Mike Fanelli | September 17th, 2019
Week two of the NFL season wasn’t a friendly one for the Pittsburgh Steelers or New Orleans Saints. Both teams lost their starting quarterback for several weeks or longer and both team’s playoff chances look slim as the Saints are a missed field goal away from joining the Steelers at 0-2. For fantasy owners who now have to replace Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger, streaming the quarterback position is your best way to replace your top quarterback. As part of this week’s streamers, I will give you a few options to replace the two future Hall of Famers.
All players listed are owned in less than 50% of ESPN leagues.
Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills (30%)
Coming off a 22.2 fantasy points game verse the Giants, Allen should see his ownership jump up a fair amount this week. He has thrown for over 250 yards in each game this season as well as scored a rushing touchdown. Allen’s rushing ability should provide a nice bonus this weak against a Bengals defense that has been shredded by quarterbacks so far this season. On average the Bengals give up 2.7 more fantasy points per game than the league average to opposing quarterbacks.
Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions (26.1%)
Stafford is one of those players no one wants to draft, but so far this year he is making many of us look foolish. Through the first two games of the season, Stafford is currently the QB7. He has 635 passing yards and five touchdowns with just two interceptions this season. In a matchup this week against a poor Eagles’ secondary, the Lions’ wide receivers should have an easy day getting open. The Eagles have given up 700 passing yards and six touchdowns to Case Keenum and Matt Ryan so far this season. Stafford faces the Chiefs next week and given their poor defense, fantasy owners can use Stafford up until is week five bye.
Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, San Francisco 49ers (24.3%)
The man also known as pretty Jimmy GQ (among other nicknames associated with a certain date he had last year), has had a very rocky season so far, going back to the preseason. Last week against the Buccaneers, Garoppolo failed to reach 200 yards passing and finished with just over 10 fantasy points. However, Sunday verse the Bengals, he exploded with 297 yards, three touchdowns, and 22.7 fantasy points. The 49ers are 2-0 and could be looking at an easy 3-0 start as they take on the Steelers this week. Over the first two weeks of the season, the Steelers have given up 641 yards, six touchdowns, and 49.8 fantasy points to opposing defenses. While Jimmy G isn’t Tom Brady or Russell Wilson, he could easily see 10 or more possessions and score 20 or more fantasy points this week.
Eric Ebron, TE, Indianapolis Colts (46.8%)
Enough with the quarterbacks, let’s talk about tight ends. Ebron was dropped in a lot of leagues that drafted early because of Andrew Luck‘s surprising retirement. His week one performance was awful (one catch for eight yards). However, he caught three of four targets last week verse the Titans for 25 yards, a touchdown, and 11.5 fantasy points. Outside of the top seven or eight guys, if your tight end doesn’t score a touchdown, he isn’t looking at a top 12 weekly finish. Ebron had 13 touchdowns last year and as he develops chemistry with Jacoby Brissett, Ebron’s fantasy value should only go up starting this week verse the Falcons.
Jordan Reed & Vernon Davis, TE, Washington Redskins (38.8% & 12%)
Reed has yet to play this season due to a concussion he suffered in the preseason. With the Redskins not playing till Monday night, I would only grab Reed if Davis is also on the waiver wire. While Reed should be ready to play this week, you don’t want to be stuck last minute needing a tight end and Adam Shaheen is the best available option. However, whether it’s Reed or Davis starting, the Bears have given up 5.9 more fantasy points per game than the league average to opposing tight ends so far this season. The Broncos’ tight ends combined for nine catches for 61 yards and 15.1 fantasy points last week. Both Reed and Davis are better tight ends than anyone on the Broncos. Expect a 15 plus fantasy point performance this week from whoever starts.
Dallas Cowboys, D/ST (37.5%)
Two words: Miami Dolphins. While the Cowboys D/ST has scored four total fantasy points this season despite facing the Giants and Redskins’ poor offenses, the Dolphins’ offense might be worse than some high school teams. During the first two weeks of the season, the Dolphins have allowed opposing D/STs to score 19.1 more fantasy points per game than the league average. With Robert Quinn returning from a suspension just in time to face his former team, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Cowboys D/ST score 24 or more fantasy points this week.
Joey Slye, K, Carolina Panthers (3.5%)
I know what you are thinking, “who the hell is this guy?” Well, to be fair I didn’t know who he was either till last year. However, do you know who is the top scoring kicker during the first two weeks of the season? That’s right, Slye. For him to be own in just 3.5% of ESPN leagues is disappointing. In week one he scored 11 fantasy points, followed up with 16 on Thursday night verse the Buccaneers in week two. Slye has made three of four kicks from 50 plus yards and has made all three of his kicks under 50 yards this season. With Cam Newton questionable at best to play with week, expect the offense to struggle to get into the red zone which will result in plenty of field goal attempts for Slye.
Questions and comments?
thescorecrowsports@gmail.com
Follow Us on Twitter @thescorecrow
Follow Us on Reddit at u/TheScorecrow
Follow Us on Facebook at The Scorecrow
Follow Us on Instagram at The Scorecrow
Facebook Group where you can read and post articles at The Scorecrow
Reddit Group where everyone can post without fear of being banned at The Scorecrow
Follow Mike Fanelli on Twitter @Mike_NFL2
Main Image Credit:
[getty src=”1174882272″ width=”594″ height=”367″ tld=”com”]
