If you’ve been starving for some fantasy points from your quarterback, Week 4 in the NFL finally left some fantasy managers with a smile on their face. Thankfully I can’t rip the quarterback play across the league from this past week (who wants to watch bad quarterbacks anyway?), with seven signal-callers finishing Week 4 with 20+ fantasy points.
CJ Stroud and Lamar Jackson, who fantasy managers spent a pretty penny to draft prior to the season, each came away with 23+ points. Jordan Love’s return from an MCL sprain he suffered in Week 1 was a tail of two halves, looking rusty in the first and more like the prolific passer we grew to love at the end of last season in the second, finishing with over 28 fantasy points.
On the flip side, Week 4’s top performers at quarterback also included the likes of Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield, both who have been discussed as streamable options here in the past. Justin Fields is your top performer of the week with almost 32 points, the type of ceiling game we all know he has in him, but was previously elusive in 2024. While some of Week 4’s best at the quarterback position came from players with higher draft capital, it was also another example of how streaming the position with players who can be picked up on the waiver wire can be quite fruitful as well.
You may be forced to look to the waiver wire at the quarterback position because (I hate to break it to you) the bye weeks are here! What seems like so far away at our drafts always approaches quicker than we think, and is just another reason to see who may be the best options at quarterback that can at least provide a spot start for one week.
Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers
The player I happened to take as Mr. Irrelevant in my home league draft (who I also didn’t start this past week woohoo!) tops the list of QB streaming options for Week 5. His performances in Weeks 1-3 left a bit to be desired, but the incredibly high ceiling is always there because of the rushing potential.
Fields surely delivered with his legs on Sunday in Indianapolis, rushing for 55 yards and two touchdowns. Finding a guy like that who can also put up 300 yards through the air that’s available in 68% of Yahoo leagues is rare, and will be even rarer after this week when his roster ownership increases significantly.
Week 5’s matchup against the Cowboys isn’t especially daunting as Dallas allows the 12th-most fantasy points to the quarterback position, according to NFL.com. A banged up Micah Parsons (ankle) may not be available and Daniel Jones was able to carve up the Cowboys secondary for an efficient 281 yards on just 11 incompletions last week.
While we love Fields’ rushing ability, let’s not ignore the success he’s had with his arm either. According to Next Gen Stats, Fields ranks fourth in completion rate over expected. Also, George Pickens has the most receiving yards without a touchdown this season, showing there may be some positive regression for Pickens to find the end zone, another avenue of fantasy points for Fields (both pieces of data courtesy of JJ Zachariason of LateroundQB.com). The QB5 in 2022 is the quarterback to go after on the waiver wire in week 5.
Check out this beauty from Fields to Pickens down the sidelines.
EZ view of Justin Fields deep to George Pickens 😍 #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/VWpWVIyipz
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) October 1, 2024
Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings
How many touchdowns does Sam have to throw to be rostered in more than 55% of Yahoo leagues? Apparently the NFL’s leader in touchdown passes with 11 (as of Sunday night) is still a streamable quarterback heading into Week 5. Yes, the matchup this week against the Jets in London is not the most attractive, but Darnold has a unique blend of excellent weapons and a highly-respected play-caller in Kevin O’Connell at his disposal that many quarterbacks on the waiver wire may not have.
According to Ryan Heath of fantasypoints.com, the Vikings rank second in pass attempts inside the 10 yard-line with 20. O’Connell’s offense has ranked at least second in red zone pass attempts in his first two years as Vikings head coach, showing that passing near the goal line is an emphasis in his offense.
Of course Darnold is not going to throw three of four touchdowns every week, but O’Connell’s system gives the former #3 pick in the 2018 draft an advantage in having touchdown opportunities through the air. His weaponry also should only continue to improve as Jordan Addison looks healthy from the ankle injury he suffered Week 1 and tight end TJ Hockenson has been aiming for a Week 7 return. Darnold is not just a Week 5 streaming option, but should be looked at as a worthy QB1 option for the rest of the season.
Is it time to have a conversation about Sam Darnold?
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/4HaA6IHdFD
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) September 29, 2024
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
The redemption story continues. Don’t let the fact that Geno is only rostered in 44% of Yahoo leagues confuse you into thinking he’s not turned into one of the more reliable starting quarterbacks. That’s the case both in real life and at times in the fantasy football world. His Week 4 performance against the Lions was a memorable one for the 34 year-old after he recorded career highs in completions (38) and yards (395).
Smith turned in a QB8 performance on the week despite only throwing one touchdown, which easily could have been three. Wide receievers DK Metcalf and Jake Bobo were each just a yard away from pay dirt on receptions from Smith. He’s no Fields, but Smith continued to show he can get it done on the ground after his 38 rushing yards in Detroit.
Looking ahead to Week 5, Geno and the Seahawks get the Giants at home. While New York has been a middle of the pack defense against quarterbacks in terms of fantasy points allowed, Giants #1 CB Deonte Banks will likely get tasked with covering Metcalf. While the advanced metrics for Banks are a bit more encouraging than how things have looked on the surface, CeeDee Lamb didn’t have much trouble against him in Week 4, especially on the 55-yard touchdown reception he beat Banks on. Amari Cooper also had his best game of 2024 against Banks and the rest of the Giants secondary in Week 3. Big-play opportunities should be plentiful for Metcalf, and that means fantasy points for Geno.
OH MY DK METCALF. What a catch and what a throw from Geno Smith#Seahawks #SEAvsDET pic.twitter.com/pJBI6Er2H7
— Joseph (@HockeyJoseph10) October 1, 2024
Feature image by Michael Packard (@CollectingPack on Twitter) / Photography by Kevin Langley / Icon Sportswire