Streaming quarterbacks is the new “it” thing in fantasy football.
I did it last year during my championship season, thanks to drafting Jameis Winston. He was a dud, so I turned to the waiver wire each week for the best matchups.
So if you waited forever and you don’t have a good quarterback anyway, it may be worthwhile to find a solid matchup to exploit in week 1. The major problem with that strategy, though, is that we don’t know which defenses have improved or gotten worse since last year.
But if you’re without a quarterback, or let’s say they have a matchup with Jacksonville or Minnesota, it may be in your best interest to exploit a matchup or two. Here’s two streaming quarterbacks available on the waiver wire who can offer some hope in fantasy football week 1.
Andy Dalton vs. Indianapolis Colts
This actually may make my start ’em, sit ’em list for fantasy football week 1.
Dalton isn’t terrible, like many in the media have portrayed him to be. He’s been a decent fantasy football option in the past and against Indianapolis, he has more than a fighting chance of being in the QB1 conversation.
The Colts were atrocious against the pass last season. They were dead-last in yards per attempt through the air, giving up 7.7 yards per pass attempt. For a bit of context, Jacksonville, which ranked first in that category in 2017, allowed 5.6 yards per pass attempt.
That’s a rather large discrepancy.
Dalton has weapons, with A.J. Green, Joe Mixon and a seemingly healthy Tyler Eifert. He also has a wild card in John Ross, who can’t be any worse than his rookie year.
Dalton is owned in less than 20 percent of fantasy football leagues on Yahoo. If you have a bad matchup this week with your starting quarterback, Dalton is well worth the attention.
Sam Bradford vs. Washington Redskins
Bradford isn’t a reliable starter in fantasy football because he’s going to get hurt. It happens every year.
But when he’s healthy, he’s not a bad quarterback, which makes him enticing as a weekly streaming option.
He’s going to keep the ball away from the opposition. He’s proven that several times in his career. He also can put up solid fantasy numbers, with week 1 in 2017 as an indicator, with more than 300 yards passing and three touchdowns against New Orleans.
Washington isn’t a dominating defense and the Cardinals get the Redskins at home to open the season. That’s a nice spot for Bradford.
He’s not as good of a play as Dalton, but he’s a viable QB1 candidate in week 1.
