Top Quarterback Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers for Week 5: Jared Goff, Ryan Tannehill, Zach Wilson, Kenny Pickett

October 4, 2022

Dan's fantasy football quarterback waiver wire pickups for Week 5 of the 2022 NFL season. His free agent QBs to add and QB streamers for 1QB and 2B leagues.

Week 4 is coming to a close and teams are continuing their struggles on offense. Just 10 teams scored over 25 points in Week 4. A lot of that comes from another underwhelming passing week as teams struggle to navigate a higher volume of two-deep coverages.

Just four quarterbacks (Jared Goff, Matt Ryan, Justin Herbert, and Geno Smith) surpassed 300-passing yards in Week 4. Three of those names were barely on the fantasy radar coming into the season. Goff was the only quarterback to throw for more than two passing touchdowns (he had four). 11 other quarterbacks finished with two passing scores.

In this article, I will be looking at the fantasy football waiver wire for quarterback pickups and streamers, focusing on players who are under 65% rostered in fantasy leagues while adding a couple of deep sleepers for two-quarterback leagues (less than 25% rostered).

Single-QB League Waiver Wire Options

Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

Yahoo: 52% rostered

Jared Goff has been a useable fantasy quarterback to start the 2022 season and there is no reason to think that is going to stop anytime soon. Goff has three consecutive games with at least 250+ passing yards and has thrown four touchdowns in a game twice this season. 

His four-touchdown performance in Week 4 is even more impressive considering he didn’t have Amon-Ra St. Brown, D’Andre Swift, or D.J. Chark to pass to. Goff continues to play at a high level and now has at least 15.0 fantasy points in three of his four games this season.

Goff has just one game left before his Week 6 bye; a matchup against a Patriots defense that has an inexperienced secondary. 

Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans

Yahoo: 17% rostered

Ryan Tannehill has continued to provide a steady hand at the quarterback position despite the loss of A.J. Brown in the passing attack this offseason. Tannehill has three games with at least 14.0 fantasy points and one brutal showing against arguably the best defense in the NFL (Buffalo).

Tannehill was efficient in Week 4 against the Colts, completing 17 of 21 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-17 win. Tannehill will have a much easier matchup to look forward to in Week 5 with a trip to Washington D.C. to face the Commanders. 

Washington is coming off a loss to the Dallas Cowboys offense featuring Cooper Rush. Rush had no issues passing the ball, completing 15 of 27 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Washington is allowing quarterbacks to score over 21.0 fantasy points per game against them this season.

Zach Wilson, New York Jets

Yahoo: 10% rostered

It was a mixed bag for Zach Wilson in his first game back after a preseason knee injury. The second-year quarterback completed just 50% of his passes but orchestrated a game-winning drive and finished the day with 252 passing yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. He also added a receiving touchdown. 

Wilson will continue to throw turnovers, but he looked solid at times throughout his first-game action. He also has more weapons at his disposal this year to help get him there as a fantasy scorer. Expect more downfield shots to Elijah Moore and Garrett Wilson and a chance of big check-down runs by Breece Hall, Michael Carter, and Tyler Conklin.

Wilson has difficult matchups on the horizon with games against Miami, Green Bay, Denver, New England, and Buffalo before the bye week. However, a lot of those games should feature shootouts that will allow Wilson and the Jets offense to air it out. 

Two-QB Waiver Wire Options and Stashes

Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers

Yahoo: 5% rostered

It looks like the Kenny Pickett era has begun in Pittsburgh. Mitchell Trubisky struggled again to start the game, completing seven of 13 pass attempts for 84 yards and an interception. That led to the 2022 first-round pick making his debut in the second half.

It was a mixed bag for Pickett in his first game action. Pickett completed 10 of his 13 passes for 120 yards, but all three of his misses were intercepted (in his defense, one was a deep shot Hail Mary at the end of the game). The rookie also scored twice on the ground, which helped him get there from a fantasy perspective.

Assuming this is now Pickett’s offense, he has to be picked up in all fantasy leagues. It’s hard to put him higher on this list with a game against the Bills on the horizon in Week 5. That being said, Pickett has plenty of strong receiving weapons at his disposal and could have some big games this season.

Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks

Yahoo: 12% rostered

The Geno Smith experience hit its apex against the Detroit Lions. Smith completed 23 of 30 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns while adding seven carries for 49 yards and an additional score. Smith now has three games with at least 18.0 fantasy points, including this week’s 31.7 point explosion.

Smith hasn’t done anything to lose his job in Seattle and is making good use of D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett down the field. He will have more chances to provide a solid fantasy floor against the Saints and Cardinals over the next two weeks before a tough matchup against the Chargers.

Nobody will feel great about rostering Geno Smith, but he’s doing enough to be a matchup-based QB3 with starting upside in Superflex and 2QB leagues going forward.

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