Week 10 Fantasy Football Quarterback Streaming: Trust Mark Sanchez
For the second week in a row, nearly one-fifth of the NFL's teams will be on a bye as the NFL's compressed bye week schedule strikes again. This weekend, top passers Andrew Luck, Tom Brady and Philip Rivers will be off the table for fantasy owners, while potential streaming options like Teddy Bridgewater and Robert Griffin III will also be watching from home.
That means quarterback streamers and those looking for bye week fill-ins will be scouring a depleted waiver wire for options this week and, unfortunately, there's not a lot to choose from. There aren't a ton of favorable matchups for low-ownership quarterbacks this weekend, so we'll have to dig really deep to get our streaming options for this week.
But let's start with the king of the streamers, and a player that you should add to your roster ASAP if he's somehow still available.
Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals
ESPN's ownership data says Carson Palmer is still available in a bunch of leagues, but it's not any of the leagues I participate in because he was either already owned, or I picked him up this past weekend. Palmer has been a top-10 quarterback according to our per drop back Net Expected Points metric this year, and has done very well in fantasy since returning from his injury.
Palmer has scored 16 or more fantasy points in his last four games, with at least 2 scores in each contest. This week he'll face the St. Louis Rams, who allow the seventh-most fantasy points to quarterbacks on the season and rank 27th against the pass according to our metrics. Palmer is playing really good football, and his team is relying on him to carry them with the defense not playing up to expectations, so do your team a favor and add Palmer off of waivers if you're streaming quarterbacks. Or, of course, if you're a Nick Foles owner looking for a long-term replacement.
Mark Sanchez, Philadelphia Eagles
It will take a certain level of intestinal fortitude to roster Mark Sanchez this week in fantasy football, and even more to start him. But you have to trust in the Philadelphia offense, and not in Sanchez himself. The Eagles wide receivers rank fifth in the NFL in points per game, led by Jeremy Maclin, who Sanchez found for a deep ball on his first snap in the game this weekend.
This week, the Eagles face Carolina, who rank 20th in pass defense according to our rankings, and have allowed the 8th-most fantasy points to opposing signal-callers so far this season. They've yet to hold a quarterback under 13.5 points in a game, so if you're looking for a bye-week fill-in to get you 14 or 15 points with the upside for more, Sanchez is as good of a bet as you'll find, despite his frustrating history.
Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars
I told you we'd be digging deep to find streamers this weekend. Blake Bortles has been an interception machine lately for the Jaguars, but is facing a Dallas defense that is on the decline. They've allowed over 18 fantasy points to quarterbacks in their last three games, and are boosted up in the minds of many thanks to a solid game against Russell Wilson a few weeks ago. They rank just below average in our pass defense rankings, and have been sliding down since a strong start to the season.
Bortles has found the end zone in four straight games, and he's rushed for 30 or more yards in four of his appearances this season. If he can limit the mistakes and find pay dirt twice, he'll be good enough to get you through this week, and you can worry about finding another quarterback in Week 11 when the time comes.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Starting Quarterback
Don't expect Lovie Smith to tell you who this player will be for a few days, but if you're desperate for a quarterback this weekend, you'll be targeting a really good matchup by playing whoever starts for the Buccaneers in this game. Yes, even if it's Josh McCown.
The Atlanta Falcons are on the schedule for Tampa, which means the Bucs will face the worst overall defense and third-worst pass defense according to our data. Atlanta has allowed 250 or more passing yards in three straight games, and 7 passing touchdowns over their last four contests, which is too good of a matchup to ignore if you're in need of a quarterback in a deeper league.
Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders
The Raiders host the Broncos this weekend, which almost certainly means a loss for Oakland despite playing in front of their home fans. But being at home and playing a heavily favored team could be the recipe for a good game for the rookie Derek Carr, who has looked very good at times this season.
Denver has allowed 19 or more fantasy points to their opponents' quarterbacks in three straight games, and in five of eight games this season. That's partially due to the amount of passing volume they face, as they've been the recipient of the most passing attempts in the NFL this season despite playing one fewer game than several teams.
Carr has bested the 13-point mark four times in his career, and given the Broncos' recent track record, I favor him to do it again this week. Don't expect a fantastic performance, but do expect the Broncos to coast to a win and Carr to coast to some fantasy production in garbage time.
Zach Mettenberger, Tennessee Titans
Ben Roethlisberger torched the Baltimore defense this past week, but he's not the only quarterback to find success against the Ravens recently. They've allowed 18 or more fantasy points in four of their last five games, and had allowed seven total touchdowns to enemy quarterbacks in the four games prior to Ben's big outing.
Zach Mettenberger will start his second game for Tennessee this weekend after a much-needed bye week, where he was able to take plenty of first-team snaps with his offense and learn from his first game in charge. He had a strong second half in his first start in the NFL, and will look to build on that against a defense on a downward trend over the past few weeks.
