Monday, September 20, 2021

Fantasy Football Week 3 QB Waiver Wire

Every week, we examine players that may be available on your league's waiver wire that could help your team in the short and/or long term.

For a player to be listed, he must be rostered 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).

With that said, here are some quarterback waiver-wire options to consider heading into Week 3 (Yahoo! % rostered in parenthesis):

[Note: Players listed below are sorted by our preference to add.]

1. Daniel Jones, New York Giants (19%)

Doing their part to surround Jones with more talent, the Giants' front office signed Kenny Golladay to a big free-agent contract this offseason and drafted Kadarius Toney in the first round. Neither Golladay nor Toney has contributed as much as one might expect given the capital required to add them to the roster and the team has also been without last season's target leader (Evan Engram, 109) as well.

Even though Sterling Shepard has been productive (16/207/1), Jones has had limited passing success against two difficult defenses. Throwing one touchdown in each of those two games, Jones has passed for 249 and 267 yards, respectively, against the Washington Football Team and Denver Broncos.

Even so, he has scored 21-plus fantasy points in back-to-back games to open the season and has more than 50 fantasy points through two games. Heading into MNF, he's the QB5.

One of the reasons why I was higher on Jones in the preseason (QB18) compared to the FantasyPros ECR (QB25) was his sneaky rushing upside (in addition to the upgrades to the receiving corps). Jones had the seventh-most QB rushing yards (423) in 2020 and he leads the Giants in rushing (15/122/2) through two weeks.

Not only should Jones get more help from the team's bolstered receiving corps, but he gets a couple of favorable matchups in the near future. The Giants face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3 and the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5.

2. Trey Lance, San Francisco 49ers (39%)

Even if he doesn't play (like in Week 2), Lance's value increases weekly as we continue to move closer to a potential transition to the rookie as the starter. Lance took a few snaps and threw a touchdown on his only pass attempt in Week 1. Even though he gained only two yards on three carries, Lance has elite dual-threat upside that will allow him to become a weekly top-10 option once he replaces Jimmy Garoppolo as the starter.

The 49ers have a Week 6 bye, the earliest possible bye. Perhaps that makes for the most logical transition point. The only concern is the 49ers continue to employ a rotation where they use Lance on occasion, as the 49ers have one of the league's best rosters and Kyle Shanahan may prefer to keep the steady hand of a veteran quarterback until next season.

3. Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders (26%)

While Carr has historically lacked upside, he typically outperforms expectations. Not only was he fantasy's QB13 in 2020, but he has never finished outside the top 20 fantasy quarterbacks (yearly).

Upcoming matchups are difficult, but he has just faced the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers to open the 2021 season. Granted, these numbers included overtime, but Carr threw for 435 yards and two touchdowns against the Ravens and followed that up with 373 yards and another two touchdowns against the Steelers.

4. Sam Darnold, Carolina Panthers (15%)

In his first two games as a Panther, Darnold has scored at least 19 fantasy points each week. On the year, he has completed 50-of-73 (68.5%) for 584 yards (8.0 Y/A), three touchdowns and one interception.

Darnold and the 2-0 Panthers will take their show on the road to the Lone Star state as they face the Houston Texans on Thursday Night Football and then the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4. Both defenses provide the 24-year-old quarterback with an opportunity to post a couple of productive fantasy outings if you're in need of a streamer.

5. Teddy Bridgewater, Denver Broncos (17%)

If you're looking ahead to Week 4 (vs. Ravens) or Week 5 (at Steelers), difficult matchups face Bridgewater. But if you have your sights on what's directly in front of you, it's a soft matchup against the New York Jets for Bridgewater.

Even without Jerry Jeudy, who seemed poised for a breakout, Denver's signal-caller had another efficient outing, albeit against a fantasy-friendly defense in Week 2. Bridgewater completed 26-of-34 for 328 yards and two scores against the Jaguars. With back-to-back 20-point fantasy performances, Bridgewater has completed 77.1% of his pass attempts for 8.46 Y/A, four touchdowns and no interceptions.

More Fantasy Football Waiver-Wire Advice Heading Into Week 3:

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