RADIO
It was another big week for quarterbacks around the league, as five signal callers topped the 30-point mark once again. Many of the usual suspects were up there, such as Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson, but we also got a few surprises from unheralded quarterbacks.
It's a pretty big week for byes, as six teams are off. Jacksonville, Houston, New England, Denver, Philadelphia, and Washington are all getting a breather this week, making it the largest bye week of 2019. Owners of Dak Prescott (vs. MIN) and Matthew Stafford (@ CHI) may want to consider an alternative given their tough matchups, though it would be pretty difficult to bench Stafford right now.
In this article, we're looking at quarterbacks owned in fewer than 65% of fantasy leagues, while throwing in a few deep-league options who are owned in fewer than 20% of leagues.
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Week 10 Quarterback Waiver Wire Options
Derek Carr (OAK): 46% Owned vs. LAC
Carr has played superbly coming out of the bye, throwing for at least 285 yards and multiple touchdowns in every game since the Raiders’ Week 6 bye. The Chargers present a much tougher matchup than his last two opponents, Detroit and Houston, but Carr still put up respectable numbers against a stout Green Bay secondary. The pass rush could be a problem for Carr, but he would get a big boost if center Rodney Hudson (leg) is able to return this week. The emergence of Josh Jacobs has helped alleviate some of the pressure, and Carr has also received a boost over the last few weeks as Hunter Renfrow has stepped up as a legitimate playmaking receiver to compliment Tyrell Williams and Darren Waller. Carr is a solid start this week, but his schedule gets even better going forward. He faces the Bengals, Jets, and Chiefs between Weeks 11-13. Those are the matchups where Carr should shine, and it’s worth adding him now before everyone sees Cincinnati as his Week 11 opponent.
Jacoby Brissett (IND): 57% Owned vs. MIA
Obviously, this pickup is contingent upon Brissett’s health, but if Brissett is capable of playing he’ll be the top streaming option for Week 10. Despite notching their first victory of 2019, the Dolphins are still one of the worst teams in the league, having allowed the fourth-most points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season. They’ve struggled on downfield passes as well, as Miami is allowing a 68% completion rate on passes 15-20 yards downfield. Their insufficiencies should help Brissett, who has been about average on deep balls this season. T.Y. Hilton may be out, but Indy’s dynamic duo of tight ends, and the emergence of Zac Pascal give Brissett a respectable repertoire of weapons to take advantage of this matchup. Again, we’ll have to watch the injury report on Brissett, but he’s certainly worth the add if he suits up on Sunday.
Sam Darnold (NYJ): 26% Owned vs. NYG
Darnold was disappointing in a juicy matchup against the Dolphins last week, but he’s got the perfect bounce back opportunity with another soft secondary in the Giants. The Giants have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season, along with the highest yards-per-attempt in the NFL. Darnold has shown some promise this year in limited action, and he has an underrated supporting cast around him. Le’Veon Bell is of course a superstar, but the trio of Robby Anderson, Jamison Crowder, and Chris Herndon are nothing to sneeze at either. It’s hard to pass up on the matchup with Darnold, especially since he’s got a string of excellent matchups all the way until Week 15 at Baltimore. Darnold is someone to add is standard or deeper leagues, and makes for a decent buy-low candidate in two-quarterback leagues based on his schedule alone.
Daniel Jones (NYG): 26% Owned @ NYJ
The two New York franchises meet just once every four years, and both organizations couldn’t been in worse shape for this Subway Series matchups. While that’s bad for the fans, it’s good for us uninvested fantasy players. Jones has been a roller coaster since overtaking Eli Manning for the starting gig, but he’s put up some big games when the matchup is good, including a 28-point performance against the Lions in Week 9. While one wouldn’t anticipate a great performance from him Monday against Dallas, Jones is a good streaming option regardless of how he plays tonight. The Jets haven’t been horrible against quarterbacks, allowing just the 15th-most points per game to opposing gunslingers, but they’ve been trending in the wrong direction. They have allowed a combined six touchdown passes and 567 yards over the last two weeks, and that was against Gardner Minshew and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Daniel Jones isn’t much better than those two at this point in his career, but with the Giants a slight -2.5 “road” favorite in this one, a close game should mean decent scoring on both sides. Both quarterbacks are in play in this one, with Jones a bit more attractive than Darnold for this week.
Two-QB League Pickups and Stashes
Ryan Tannehill (TEN): 18% Owned vs. KC
No one expected much out of Ryan Tannehill after he took over for Marcus Mariota in Week 6; I mean, we got a pretty good idea of what Tannehill was capable of in his 88 starts with Miami, but Tannehill has been an excellent fantasy quarterback over the last three weeks. He’s averaged 21.55 points per game over his last three starts, and he’s been more aggressive throwing downfield. Tannehill is one of just seven quarterbacks with an aDOT above 10 yards(min. 75 pass attempts), up there with the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, and Matt Stafford. He’s also got a stellar 19.2% bad pass rate, the second-best among quarterbacks with an aDOT above 10 yards. Tannehill is throwing it deep and accurately; if only he could buy some blocking, as Tannehill’s 14.3% sack rate is the highest among quarterbacks (min. 75 pass attempts). The second-highest? Marcus Mariota at 13.6%. They were without two starters in this last game, and pro-bowler Taylor Lewan has dealt with injuries all season, but even with a bad offensive line Tannehill has been able to produce. The Chiefs have allowed the 11th-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season, and with the return of Patrick Mahomes looming this game’s 48.5 O/U could be on the rise as we approach game day. For quarterbacks owned in fewer than 20% of leagues, it doesn’t get better than Tannehill.
Brian Hoyer (IND): 0% Owned vs. MIA
This one is purely matchup based, as Hoyer could fall into one of the most enticing matchups in the league should he draw the start for Indianapolis. If Jacoby Brissett is out this week, then Hoyer becomes a hot add in deep leagues and two-QB leagues, chiefly because he’s available in literally every league. No one expects Hoyer to be good, but he did manage to toss three touchdowns in a road matchup against a strong Pittsburgh defense. He also showed decent chemistry with Zach Pascal, something we’d hope can carry over as T.Y. Hilton is on the shelf. If you are looking at quarterbacks owned in fewer than 5% of leagues, the focus needs to be on their opponent, and it doesn’t get much better than a home date with Miami.
More Waiver Wire Pickups and Advice
