Quarterback Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 5

With week 4 in the books, we have completed a quarter of the NFL season for each team. It has been a wild ride with COVID positive tests and an ever-growing list of injuries, but the waiver wire just keeps on churning. We got to see some explosive passing performances with Dak Prescott throwing for 500 yards and four touchdowns in an 11-point loss and Tom Brady defying father time with 369 yards and five touchdowns in an impressive come from behind win against the Chargers.

Thanks to COVID and injuries, it is more important than ever to be proactive on the waiver wire, especially with a position that is as fragile as quarterback. If your league starts only one QB, having a viable backup could be essential to your long-term success (if you only rostered Cam Newton, Ryan Tannehill, or Ben Roethlisberger you likely found yourself behind the 8-ball this week). With bye weeks on the horizon, a thin position has the ability to get even thinner.

As always, this article will focus on players that are less than 65% rostered in single quarterback leagues and less than 20% rostered for two-quarterback leagues to try and identify the players to maximize your bench in this long weird season.

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Gardner Minshew, Jacksonville Jaguars

Yahoo: 46% rostered ESPN: 45.9% rostered

If you aren’t a firm believer in Minshew magic yet, it still isn’t too late. Minshew completed 27 of 40 passes for 351 yards and two touchdowns with one interception in a loss to the Bengals in week four. It was the third game that Minshew eclipsed 20 fantasy points at the quarterback position this year and the third game he had multiple passing touchdowns. It was also his third consecutive game with 40 or more passing attempts.

The Jaguars are terrible, meaning Minshew will likely find himself in more and more shootouts. His next two opponents are the soft secondaries of the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions, giving him multiple week appeal if you are thin at the quarterback position.

Daniel Jones, New York Giants

Yahoo: 34% rostered ESPN: 28.3% rostered

Through four weeks, Daniel Jones has been far from a rosterable asset. He hasn’t thrown a touchdown in three weeks and has failed to surpass 11 fantasy points since the first week of the season. However, he has faced an absolute murderers row of fantasy defenses, going against the Steelers, Bears, 49ers, and Rams so far this year. His schedule softens up considerably from now until his week 11 bye week, with contests against Dallas, Washington, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Washington, and Philadelphia.

Jones should be able to bounce back even without the services of Saquon Barkley in the backfield. Jones is accurate enough to pick apart those defenses and still has a litany of weapons at his disposal in the form of Evan Engram, Golden Tate, and Darius Slayton. Pick him up and stash him for a rainy day.

Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings

Yahoo: 29% rostered ESPN: 15.7% rostered

Kirk Cousins continued to bounce back from his abysmal showing against the Colts in week 2, throwing for 260 yards and a touchdown against the Texans secondary in week 4. Cousins doesn’t have the passing ceiling of most players considering he has yet to attempt more than 27 passes in a game this season despite the Vikings being 1-3, but he has a ton of weapons that maximize his completions. Adam Theilen continues to produce, Justin Jefferson has emerged as a legitimate weapon at wide receiver, and Dalvin Cook is always a threat to take a short pass the distance.

Cousins plays two of the three worst secondaries in the NFL in 2020 (Seattle and Atlanta) the next two weeks, which means he should see the same offensive statistical boost so many quarterbacks have enjoyed so far this season.

2QB Options and Stashes

Teddy Bridgewater

Yahoo: 19% rostered ESPN: 9.8%% rostered

If you haven’t been paying attention, you may have missed the fact that the Carolina Panthers may be better than we all thought. Carolina has won the last two games without Christian McCaffrey against the Chargers and Cardinals thanks to Teddy Bridgewater. Teddy Two-Gloves scored 26.24 fantasy points in week 4 thanks to 276 passing yards and two touchdowns (with one interception). It marked the second game he surpassed 20 fantasy points this season. Bridgewater is the ideal spot start QB3 in two-quarterback leagues with two games against the Falcons remaining, plus matchups against Detroit, Minnesota, and Washington down the road.

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

Yahoo: 16% rostered ESPN: 11.8%% rostered

At this point, it is fair to call Justin Herbert the real deal. The rookie just missed out on his third consecutive 300-yard passing performance, throwing for 290 yards and three touchdowns with one interception against the Buccaneers. It is getting hard to believe the Chargers can go back to Tyrod Taylor with the rookie playing as well as he has, but Anthony Lynn keeps insisting it is a possibility. Herbert has one of the QB friendliest schedules for quarterbacks from now until week 10, facing the Saints, Jets, Dolphins, Jaguars, and Raiders the next five weeks. At the very least, he is worth a roster spot just in case Lynn has been throwing smoke to the media.

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