4 Fantasy Football Quarterback Streaming Options for Week 1

Football. Is. Back.

There are not three sweeter words in the English language. And with football comes fantasy football analysis.

Streaming at your quarterback spot in Week 1? In this economy? Sure, 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. For some roster constructions, it can even be optimal.

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.

Throughout the season, this column should, will, and must be your go-to resource for identifying quarterbacks to stream in a pinch. Here are four quarterbacks rostered in fewer than roughly 50% of Yahoo leagues who are in good spots this week.

For Week 1, it is best to lean more heavily on last year's data while baking in offseason news and changes. The more we learn about how defenses defend quarterbacks this season, the more certain we will become about a quarterback's environment.

Jameis Winston, Saints

Roster Percentage: 43%

We're not here to grind film and evaluate players; we're here to score fantasy points for our fake football teams. Whether you like his game or not, Jameis Winston is actually pretty good at fantasy football.

Finally named the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints just last week, it is likely the late timing of that news depressed Winston's roster percentage levels. Still, it is easy to get excited about him. We are talking about a guy who was the sixth-best quarterback (by Yahoo fantasy points per game) the last time he was starting.

While the playmaking weapons for Winston are ho-hum on the surface, he still has plenty working in his favor. Namely a brilliant offensive coach in Sean Payton, arguably the best offensive line in football, a seemingly-established rapport with preseason star Marquez Callaway, and a true difference-making weapon in Alvin Kamara.

Winston's rushing is also underrated, as he averaged 14.5 rushing yards per game while a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so he has some extra rushing juice to float his fantasy floor.

The Saints will "host" the Green Bay Packers on a neutral site in Jacksonville this weekend due to Hurricane Ida, but it's still a game we should look to target given the 50.0-point total is the 5th-highest of Week 1. Green Bay was not a team we targeted with quarterbacks in fantasy last season, but the team has a brand new defensive coordinator, and this environment profiles to be friendly for scoring.

Jameis has legitimate QB1 upside this season, and numberFire's model expects a nice game from him with a projected 276.1 yards and 1.6 passing touchdowns. Picking up him now is a forward-looking move that could make Future You a happy camper.

Sam Darnold, Panthers

Roster Percentage: 14%

It's Week 1, and we're already going off the deep end. Fantasy football is back, folks.

In all seriousness, there's a lot to like about Sam Darnold's situation this week and beyond. The starting three-wide set of D.J. Moore, Robby Anderson and Terrace Marshall Jr. is one of the best in football and makes for an even more challenging offense to cover when you add stud running back Christian McCaffrey into the mix.

The Carolina defense projects to be one of the weaker units in the league as well, which could be conducive to shootout-type enviornments.

His coach is also no longer Adam Gase.

As mentioned above, we can't really rely on last year's defensive stats to carry into this year, but it's still worth noting that the New York Jets allowed the third-most points to quarterbacks last season. While the team made some moves to address the defense, they've sadly already lost star offseason acquisition Carl Lawson for the season. You likely can't name a single cornerback on what should be a secondary we're targeting all year long.

In this same offense, Teddy Bridgewater was quietly the 18th-best quarterback by points per game last year. While that's not setting the world on fire, it makes for a starting option to stream in some weeks, as well as a 2QB/Superflex format option.

Given his draft position and perceived talent, Darnold could be better than Bridgewater, and the weapons in Carolina already project to be better this year for him.

While this game's over/under total is a meager 45.0 points, it's noteworthy that it began at 43.5 and has been bet up 1.5 points. I still like the over on that bet and think this is a sneaky game to attack in DFS given the talent level of both defenses.

Not only is Darnold projected well in numberFire's model, but with the New Orleans Saints, Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles on the docket, he could be a regular in this article early.

Zach Wilson, Jets

Roster Percentage: 19%

Zach Wilson was so good in college the New York Jets made him the second pick in the NFL Draft, and yet he isn't even rostered in one-fifth of fantasy football leagues. Here's betting that changes a lot sooner than later.

Since we don't yet know how good Wilson will be as an NFL player, there's certainly risk with streaming him in his first career start. That ambiguity, however, is also something forward thinkers should look to embrace. There's so much unknown here we may be seriously undervaluing Wilson as a fantasy asset.

The Jets made a concerted effort to bring in talent alongside Wilson on offense. They signed Corey Davis to a legit contract coming off a career year and then added tantalizing prospects in wide receiver Elijah Moore, offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker, and pass-catching running back Michael Carter.

In his final year at BYU, Wilson averaged 21.2 rushing yards and 0.83 rushing touchdowns per game. If he's even close to that as a rusher at the NFL level, he'll be much closer to a QB1 than waiver wire fodder as a rookie.

As mentioned with Darnold, this is a game between two poor defensive units and could result in a shootout. Wilson also joins Darnold as well-projected inside numberFire's model, and his salary is only $6,500 on FanDuel.

With solid weapons, a potentially improved offensive line, and untapped rushing potential, Wilson could be making plenty of appearances in this articles series in 2021.

Bonus: Tyrod Taylor, Texans

Roster Percentage: 3%

If you thought Sam Darnold was a deep play then buckle up for Tyrod Taylor -- recently named the Week 1 starting quarterback for the Houston Texans.

I get you don't want to target this offense, and neither do I. But as a starter in his career, Taylor has averaged 35.8 rushing yards per game, which would've ranked 4th in the NFL last season. His fantasy value has always come from his legs, which is exactly what we want in our quarterback starters and streamers. He has 15 career rushing touchdowns across 47 starts.

The Jags allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks last year, and without notably improving on that side of the ball this summer, they are expected to be weak again. Similar to the Jets, this could be a pass defense worth targeting all season long. They were also in the bottom-half in the league in terms of rushing yards allowed to quarterbacks.

In 2QB or Superflex leagues, Taylor is a legitimate streaming option in what might be his best matchup of the season.

Eli Weiner is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Eli Weiner also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Eweiner2. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.