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Week 7 was the best week for the article yet! All three QBs produced QB1 days with at least 19 fantasy points. It was particularly ugly for Brian Hoyer who had a completion rate below 50% and racked up points after the Texans went down by 41 at halftime. Hey, I don’t care how my QB picks deliver as long as they do in fact have a healthy number of fantasy points at the end of the day. When you stream it’s not going to be pretty all the time, but it gets the job done!
This week there are two extra notes I’d like to point out. Tyrod Taylor’s ownership has dipped back below 50% as he’ll be unavailable for a third straight week, this time thanks to his bye. If you can manage giving up a bench spot in Week 8, he really should be scooped up. Taylor is QB6 in points per game. The second note is a pretty obvious one, but Derek Carr is still out there in plenty of leagues. I don't like him this week against the Jets, but he needs to be owned. If you don't have a top 8ish QB, stashing Carr for the weeks ahead is a good move.
For this article I will look at two QBs owned in 50% or less of Fleaflicker leagues and another QB owned in 25% or less to account for the QB scarcity in 2QB leagues. There are definitely some good QBs readily available if you need a stream in the first week!
Standard League QB Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 8
Alex Smith (KC) vs Lions
OWNED IN: 40% of Fleaflicker leagues
I really wanted to recommend Derek Carr again, but I just can’t do it against the Jets. So I am settling for Alex Smith. All things considered, I felt Smith played very well against the Steelers in Week 7 without Jeremy Maclin (in addition to the loss of Charles). He once again played mistake free football and threw for 250 yards with a score.
This week I am fairly certain that Jeremy Maclin will be back. Smith should be able to have a very solid game once again. Unlike last week, I don’t see the Chiefs jumping out to an early lead. Fantasy-wise, that is a good thing for Smith as he will likely have to throw more and be a little more aggressive. Considering that Smith has still managed to remain relatively mistake-free in those situations, I definitely take that as a positive.
Marcus Mariota (TEN) @ Texans
OWNED IN: 48% of Fleaflicker Leagues
Everyone just saw what Ryan Tannehill did to the Texans right? This will be a morally defeated team. Tannehill’s game was an outlier, but this is still a bad defense that was already allowing the 6th most points to opposing QBs prior to Week 7. Of course the one major hitch here is that Mariota just missed Week 7 with an MCL sprain and he is still very questionable for Week 8 as well. I like to be an optimist so I’m thinking he plays! If Matt Hasselbeck “on his deathbed” can play well against this defense, no doubt Marcus Mariota can as well.
Deeper League QB Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 8
Brian Hoyer (HOU) vs Titans
OWNED IN: 21% of Fleaflicker Leagues
How could anyone see the result of this game and want to gamble on Hoyer putting up fantasy points again!? Well, I am apparently foolish enough to do so. With it being the heart of the bye week period, there are very few QBs out there in less than 25% of leagues. Hoyer worked out in Week 7 but it was ugly.
Hoyer does have a couple things going for him. First, it seems like Ryan Mallett’s inability to show up to practice or make his flights on time guarantees that Hoyer won’t be benched. Secondly, the matchup against the Titans is not bad at all. The Titans did play well against Matt Ryan in Week 7 on paper, but that seems to be mostly the result of 5 drops by Falcons receivers. Prior to that, teams were averaging 16 fantasy points a game against the Titans. and that includes Jameis Winston and Johnny Manziel. I doubt Hoyer is top 10 again but he should hit 15 fantasy points even if it looks ugly right until the end!
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