Late-round quarterback drafter? Had an injury to your starter? In need of a bye-week replacement? In this article, you'll find a couple of quarterback options likely available in most leagues (we'll use players rostered in fewer than 60% of Yahoo leagues) who could provide some punch at the quarterback position.
Unless most teams in your league carry a backup quarterback, there should be plenty of starting quarterbacks on your waiver wire each week. Instead of starting a low-end QB1 facing an elite secondary, look to the waiver wire and play the matchups. Ideally, a player who appears in this space gets hot and becomes an every-week starter. If not, throw him back to the wire and come back here next week. Quarterback is one of the most predictable positions in fantasy football. Simply by using matchups, fantasy GMs can start a mid-to-high QB1 every week by using the waiver wire.
Disclaimer: this column will typically be written on Monday evenings. Should any relevant events occur on Monday Night Football, the article will be edited. Any post-publication edits will be noted.
Last Week's Results
Let's take a look at how last week's recommendations fared.
Brian Hoyer - vs. Miami
Hoyer was a complete disaster, "leading" his team to a shocking home loss against Miami. He barely eclipsed 200 passing yards and barely made it to double-digit fantasy points.
Derek Carr - vs. L.A. Chargers
Carr played a decent real-life game against the Chargers, but the fantasy production wasn't there. He ended the week as the QB18, pending Monday night.
Daniel Jones - "at" N.Y. Jets
Jones continues the roller coaster ride that is his rookie season. The chasm between his highs and lows is as wide as any player in the league. Thankfully, Week 10 was a ceiling game for Jones, as he passed for 208 yards and 4 touchdowns. His 33.4 fantasy points represent the fourth time this season that we've had a Rent-a-Quarterback reach 30 or more. Pending Monday night's game, Jones is the QB3 on the week.
This Week's Candidates
Here are the players available in at least 40% of typical leagues who could provide QB1 production this week.
Derek Carr - vs. Cincinnati (Team Total: 29.5)
Cincinnati has allowed at least 21 fantasy points to a quarterback in five straight games. Carr has played a better "real football" season than a fantasy football season, but his fantasy production has been fine. Carr has only fallen outside of the QB2 ranks once this season, compared to two weeks as a QB1.
And Carr's big weeks have been mostly predictable. Below is a break-down of Carr's performances this season vs. passing defenses ranked in the top-16 of the league vs. those ranked 17th or worse.
| Fantasy Points | Pass Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | |
| Top-Half | 13.1 | 223.4 | 1.2 | 0.6 |
| Bottom-Half | 18.6 | 271.2 | 2.0 | 0.3 |
Kyle Allen - vs. Atlanta (Team Total: 28.75)
Allen is coming off his first career 300-yard passing game, and it came on the road against a Green Bay defense that, while not perfect, has still been difficult for opposing passing games.
This week, Allen gets a woefully bad Atlanta team coming off its emotional high point of the season. The bye week may have recharged the Atlanta batteries. But a second consecutive divisional road game and being slapped in the face with the reality that they're still 2-7 will hit them hard on Sunday.
Deep Leagues Only
These selections are best saved for deeper leagues and/or 2QB/Superflex leagues. Beyond the two players above, this is a bad week for Rent-a-Quarterback candidates. The players below all have projected team totals of 19 points or fewer.
- Sam Darnold - at Washington: Darnold performed well last week, but consistency hasn't been a hallmark. And Washington isn't likely to provide a good game environment.
- Ryan Finley - at Oakland: Finley added 22 rushing yards in his effort against Baltimore. Oakland should provide less of a buzzsaw.
- Jeff Driskel - vs. Dallas: Driskel is a good athlete with good weapons. But you're relying on at least six rushing points if hoping he can be a top-16 quarterback. Also, Matthew Stafford might be back.
Looking Ahead
If others in your league are also playing the "Rent-a-Quarterback" game, it might be wise to get a jump on next week's potential choices.
- Derek Carr - at N.Y. Jets: Here's another reason to prioritize Carr this week.
- Nick Foles - at Tennessee: Picking up Foles this week as a "wait-and-see" isn't a bad approach if roster flexibility allows.
- Sam Darnold - vs. Oakland: Week 12 could have another MetLife Stadium shootout between middling-to-poor teams. The common link is the Jets defense.
It's never too early to start planning for the fantasy playoffs. In that light, here are some choices for Weeks 14-16, from our Customized Strength of Schedule, sorted by the average of Week 14-16 opponent strength.
| Quarterback | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 |
| Ryan Tannehill | at Oakland | vs. Houston | vs. New Orleans |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | at N.Y. Jets | at N.Y. Giants | vs. Cincinnati |
| Daniel Jones | at Philadelphia | vs. Miami | at Washington |
| Nick Foles | vs. L.A. Chargers | at Oakland | at Atlanta |
| Jacoby Brissett | at Tampa Bay | at New Orleans | vs. Carolina |
Commentary:
- Ryan Tannehill is going to continue to be a thing -- at least through Week 15. Get on board.
- In a weird scheduling quirk, Miami visits MetLife in back-to-back weeks. The good news is that neither Gotham-based team provides much resistance.
- More than his Week 12 schedule, this is the reason to pick up Foles sooner rather than later. Not shown in the table, he gets Tampa Bay in Week 13.
- Brissett shouldn't be a high priority for the entire playoffs. His spot here is almost all thanks to the Week 14 matchup against Tampa Bay.
Questions, comments, suggestions, and other feedback on this piece are always welcome via e-mail hester@footballguys.com