We began the week with the expectation that we'd be without Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger for the foreseeable future. While it was jarring, we also knew we could overcome the losses because of the depth of the position. As of Thursday afternoon it sure looks like that depth is taking another hit due to Cam Newton's foot.
Newton hasn't practiced yet and speculation is growing that the Panthers will start Kyle Allen on Sunday at Arizona. Allen made one start last year and scored 28 Fantasy points, but he's probably not someone you want to trust in a one-quarterback league.
What's worse is that our favorite waiver wire add, Josh Allen, is now owned in 86% of leagues. So is Jimmy Garoppolo. Maybe Allen isn't looking so bad, after all.
I'll get into my favorite streaming options below, but assuming Newton is out, it's awfully thin pickings. Jacoby Brissett is the only quarterback in my top 16 who is available in more than 40% of leagues.
In regard to Newton, I would hold on to him. If his foot gets right, he still has top-five upside at a position that doesn't look as deep as it once did. His upside is worth carrying a second quarterback.
Week 3 QB Preview
Numbers to know
- 7.1 -- Teddy Bridgewater's career yards per attempt on 904 career pass attempts. With Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara on his side, he may be a solid No. 2 quarterback.
- 8.7 -- Average completed air yards for Lamar Jackson. His improvement as a passer has shocked even me, and I was pretty high on the possibility.
- 94 -- Kyler Murray's pass attempts in two games. Some of that is overtime against the Lions, but this has been a very pass-happy attack. Even a small improvement in efficiency could make Murray the Fantasy star many projected.
- 17 -- Rush attempts for Josh Allen. That's more than any quarterbacks in the NFL not named Lamar Jackson.
- 10.7 -- Patrick Mahomes' yards per attempt through two weeks. Not only has he not regressed, he's arguably been better in 2019 despite playing most of those two games without Tyreek Hill.
- 5 -- Interceptions for Matt Ryan. It's an odd total for a very good quarterback, and something to watch moving forward.
- 75 -- Fantasy points this season for Dak Prescott. That makes him No. 2 right in between Jackson and Mahomes. It doesn't feel like he's received the same hype as the other two.
- 10 -- The number of times Deshaun Watson has been sacked. That has to make you just a little nervous about a potential injury, and it's hurting the Texans' offensive production.
Matchups that matter
Mayfield has been a disappointment through two weeks, and things don't get any easier in Week 3. The Rams have allowed 10 total Fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. With the combination of Mayfield's slow start and the Rams defensive talent, I don't believe you can start him this week.
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Things have gone extremely well for Prescott, and that figures to continue in Week 3 with a home matchup against the Dolphins. This is their first game outside of Miami, and so far they've looked like the worst team in NFL history. Oh yeah, they just traded Minkah Fitzpatrick as well. Dak Prescott is my No. 2 quarterback this week and should be the chalk in DFS.
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Waiver Wire Targets
We talked about this last week. Brissett gets the Falcons, Raiders and Chiefs over the next three weeks. The volume hasn't been there so far, but Brissett has put up decent efficiency against the Chargers and Titans in his first two games. The next three figure to be more high scoring, which should lead to more pass attempts and Fantasy production. The Colts have remained very pass-heavy in terms of their touchdowns, which is something we saw last year with Andrew Luck at quarterback.
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With Allen and Garoppolo off the board, we've been reduced to trusting Andy Dalton on the road against a bad matchup. Hopefully you can get Brissett. In fairness to Dalton, he does lead the NFL in passing yards and this offense has been very pass heavy in Zac Taylor's first two games. I don't believe they'll be able to run the ball, and I do expect they'll be chasing points. You could do worse.
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I'm really curious to see what Bridgewater can do in this situation. He has an elite No. 1 receiver, one of the best pass-catching backs in football and Sean Payton calling plays. It should be no surprise if he turns into a solid streamer you want to start at home. In leagues where most teams carry at least two quarterbacks, I'll be adding Bridgewater and stashing him.
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DFS Plays
Brady was actually a little bit of a disappointment last week. I guess that's why he isn't priced like an elite option. He's my top projected quarterback this week and by far and away my favorite value at the position. He has one of the greatest receiving corps ever assembled in terms of talent with Antonio Brown, Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon, and his team has the highest implied total on the slate.
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Allen has made significant improvements as a passer. He's completing 64% of his passes and averaging 7.6 yards per attempt. Combine that with his rushing prowess and we may just have a legitimate top-12 quarterback on our hands on a weekly basis. But even if he hasn't grown that far, he's definitely someone we can use in tournaments against this Bengals defense.
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Allen threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns while running for another score in his only start last year. That was against a Saints defense that had nothing to play for, but this week's matchup may be even better. The Cardinals have stopped no one this year. If Newton is out, Allen will give you cheap upside and the ability to stack your roster everywhere else. If he's low-owned as well, that's even more of a bonus.
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Heath's projections
Rank | QB | FPTs |
1 | Patrick Mahomes | 29.74 |
2 | Dak Prescott | 28.43 |
3 | 28.28 | |
4 | Lamar Jackson | 25.61 |
5 | DeShaun Watson | 25.58 |
6 | Matt Ryan | 25.27 |
7 | 25.05 | |
8 | Josh Allen | 24.46 |
9 | 24.10 | |
10 | 23.88 | |
11 | 23.77 | |
12 | 23.57 | |
13 | Kyler Murray | 23.43 |
14 | 23.09 | |
15 | Jimmy Garoppolo | 22.92 |
16 | Jacoby Brissett | 22.78 |
So who should you sit and start this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 3 Fantasy football rankings for every position, plus see which QB is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that out-performed experts big time last season.
