3 Fantasy Football Quarterback Streaming Options for Week 11
It's official: we know nothing about which teams are good in the NFL.
On we march. It's time to look at quarterback streaming options for your season-long lineups.
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. I'll recommend quarterbacks rostered in fewer than roughly 50% of Yahoo leagues who are in solid spots this week.
Week 10 Recap and Situations to Monitor
It's hard to grade Week 10's streaming article. Ben Roethlisberger ended up getting put on the COVID list late in the week, and Tua Tagovailoa wasn't able to return from his finger injury on a short week. That left us with just Trevor Lawrence amid the worst streaming week in recent memory. While he managed 33 rushing yards and a 2-point conversion, Lawrence did not come through in fantasy. My bad, y'all.
The most notable quarterback situation to monitor for Week 11 is once again Kyler Murray, who has missed two straight games with an ankle injury. It sounds like he may once again be a game-time decision, so Murray managers need to have a plan in place. Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers are back, and Tua Tagovailoa has already been named the Miami Dolphins' starter for Week 11.
We'll be missing Matthew Stafford and Teddy Bridgewater to byes this week, as well.
Let's aim for more streaming goodness in Week 11!
Cam Newton, Panthers
Roster Percentage: 17%
Unless you hate fun, we're gonna dive right back in with Cam Newton as a streaming option. Although it's early in the week, Cam is set to get most of the first-team reps this week, which points to him making his first start in a Carolina Panthers uniform since September 12th, 2019.
Despite having less than a week to learn the playbook (remember: this is a new regime and scheme in Carolina), Cam made an impact early in the game in Week 10 with both a rushing and passing touchdown. It was a stark reminder of what a goal-line monster he's been throughout his career.
Cam is stepping into a strong offensive environment and matchup, too. D.J. Moore, Christian McCaffrey and Robby Anderson provide a nice trio of weapons. This week's opponent, the Washington Football Team, has allowed the most fantasy points to quarterbacks and the seventh-most rushing yards to the position. Carolina enters the game as 3.5-point home favorites.
If you live on Narrative Street, this also sets up as a potential #RevengeGame, considering Newton's former coach and offensive coordinator in Carolina will be on the other sideline in this game. Our projections have Cam as a top-10 option at quarterback this week, and I'm hard-pressed to disagree. Play him with confidence.
Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins
Roster Percentage: 23%
Third time's a charm, right? I've recommended Tua Tagovailoa in this space two weeks in a row, and he's been unable to start either game to injury. This season, amiright?
Missing these last two weeks makes it easy to forget that Tagovailoa has quietly been good in fantasy this year.
Tua has shown a stable floor, scoring at least 16.2 fantasy points in every start so far, and he's averaging 21.1 fantasy points per full game played. That average would rank him as the QB10 on a per-game basis this year despite playing without a fully healthy pass-catching corps even once.
Even in limited action last week and playing with a broken finger, Tua completed 8-of-13 passes for 158 yards, ran for a touchdown and helped upset the Baltimore Ravens. Tua now has three rushing touchdowns despite playing fewer than five complete games this season.
This week Miami will face the New York Jets, who rank dead last in schedule-adjusted pass defense, per numberFire’s metrics. That ranking largely came before the Jets lost their best defensive back in Marcus Maye for the season.
Miami remains an aggressive pass-rate team, even more so when Tua is in the lineup. He's 13th among quarterbacks in our projections this week, putting him right on the fringe of QB1 territory.
Mac Jones, Patriots
Roster Percentage: 29%
Mac Jones is balling. Usually when a rookie quarterback is pulled from the game, they got benched. But when Jones was pulled for the fourth quarter of last week's game, it was because he'd already pummeled the Cleveland Browns into oblivion.
Jones is coming off the heels of his best game as a pro, slicing up Cleveland for 198 yards and three touchdowns on just 23 attempts.
Jones gets the Atlanta Falcons on a short week after Atlanta was clobbered by the Dallas Cowboys. The Falcons rank next to last in schedule-adjusted pass defense, per numberFire’s metrics. The New England Patriots are 6.5-point road favorites with a strong 26.75-point implied team total.
Even if New England wants to #EstablishIt, the Patriots should be in scoring position plenty. It's also possible on a short week and coming off Jones' best performance to date that New England is willing to let him throw it more.
Our projections have Jones as the QB15 on the week, which sounds about right. His ceiling isn't as high as the other options given New England's lower pass rate and his lack of rushing, but another multi-touchdown performance could be on the horizon.
