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After months of buildup, the first week of the 2022 NFL season has come and gone. Similar to years past, it felt like defenses ruled the first week of the season. It didn’t help that one of the more anticipated matchups between young quarterbacks was practically played underwater.
Five quarterbacks (Patrick Mahomes, Matt Ryan, Joe Burrow, Carson Wentz, and Joe Flacco) hit the 300-yard passing threshold this week. Mahomes paced the quarterback position with five touchdown passes while Wentz had four touchdowns and two interceptions. Three quarterbacks (Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, and Lamar Jackson) all had three passing scores.
In this article, I will looking at the fantasy football waiver wire for quarterback pickups and streamers, focusing on players who are under 65% rostered in fantasy leagues while adding a couple of deep sleepers for two-quarterback leagues (less than 25% rostered).
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Single-QB League Waiver Wire Options
Yahoo: 62% rostered
It wasn’t pretty for Trevor Lawrence in Week 1, but it was progress. The second-year quarterback completed 24 of 42 passes for 275 yards and a touchdown in the Jaguars' 28-22 loss to the Washington Commanders. Lawrence also threw one interception on the day.
Lawrence continues to grow as a passer, but it was encouraging to see him finish the first week of 2022 with as many touchdowns as interceptions after last season's 12 TD to 17 INT ratio.
Lawrence will look to take the next step against a Colts secondary that allowed 240 passing yards and two touchdowns against Davis Mills and the Texans.
Matt Ryan
Yahoo: 46% rostered
The first game of the Matt Ryan experience in Indianapolis was an up-and-down affair. On one hand, the veteran quarterback completed 32 of 50 passes for 352 yards and a touchdown. On the other hand, Ryan threw a bad interception, went through struggles with the offense, and ultimately finished his first game as a Colt with a tie against a bad Texans team.
The good news? The Colts offense got through the game healthy and will have an excellent matchup against a questionable Jaguars secondary in Week 2.
Jacksonville allowed Carson Wentz to throw for four touchdowns and two interceptions in Week 1, leading to a 30.72 fantasy output. Ryan is far less prone to turnovers and could do damage with Michael Pittman Jr. against a defense lacking a lockdown corner.
Two-QB Waiver Wire Options and Stashes
Yahoo: 25% rostered
Daniel Jones avoided the catastrophic mistakes that we have grown accustomed to in Week 1 of the NFL season. Jones completed 17 of 21 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns while adding six rushes for 25 yards.
He did have one terrible interception on a pass to Saquon Barkley in the end zone. New head coach Brian Daboll seemed content running the offense through Barkley in the run game, but Jones was still able to put up 18.02 fantasy points in his first start under a new regime.
It is very unlikely that Jones will have many weekly QB1 overall finishes this year if he’s throwing the ball just 21 times per game, but he’s shown the upside to be a consistent QB2. He will get a chance to build positive momentum against the Panthers defense in Week 2.
Yahoo: 18% rostered
Baker Mayfield’s first game as a Carolina Panther featured many ups-and-downs. Mayfield completed 16 of 27 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown and an interception against his old team in Week 1. He was able to eclipse 20 fantasy points thanks to a late rushing touchdown that took the lead that was ultimately surrendered at the end of the game.
Mayfield has plenty of weapons to utilize in Carolina and quickly showed rapport with Robbie Anderson (five receptions, 102 yards, one touchdown). As time goes on, his connection with Christian McCaffrey (four receptions for 24 yards) and D.J. Moore (three receptions for 43 yards) will hopefully grow.
Mayfield will have a chance to grow against a Giants secondary that allowed 266 passing yards and two touchdowns to the Titans in Week 1.
Carson Wentz
Yahoo: 12% rostered
We got the full range of the Carson Wentz experience in Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season. Wentz threw for 313 yards and four touchdowns in his first game with the Commanders, connecting with Jahan Dotson twice for scores. Unfortunately, the bad Carson Wentz showed up in the second half with interceptions on a long sideline throw and a screen pass.
We’ve seen enough out of Wentz to know that those moments are going to happen, but he was still a 30-point fantasy scorer in his first game of the season with Washington.
More importantly, he showed rapport with both Terry McLaurin and Dotson, which could help his weekly fantasy production. Wentz has a Week 2 matchup against a questionable Detroit secondary, which could lead to another big day in the passing department.
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