7th-most points to receivers.
Minshew offers some fantasy goodness with his legs, averaging 24.6 rushing yards per game as a rookie. He had eight games of at least 27 rushing yards.
Our rankings have Minshew as this week's QB23, putting him firmly on the radar in two-quarterback formats.
