In case you were wondering, that giant groan you heard Sunday afternoon was the collective tribulations of fantasy football managers who were forced into streaming a quarterback for Week 3.
The losses of Joe Burrow, J.J. McCarthy, Justin Fields and Brock Purdy sent shock waves through the fantasy realm, but there was still hope that a waiver wire darling would come through. But when even the best of the worst, Daniel Jones, posted pedestrian numbers, everyone knew it was right back to the drawing board.
Streaming quarterbacks off the waiver wire isn’t fun, but it also doesn’t mean your season is over.
Maybe some Week 3 frustration gets the better of some people and you see some rage-dropping of names like Jordan Love, Bo Nix or Dak Prescott. Should that be the case, you better grab one of them. If you need to prioritize, that order should suffice. But if your league has sensible, competitive managers, then you’re going to have to find the next best options based on Week 4 matchups.
It probably starts with Geno Smith, who has an upcoming game against the Bears. Though we saw Prescott struggle against them, the loss of CeeDee Lamb played a big role in that disappointment.
Smith is actually loaded with options who can pick up yards after the catch while also stretching the field. Jakobi Meyers is extremely reliable, and both Tre Tucker and Dont’e Thornton Jr. have shown tremendous promise. You also have tight end Brock Bowers another week removed from his knee injury. With the rash of injuries to the Bears secondary, this could be your play.
You may also want to give Carson Wentz an extra look as he prepares to face the Steelers. The Minnesota offensive line got a major boost with the return of Rashawn Slater, and we already know Wentz has the weapons to fire missiles downfield all day, especially with Jordan Addison returning from suspension.
The Steelers pass defense has struggled through the first three weeks, allowing the seventh-most passing yards per game while opposing quarterbacks are posting a 101.8 passer rating against them.
Matchups like C.J. Stroud against Tennessee, Mac Jones (if healthy) against Jacksonville and even Trevor Lawrence coming back the other way remain options.
If you find your leaguemates hoarding quarterbacks in the wake of all these injuries and disastrous performances, you might want to follow the local news in Atlanta and find out just how long a leash head coach Raheem Morris has for Michael Penix Jr. After being shut out completely by the Panthers, the angry mob is outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium with torches and pitchforks in hand, demanding the return of Kirk Cousins. At least he won’t cost you big free agent dollars or top waiver priority.
Streaming quarterbacks this early is a less than ideal situation, and your frustration is probably at an all-time high. Take some deep breaths. No one likes to start their season 1-2 or 0-3, but that is not an insurmountable hole. Your goal is to make the playoffs. If that means you switch up your signal-caller every week, so be it. Desperate times always call for desperate measures.
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Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy football news and advice.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
