Photo by Kyle Emery/Icon Sportswire
Welcome back for another week of QB streaming. If you waited in your draft until the very last rounds, this is the place for you. Each week, I will attempt to comb through the 10 cent bin and find something out there you can get some value out of, if only for one week. Let’s take a look back at last week to see who the top quarterbacks were.
| Player | Team | Opponent | Percent Owned | Fantasy Points |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | Tampa Bay | New Orleans | 15% | 53 |
| Drew Brees | New Orleans | Tampa Bay | 100% | 43 |
| Philip Rivers | LA Chargers | Kansas City | 96% | 41 |
| Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City | LA Chargers | 92% | 28 |
| Case Keenum | Denver | Seattle | 34% | 25 |
| Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay | Chicago | 100% | 24 |
| Tyrod Taylor | Cleveland | Pittsburgh | 25% | 23 |
| Andrew Luck | Indianapolis | Cincinnati | 91% | 22 |
| Tom Brady | New England | Houston | 100% | 22 |
| Joe Flacco | Baltimore | Buffalo | 12% | 21 |
| Russell Wilson | Seattle | Denver | 100% | 21 |
| Kirk Cousins | Washington | Arizona | 98% | 19 |
The first thing I notice is that the top 4 guys all came from 2 games. Basically, shoot-outs helped secure big results. It behooves us to chase high scoring games and the likely point onslaughts that will ensue. This is a major bonus for Patrick Mahomes as he loks capable while his own defense doesn’t. That’s a perfect combination. However, these clearly won’t always be predictable. I don’t know anyone who had Tampa Bay scoring 40+ on new Orleans’ defense. As we look for the streamers who finished in the top-12 for week one, 3 guys were likely also available in your league: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Case Keenum, and Joe Flacco. Each is still under 35% owned, so each is likely sitting on your waivers right now. What’s important to us is figuring out the sustainable production versus the blip on the radar. I view Fitzpatrick as a blip while I give Keenum more credit: I think he could repeat again this week against an unimpressive Oakland defense that allowed a rusty-looking Goff to throw 2 touchdowns. If we look back at last week, our streamers were Andy Dalton, Tyrod Taylor, Mitch Trubisky, Joe Flacco, and Blake Bortles. Dalton, the pick of the week, scored 16 while the group of 5 averaged 17.4 points. This puts us less than 2 off of the top 12, and I think we can do even better. Without further ado, here are my QB streamers for week 2.
Case Keenum (34%, stream of the week)
Case Keenum put up a lot of stats in week 1, though all of them certainly weren’t great. He threw for 329 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions as well. Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas were both peppered with catches, and rookie wideout Courtland Sutton saw 5 targets of his own. I like that the Broncos were willing to let Keenum throw early and often, totaling 39 attempts on the game. I don’t necessarily think that number will continue, but I also don’t think it has to. Keenum was excellent last year and he was good enough in week 1 to give me confidence moving forward. I like Keenum against the Raiders defense, I like Keenum at home again, and I like Keenum as my week 2 stream of the week.
Tyrod Taylor (25%)
When I think about starting Tyrod Taylor after watching his week 1 passing performance, a familiar saying comes to mind…something about making chicken salad out of chicken, well, excrement. However Tyrod Taylor turned a 37.5% completion percentage, 197 yards, a touchdown, and an interception into a top-8 fantasy week. Taylor’s career hasn’t always been pretty, but he always seems to finish strong in fantasy. Look back at 2016. Look back at 2015. Whatever you think of his talent, he manages to get his points thanks to his legs. It was the same with Tim Tebow at one point, and he was one of the worst quarterbacks (in terms of throwing a ball) that I’ve ever seen. Any quarterback with rushing ability has the chance to really blow up each week. It’s almost unfair. I like Tyrod as a streaming option this week with a high floor. If New Orleans’ passing defense is as bad as it looked last week, Taylor could have a great day. If they bounce back and look more capable, Taylor still has his legs and will be playing catch-up. Win-win.
Mitch Trubisky (17%)
While I directed you, my faithful reader, to Andy Dalton, I couldn’t help my Bears homer-ism and I started Mitch Trubisky on my own fantasy team. Trubisky proved that he is not a finished product, but there were some things I liked: The offense was really clicking early, and I have faith that Matt Nagy can do even more given time. Putting your QB in the right situation made Jared Goff a top-12 option in 2017. I like Trubisky’s talent more than Goff’s, so I think this can easily work. The second was the rushing ability of Trubisky. He ran for 32 yards and a touchdown which, like Taylor, helps create a safer floor. At home and against Seattle, I am willing to roll the dice once more on Trubisky. I just hope his game looks more like the first half and less like the second.
Sam Darnold (12%, rookie alert)
It was one week ago that I liked the Detroit defense because it had a “great match-up” against rookie QB Sam Darnold. Am I really already picking Darnold as a QB streamer? Why yes, yes I am. After his pick-six to start the game, Darnold shined with a 75+% completion percentage, 200+ yards, and 2 touchdowns. I like that resilience. Let’s not forget the Jets didn’t even really need Darnold in this one as they would intercept the Lions quarterbacks 5 times, return a kick for a touchdown, and put up an astounding 31 points in the 3rd quarter. Still, he threw. I like Darnold’s weapons in Quincy Enunwa and Robby Anderson. Bilal Powell and Isaiah Crowell are serviceable at running back. I love the week two match-up against the Dolphins. So yes, I’m okay with streaming Sam Darnold this week.
Joe Flacco (12%)
In week 1, Joe Flacco was an impressive 25/34 for 236 yards and 3 touchdowns. He looked like a guy who’s been missing from Baltimore the last couple of years. After all, Flacco hasn’t had a 3+ touchdown game since December 2016. He hasn’t thrown 3+ touchdowns and 0 interceptions since 2014. Still, here we are. Why are we here? One word: motivation. The Ravens have made it clear they are ready to move ahead with Lamar Jackson if things don’t work out nicely this year. Many are guessing the week when Jackson gets his first start. However, I’m guessing Flacco isn’t quite ready to hang the cleats up. Could it be that simple? I don’t think the Ravens love Alex Collins as they quickly benched him after a fumble. Kenneth Dixon got hurt, so he’s gone for now. With a shaky run game, the remaining option is to pass. Sure enough, the 3 new pass catching weapons (Michael Crabtree, Willie Snead, and John Brown) were all involved in week 1. Sure, the Ravens probably won’t throw up 40 again this week or maybe again all season. Still, I could see a world where Flacco becomes relevant this year if the Baltimore defense can keep putting him in good situations. It’s not my first choice, but I will keep Flacco on the streamer list for another week to see how things shake out.