The fantasy points were alive and well across the quarterback position in Week 11, with eleven quarterbacks reaching 20+ points heading into Monday night. The elite quarterback crew, however, wasn’t any better off than those who streamed in Week 11 or went with the wait-on-quarterback draft strategy, with five of the top ten scoring quarterbacks being available late in drafts or were able to be picked up on the waiver wire. Bo Nix keeps impressing, while Anthony Richardson was welcomed back nicely to the starting lineup for Indianapolis. Those are two names to know as we head into the first of two byemaggadons on the horizon (six teams on bye in Week 12). For the Joe Burrow and Josh Allen owners who will be without their prized signal-callers this week, you’ve largely lived the charm life, but you still need to continue to make a push for the playoffs by finding a quality one-week replacement. As always, we keep these options for players rostered in under 70% of Yahoo leagues.
Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (49% rostered):
The QB3 on the week absolutely picked apart a veteran Falcons secondary, dicing them up for 307 yards and four touchdowns. He and Sean Payton continue to look like a perfect marriage, as Nix topped 300 passing yards for the first time in his career in Week 11 with no signs of a rookie wall hitting. According to JJ Zachariason of lateroundqb.com, the signal caller with 61 college starts is averaging 21.4 fantasy points per game since Week 4, making him much more than just a streaming option and someone who probably should be rostered in a lot more than only 49% of yahoo leagues. His rapport with Courtland Sutton continues to blossom, giving Nix an alpha WR1 at his disposal. The matchup is nothing to be concerned about in Week 12, either, as Denver travels to Vegas to face the Raiders. Antonio Pierce’s defense gives up the eighth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks and just let Tua carve them up for 288 yards and three trips to paydirt in Week 11. While it’s unreasonable to expect Nix to put together another QB3 performance, he’s been averaging over 20 fantasy points per game for most of the season at this point, showing Nix’s production is not an outlier. Also, he only had five yards on the ground in Week 11 (he didn’t have to run much, let’s be honest), but he’s had at least 35 rushing yards in five of his 11 games, giving Nix a nice fantasy floor even if the passing yards aren’t prolific.
Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts (48% rostered):
A tumultuous few weeks for the 2023 first-rounder ended with an impressive performance and a win on the road against the Jets in Week 11. If you dropped Richardson amid his Week 8 benching (me included), the early returns were bad, but that’s okay because you’re clearly not alone. He’s still available in over half of Yahoo leagues following one of the best games of his young career. Week 11 was just the second time all season that Richardson had 10 or more rushing attempts, and he paired that with a career-high 272 passing yards, according to Ryan Heath of fantasypoints.com. Of course, two rushing touchdowns are hard to count on week-to-week, but the Florida native is too talented of a runner for him not to be utilized in that capacity. The narrative exists that Head Coach Shane Steichen may be coaching for his job (even though I think that’s crazy), but if that’s the case, he’s going to do everything he can to get the most out of Richardson, and that means taking advantage of his rushing ability. The daunted Lions come to Indy in Week 12, and if this season is any indication, Detroit will put up at least 48 points without issue against the Colts. Yes, that’s an exaggeration, but the reality is Richardson likely will have to throw a lot to keep up with the Lions’ high-scoring offense, a recipe for fantasy points. Detroit has been susceptible to receivers, giving up the fourth-most fantasy points to wideouts this season. Josh Downs, AD Mitchell, and Michael Pittman could be in for big days, another positive for Richardson heading into Week 12.
Poise in the pocket, ball placement, patience. That game-winning drive was everything you want out of a franchise quarterback from Anthony Richardson pic.twitter.com/cZxo7IcaNT
— Football Digest (@FoootballDigest) November 17, 2024
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (57% rostered):
I wasn’t expecting Stafford to be included as a streamer this late in the season, but he’s available in enough leagues and throws enough touchdowns for him to be a top-three steamer option for Week 12. For a guy who has -7 rushing yards on the season, fantasy managers need touchdowns to make up for the lack of rushing production, and that’s exactly what Stafford provides. Over the past four games with both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua in the lineup, the 36-year-old has 10 passing touchdowns, while he had just three in the first six games of the season when both Kupp and Nacua missed significant time, according to JJ Zachariason. The matchup against the Eagles in Week 12 is no walk in the park, but we know the Philly offense is going to put up points, forcing Stafford and the Rams to have to air it out. The former Lion has elite weapons at the receiver position, as well as one of the better running backs in the league in Kyren Williams. A great supporting cast is one of the key factors in looking for a streaming QB, and Stafford has no shortage of weapons. He’s also had his bye week already (something to think about with six teams on bye in Week 14) and a juicy matchup in Week 13 against the Saints if you want to plan ahead.
Feature image by Michael Packard (@CollectingPack on Twitter) / Photography by William Purnell / Icon Sportswire