For Week 3, I recommended Marcus Mariota at Seattle, Matt Ryan against Kansas City, and Jared Goff at Minnesota. Mariota had a useable albeit unexciting QB15 finish on the week with Ryan not far behind as the QB16. Goff wasn’t awful with a QB18 finish, but his day certainly could’ve been better had Amon-Ra St. Brown not been in and out of the game due to a minor ankle injury.
Overall, Week 3 offered some workable options for fantasy GMs who eschewed drafting a quarterback early and have been streaming the position. If you drafted Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes early or managed to snag Kirk Cousins or Matthew Stafford later on in your drafts, this article probably isn’t for you. But if you’ve been streaming quarterbacks this season, here are some viable Week 4 quarterback streamers with good matchups to target.
Week 4 Quarterback Streamers
Check out our Week 4 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | PPR |
Note: The below quarterback streamers are the “best of the rest”, meaning that they’re generally rostered in less than about 50-60 percent of major fantasy football platforms at the time of this writing even after waivers have run on Wednesday.
Geno Smith (10% ESPN, 10% Yahoo)
Outside of a tough matchup against the 49ers in Week 2, Geno Smith has been playing well with a QB15 finish in Week 1 against Denver and a QB7 finish this past week against Atlanta. In fact, he’s led Seattle’s passing offense to rank 11th in DVOA through three games with the Seahawks ranking seventh in pass rate over that span despite Pete Carroll’s preference to establish the run. This has been, in large part, due to Seattle’s defense forcing them into shootouts, as the Seahawks rank 31st in pass defense thus far.
Week 4 offers another good matchup for Smith, as the Lions have allowed the eighth-most passing yards to opposing quarterbacks and have allowed opponents to score the most points in the league against them through three weeks. Vegas projects this matchup to be a shootout between two bad defenses with 49.5 total points projected, tied for second highest among the Week 4 games behind only the game between Buffalo and Baltimore. Smith figures to have a fair fantasy floor and decently high fantasy ceiling as well, making him among the best quarterback streamers for Week 4.
Jared Goff (36% ESPN, 49% Yahoo)
Alongside Smith, I also like Jared Goff on the other side of the matchup between the Seahawks and Lions. As mentioned in last week’s column, would you believe that through three weeks, Detroit has scored the second-most points in the league behind only Baltimore? Yes, it’s true, and that’s why Goff remains on the list of quarterback streamers this week. The Lions’ passing offense also ranks 12th in DVOA after two games and matches up well against the Seahawks’ 31st ranked passing defense.
As of this writing, the most recent reports have indicated that Amon-Ra St. Brown is expected to play this week after he was able to finish the game against the Vikings, and tests on his ankle were “encouraging”. However, St. Brown’s status is one to monitor, as he’s been a driving force on this Detroit offense. If St. Brown were to be ruled out of this game, Goff would immediately become a much less-enticing streaming option for this week. As it stands though, Goff remains widely available and overlooked as one of the best quarterback streamers each week until the Lions’ defense can stop them from getting into shootouts.
Marcus Mariota (26% ESPN, 22% Yahoo)
While Desmond Ridder may yet take over at some point later this year, Marcus Mariota has been playing well to open the season and currently sits as the QB13 in fantasy through three weeks. Although Mariota has been adequate as a passer, it’s his rushing ability that has buoyed his fantasy production, as he’s averaged over eight rushing attempts per game thus far and has found the end zone twice with his legs. In fact, Atlanta has scored the ninth-most points in the league through three games, and Mariota remains among the best quarterback streamers for Week 4.
Part of the reason the Falcons have scored so many points is out of necessity. Atlanta’s 24th-ranked passing defense has allowed the sixth-most passing yards and sixth-most points to opponents thus far, which has forced their offense to keep pace in high-scoring contests. In fact, this matchup is tied with the Seahawks and Lions game mentioned above with the second-highest projected point total of the week with 49.5 total points. It’s also possible that the Browns’ defense, which has ranked ninth in pass rush win rate thus far, could be missing Myles Garrett for this game after a recent car accident.
Honorable Mentions
In deeper leagues, if none of the above-recommended quarterback streamers are available, both Matt Ryan and Ryan Tannehill are viable quarterback streamers this week facing each other, as the Titans and Colts’ passing defenses rank 26th and 27th, respectively, through three weeks. And if you’re desperate, whoever starts for New Orleans this week, whether it’s an ailing Jameis Winston or backup Andy Dalton, has some fantasy potential against a Minnesota defense that has allowed the fourth-most passing yards to opponents thus far on the season. If you’re going to roll with a Saints quarterback though, make sure you wake up early on Sunday morning, as they play in London this week.
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