Philip Rivers (QB, IND) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

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ANALYSIS: For one of the first times in his career, Philip Rivers started to show his age for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2019. Rivers had his seventh straight season with at least 4,300 yards passing but took major steps back in touchdowns (23, lowest since 2007) and interceptions (20, most in a season since 2016). Despite the dip in numbers, Rivers still finished the fantasy season as QB15 while averaging 15.97 points per week while supporting an RB1 (Austin Ekeler), a WR1 (Keenan Allen), and a TE1 (Hunter Henry). Rivers moved on from the Chargers during the offseason, signing a 1-year, $25 million deal in Indianapolis.

The Colts get arguably the best matchup for their offense in week 1 against a rapidly tanking Jaguars’ team, especially on defense. Jacksonville spent the past week releasing running back Leonard Fournette and trading their best pass rusher (Yannick Ngakoue) and top safety (Ronnie Harrison) to accrue more draft picks.

Rivers may have shown last season that his arm strength was diminishing, but he was still fairly accurate (66% completion percentage) and has different types of weapons in the receiving game. TY Hilton and Parris Campbell are more explosive weapons at receiver after the catch and the trio of Marlon Mack, Nyheim Hines, and Jonathan Taylor can also provide targets out of the backfield.

The Colts face three weak secondaries to start the 2020 season, giving Rivers solid value to begin the year. The Jaguars, Jets, and Vikings all suffered personnel change on defense and could struggle mightily thanks to a loss of preseason games. Meanwhile, the Colts receivers have the running ability to break open short-to-intermediate throws and turn them into long touchdowns.

Rivers ultimately may not spend the whole season on your bench, but he is an excellent addition to try and get your team off to a fast start.

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