Streaming QBs: Week 1

QB List provides you with the best fantasy options at the quarterback position to stream in Week 1 of 2022.

Benjamin Haller
Streaming Quarterbacks 2 Years Ago

Welcome to our quarterback streaming articles for 2022!

Every week we will bring you our advice on which signal-callers have the potential to help your fantasy teams win. We will look at the previous weeks’ performances, the quarterbacks’ supporting cast, the matchup, and smart statistical insights to offer you the clearest picture of which QB to pick up from your waiver wire.

We will only consider QBs who are less than 70% rostered in Yahoo! leagues so as to give you an honest chance at picking one up for your team’s matchup.

The 2022 NFL season will be like no other. The offseason was a spectacular drama series filled with the good, the intriguing and the downright baffling. However, that is all behind us now and all that remains is for 32 teams to take to the field this weekend and give the footballing world a reason to smile. The biggest takeaway from the fantasy offseason was at the quarterback position. Signal-callers were taken later in drafts than at any other time in the last ten years – the gulf between the elite and the rest in ADP has never been wider and that means more fantasy players are looking at their quarterback position on a weekly basis. Consequently, the streaming quarterback is an extremely valuable fantasy commodity.

So with that caveat, let’s look at the lay of the land for Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season.

 

QB Streamers

 

“Remember that Urban Meyer guy?”

 

Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars at Commanders

 

The Trevor Lawrence that existed at Clemson was nowhere to be seen last year for the Jacksonville Jaguars as the toxic environment created by disgraced coach Urban Meyer spread throughout the team, effectively wasting the No.1 overall pick’s rookie season. Despite that, Lawrence showed flashes of what he is capable of with a number of precise, effortless throws. He also made rookie errors and kept making them. That’s most likely the coaching, but it does temper expectations.

Lawrence gets a fresh start under former Eagles coach Doug Peterson, who will provide stability, communication and an ability to develop the young quarterback’s game. Peterson worked wonders with both Nick Foles and Carson Wentz, and his offense never finished lower than top 10 in passing attempts. Combine that with an improved receiving room, the recipe is there for success.

After posting a season-high 85.1 PFF passing grade in last season’s finale, Lawrence comes up against a bruised Commanders defense to open up, who will be without star pass-rusher Chase Young and come into the season under pressure after a dismal 2021. The time is now for Jacksonville’s franchise quarterback to be.

 

“Our Young QB is Better Than Your Young QB”

 

Justin Fields, Bears vs. 49ers

 

Justin Fields ascended to the starting quarterback position quickly in the Chicago Bears‘ horrendous 2021 season after the predictable experiment with Andy Dalton failed epically. Behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league, devoid of playmakers in the receiving game, and hampered by lazy, predictable play-calling meant Fields was…actually, pretty good. Which is why I am so high on him this season. Fields faced everything head-on, working through his own rookie tendencies to lead an offense and show he is a bona fide franchise quarterback. Through his final five games, the former Ohio State signal-caller averaged 16.4 fantasy points per game, including at least one touchdown in each outing.

His coming out party occurred over a two-game stretch midseason where Fields completed 36-of-56 for 466 yards with two scores and two turnovers. Fields also rushed for 148 yards and a rushing touchdown in games against the 49ers and Steelers. He went over 100 yards rushing against San Francisco, his opening opponent in 2022. The 49ers gave up the eighth most rushing yards to quarterbacks last season and also come into this year with issues in the secondary.

Fields is a dual-threat superstar in the making, and even though new coach Matt Eberflus prioritized the defense in the draft, Fields does have improved chemistry with his main receivers – Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet. Recent addition Ihmir Smith-Marsette, picked up off waivers from the Vikings, gives him a playmaker in the deep game too.

I’m excited, you should be too.

 

 

“Smokin The Winston”

 

Jameis Winston, Saints at Falcons

 

You are likely to see Jameis Winston as the first recommendation for a streaming quarterback elsewhere, and based on the small sample size in 2021, it’s not a bad call. The New Orleans Saints are in a major transition period after Sean Payton stepped away from the team at the end of last season. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen takes on the top job and the decision to go again with Winston is a smart move aimed at consistency. Winston threw 14 touchdowns with only three (yes, three!) interceptions in seven games before a torn ACL ended his promising campaign.

This year, he gets back star wideout Michael Thomas; he also has a shiny new toy in first-round draft selection Chris Olave; and, to top things off the team has much more offensive depth, with Taysom Hill moving permanently to tight end and veteran Jarvis Landry providing an elite option out of the slot. Winston threw four passes, all completions, for 59 yards in his solitary showing in week one of preseason. That has done enough to suggest he is fully recovered from the ACL injury, however doubts will remain until he gets through the first game unscathed.

The Falcons have a derisory defense, and they didn’t do much to improve it for 2022. Deion Jones hit injured reserve just last week, which is no help to a defense that gave up the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks and the third-most passing touchdowns in 2021. Yikes!

 

“Veteran Rider”

 

Matt Ryan, Colts at Texans

 

The hype for Matt Ryan and the Indianapolis Colts is unreal. The only thing I can say for certain is that he has a fantastic team around him. From the offensive line, to the running game, and across the young and talented receiving room, Ryan has an embarrassment of riches with which to prop up his ailing arm. And his arm is an issue. Obvious at the best of times in 2021, Ryan is now working with a more limited range than he has ever done. Alongside that, the veteran took a step back in decision-making last season too. Some of that is due to the fact he was pressured on 40% of his dropbacks last season, good enough for the 6th most in the league.

Ryan was efficient in Arthur Smith‘s creative offense despite this though. He ranked 12th in PFF passing grade from a clean pocket and second throwing at the intermediate level. Colts coach Frank Reich is a mastermind in executing a system that emphasizes play-action, spitting out screen passes and thus maximizing Ryan’s skillset. Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman Jr. will be fed the ball religiously, and that alone should be worthy of a solid streaming option most weeks.

It’s hard to make a case for the Texans to trouble the Colts significantly. Unless first-round draft pick Derek Stingley Jr. comes out of the gate firing, there is little else to be worried about. Ride Ryan into the opener if you must.

 

 

Don’t hesitate to give me your thoughts and hit me up for questions on Twitter at @benjaminhaller1.

 

Photo by Dan Anderson/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire

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