For a player to be listed, he must be owned in 50 percent (or less) of Yahoo! leagues. The goal is to provide recommendations of players that have a greater chance of being available on your league's waiver wire. Of course, your league's size and settings could significantly impact whether these players (or better options) are available in your particular league(s).
Week 4 begins bye season as both Carolina (Cam Newton) and Washington (Alex Smith) have byes this week.
Fortunately for owners who need a bye-week replacement or those that stream, there are several quarterbacks likely to be on your league's free-agent pool with plus matchups. In fact, the five best matchups for Week 4 are for quarterbacks currently owned in less than half of Yahoo! leagues.
With that said, here are some quarterback waiver-wire options that I like heading into Week 4 (Yahoo! ownership in parenthesis):
[Note: Players listed below are sorted by my preference to add.]
1. Eli Manning, New York Giants (18 percent)
Manning had his best game of the season on Sunday as he completed 25-of-29 for nearly 300 yards (297) and two touchdowns. (In his first two games, Manning had just one touchdown and one interception.) Hosting his hometown team in Week 4, Eli and the Giants will have a chance to build upon their momentum.
Through Sunday's games, no team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks than the Saints, who have allowed a pair of five-TD performances from Ryan Fitzpatrick in Week 1 and Matt Ryan in Week 3. In fact, there have been three 40-point fantasy performances this season and the Saints have allowed two of them; their own Drew Brees has the other.
2. Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins ( percent)
Yet to throw more than 28 pass attempts in a game, Tannehill and the Dolphins extended their unbeaten streak to 3-0 as they sit atop the AFC East. Facing Tom Brady and the Patriots in Week 4, it's likely that Tannehill airs it out more than 28 times this upcoming week as road underdogs.
Despite the relatively low volume, Tannehill has thrown multiple touchdowns in all three games this season. Through Sunday's games, Tannehill has the 12th-most fantasy points amongst quarterbacks and he's a solid streaming option this week.
3. Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals ( percent)
Bad news first, Dalton threw four picks in Cincinnati's loss to Carolina on Sunday. That said, he has thrown multiple touchdowns in every game this season with a season-high 352 yards this past week. In addition, the volume has been there with 42-plus pass attempts in back-to-back weeks. With a road matchup against the Falcons, it's possible that his Week 4 matchup develops into a shootout.
4. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens ( percent)
Through three weeks, Flacco has a total of 129 pass attempts including 40-plus in back-to-back games. And if it weren't for a 44-point blowout of the Bills featuring Lamar Jackson in the second half, it'd likely be three consecutive games.
Going into Monday Night Football, the Steelers (Flacco's Week 4 opponent) have their share of problems, but the defense is the team's biggest concern at the moment. In their first two games, they allowed Tyrod Taylor (QB6) and Patrick Mahomes (QB1) to both finish as top-six weekly performers. A high-volume week in a plus matchup could be enough to make Flacco a viable Week 4 streamer.
5. Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns (12 percent)
With Tyrod Taylor concussed on Thursday night, Mayfield came in to complete 17-of-23 pass attempts for 201 yards as he led the Browns to come-from-behind victory, their first in more than 600 days. Not surprising (but now official), the Browns have announced that Mayfield will start Week 4 against the Raiders. Far from a weekly starter in fantasy for now, this year's No. 1 overall draft pick could be a fringe QB1 weeks when he has a plus matchup.
6. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (three percent)
Leading the Bills to a surprising win over the Vikings, Allen threw for 196 yards and a touchdown to go along with 10 carries for 39 yards and two touchdowns. The big, strong-armed rookie quarterback has the physical tools for some big -- yet uneven -- fantasy performances even if he isn't surrounded by a ton of talent. Facing another NFC North team, Allen and the Bills will head to Lambeau to take on Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Week 4.
- More Fantasy Football Waiver-Wire Advice Heading Into Week 4
Check out more of our content:
- Weekly Fantasy Football Rankings
- ROS Fantasy Football Rankings
- Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule
- DFS Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets
- 2019 NFL Mock Draft
