Streaming Quarterbacks: Week 2 Targets

Sep 15, 2020

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Week 1 was…normal.

It was normal in the sense that we’re left asking questions about every team regardless of their win total. Some of our assumptions headed into Week 1 were correct. Rushing quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Kyler Murray will always give you an advantage. But some of our other assumptions had to be tossed out the window once the games started. Carson Wentz can’t elevate the Eagles with multiple injuries to the offensive line and pass-catching corps. The #LetRussCook movement may have gotten to Pete Carroll and Brian Schottenheimer as they let Russell Wilson throw a pass on fourth down. And they scored a touchdown on it. But the mystery and our attempts to parse through what little data we have is part of the fun. Now, we turn our attention to Week 2.

Other Week 2 Streaming Articles: TE | K | DST

We’ve got live data to work with, but our process generally remains the same. I’ll review last week’s recommendations for any takeaways, highlight any defensive injuries we can leverage, and then dive into the Week 2 recommendations. Let’s get to it.

Week 1 Review

I always go back and review the previous week’s recommendations. Not to take a victory lap, but to highlight any key trends or adjustments to the process moving forward. Week 1 was filled with positives for our top streamers.

Top Streamers

Teddy Bridgewater – 19.4 pts (QB15)
Mitch Trubisky – 24.3 pts (QB7)

Deep Play

Derek Carr – 13.6 pts (QB24)

The Panthers passed at a 58.0% neutral rate (62.4% in 2019), but Teddy at least got the job done for fantasy managers despite their loss. Bridgewater’s 34 attempts matched his seasonal average while still in New Orleans, but only a 5.9% target share for Christian McCaffrey is a surprise. The Raiders (and Carolina’s weak defense) did their job by putting up points to keep the passing game alive boosting Bridgewater’s chances to produce on the field. But Josh Jacobs’ RB1 performance came at Carr’s expense. Jon Gruden only called passing plays on 36.4% of their red-zone attempts capping Carr’s upside. It worked for the Raiders, but not our fantasy squads.

Trubisky finished as the QB7, but there was some concern he might get benched midway through the game. He only had eight completions for 110 passing yards and one rushing attempt to end the first half. Despite the injuries to the Lions’ defense, Trubisky couldn’t find a rhythm until the second half. He didn’t definitively settle the QB controversy making him a difficult streaming recommendation moving forward.

Key Defensive Injuries

Injuries affected almost every team in their first game back at full speed. To keep it short and actionable, I’ll keep this list limited to players on teams facing possible streamers in Week 2.

Tremaine Edmunds (Buffalo, Shoulder), Del’Shawn Phillips (Quad), Matt Milano (Hamstring) – All three left the game against the Jets and didn’t return to the contest. Buffalo’s defense smothered Sam Darnold most of the day limiting him to 11.2 points. The Bills were already thin at linebacker and will face Ryan Fitzpatrick in Week 2. While the Dolphins are dealing with injuries of their own, Fitzpatrick’s outlook may improve should some of Buffalo’s defensive players miss time.