Streaming Quarterbacks: Week 5 Targets

Sep 30, 2014

I gazed at the reflection before me, reading my neck tattoo backwards -- as always -- knowing that I had that permanent reminder drawn into my skin for a reason, a purpose, a reminder.

"Matchups matter," it said to me, silently, in the mirror.

Then I went ahead and recommended Eli Manning as a top Week 4 quarterback streaming option.

Matchups matter, as my neck says, and Eli's couldn't have been better last Thursday against a depleted Washington secondary that was hardly average when at full health. Eli, who came into last week a different signal caller than he was in Week 1 against Detroit, was Week 4's No. 1 quarterback.

Our other streaming choices, Kirk Cousins and Blake Bortles, finished with 11.5 and 14.5 fantasy points, respectively. 4for4's incredibly useful schedule-adjusted fantasy points and the handy fantasy points per attempt (FPAT) are rounding into shape after four weeks. We'll continue to use these metrics and tools as our guiding light in finding fantasy joy on the waiver wire.

Our QBBWW candidates, after one quarter of the NFL season, have averaged 19.1 fantasy points per contest (QB7 numbers), with optimal picks notching 28.9 points (QB1 numbers).

A quick side note explaining why QBBWW staple Carson Palmer didn't make this week's recommendations: Denver is sneaky good against opposing passers, allowing a brutally low 0.36 FPAT over their first three games. Andrew Luck, in posting a nice stat line against Denver in Week 1, averaged a lowly 0.37 FPAT on 53 throws. That should be a red flag for streamers.

Though teams are throwing against the Broncos -- mostly in frantic keep-pace-with-Peyton mode -- the Broncos' secondary is allowing just 6.6 yards per pass attempt. Palmer's nerve issue in his shoulder isn't fully resolved either, so I'm largely avoiding Arizona's quarterback in this one, if only because I believe I've found three superior options...