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Dan's fantasy football quarterback waiver wire pickups for Week 4 of the 2023 NFL season. His free agent QBs to add and QB streamers for 1QB and 2B leagues.
It isn’t every day you see a team hang 70 points in the NFL. However, if there is a team in the NFL that is built to do it, it is the Miami Dolphins featuring a cache of explosive playmakers. The Dolphins were without Jaylen Waddle but were able to ride Tyreek Hill, Raheem Mostert, and rookie De’Von Achane to a near-record-breaking day in Week 3.
As great as that is, this article is meant to focus on quarterbacks. And we had some great quarterback performances in Week 3 as well. Justin Herbert and Kirk Cousins combined for 772 yards and six touchdowns in one game. We also saw 300-yard passing games from Brock Purdy, Andy Dalton, Tua Tagovailoa and Russell Wilson. Offenses are settling in, which means there are plenty of fantasy points to be had.
In this article, I will look at the fantasy football waiver wire for quarterback pickups and streamers, focusing on players 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 and Streamers
Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos
Yahoo: 56% rostered
The Broncos got annihilated by the Miami Dolphins in Week 3, giving up 70 points and over 300 total rushing yards. However, Russell Wilson quietly had a 300-yard passing game against a good Dolphins defense. The veteran quarterback now has at least 300 passing yards in each of his last two games.
The Broncos passing offense hasn’t been completely revitalized by the trade of new head coach Sean Payton, but they have been much better at scoring fantasy points. Wilson now has 791 passing yards and six touchdowns with just two interceptions this season. He is in a prime position to have another 300-yard passing performance against a Bears secondary that hasn’t done much to stop anybody in 2023.
Jameis Winston, New Orleans Saints
Yahoo: 0% rostered
Derek Carr had been playing solid football for the New Orleans Saints heading into Week 3. Unfortunately, the veteran quarterback suffered a shoulder injury that sent him to the hospital for additional testing after getting an X-ray in the stadium.
It is too early to say what injury Carr has suffered, but regardless, his injury opens up an opportunity for Jameis Winston to take over at quarterback with the Saints. Winston was an efficient 10 of 16 passing for 101 yards after Carr’s injury and led the Saints into field goal range to win the game before the kicker missed his attempt.
Rostering Jameis Winston has always been a rollercoaster, but he isn’t afraid to chuck the ball and has ample weapons at his disposal like Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, and Rashid Shaheed. If Carr is going to miss a significant amount of time, Jameis will firmly be in the QB2 range for the foreseeable future.
Jimmy Garoppolo, Las Vegas Raiders
Yahoo: 14% rostered
Jimmy Garoppolo hasn’t put up huge numbers during his short tenure with the Las Vegas Raiders, throwing for under 250 yards in all of his games with them. He’s completing over 70% of his passes in 2023, but ultimately the passes are little more than empty calories.
Rostering, much less starting, Jimmy Garoppolo isn’t the most appealing option for fantasy managers, but we are at a point in the season where any quarterback that is facing the Los Angeles Chargers secondary is a must-start. The Chargers are currently 32nd in defensive pass DVOA and have allowed 1,079 passing yards and seven touchdowns in three weeks.
Two-QB League Waiver Wire Options and Streamers
Andy Dalton, Carolina Panthers
Yahoo: 2% rostered
The Panthers unexpectedly said late last week that Bryce Young would be missing Week 3’s game against the Seattle Seahawks due to an ankle injury. As the weekend went on, another news blurb stated that the rookie quarterback could miss several weeks due to the injury, suggesting that he is navigating a high ankle sprain (based on the timeline).
That means veteran quarterback Andy Dalton will now be the starter for the short term. Dalton is little more than a game manager at this stage in his career, but he is coming off a solid season as a starter with the New Orleans Saints. In 2022, Dalton completed 66.7% of his passes for 2,871 yards and 18 touchdowns with nine interceptions.
The Panthers' receiver corps isn’t anything special, but Dalton is good at taking care of the ball and can effectively get the football to his receiving weapons as evidenced by his 336 passing yards and one touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks. As a bonus, Dalton will have a matchup against a Vikings defense that ranks 20th in defense DVOA and just gave up 400 yards and three touchdowns to Justin Herbert.
Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals
Yahoo: 1% rostered
This is a speculative add and could be irrelevant as soon as tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Rams. But as of now, we know that Joe Burrow reaggravated his preseason calf injury during Week 2’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Calf injuries are notoriously fickle and there is plenty of speculation that the Bengals could explore slow-playing Burrow’s recovery by putting him on short-term IR to ensure that the veteran quarterback can be healthy.
If Burrow is out, then backup quarterback Jake Browning becomes the signal-caller on to roster in Cincinnati. Browning himself hasn’t shown us anything that would make us believe he will provide a big fantasy upside. But he’s worth rostering given the playmaking ability of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Joe Mixon, and Tyler Boyd in the passing attack.
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