Week 7 QB Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds: Play Stafford Against Atlanta

Week seven is on the horizon! For those of you looking for a one-week wonder, or possibly a season-long option at the quarterback position, look no further. Here are a few great options for week seven and beyond.

Matthew Stafford

Another week has passed and another quarterback has dropped 350 and three on the Atlanta Falcons. Despite Kirk Cousins’ three interceptions, he still found a way to get the job done for fantasy purposes. Atlanta remains the league’s best matchup for fantasy quarterbacks, giving up nearly 30 points on average. Stafford is owned in over 60 percent of leagues, so he might not be available, but it’s worth checking. With the return of Julio Jones, Detroit’s beatable defense, and both teams’ willingness to pass the ball in heavy doses, we could be in-line for a very high-scoring game in this matchup. Stafford hasn’t been spectacular for fantasy purposes, but consider the following: He’s thrown the ball at least 30 times in every game and has at least 200 yards passing and one touchdown in each of those contests as well. He’ll get the Falcons in week seven with a healthy squad of skill players around him, making it a very enticing play. Week 8 is a touch matchup against Indianapolis, but weeks nine and 10 are plus-matchups as well. Consider rostering and hanging on to Stafford over the next four weeks to see if he can return to early-2019 form.

Justin Herbert

Much of the talk this year is about Joe Burrow in Cincinnati, but there is another rookie quarterback that is lighting up the stat sheet. In his four career starts, Chargers now-permanent starter Justin Herbert has averaged roughly 300 yards passing per game to go along with his 10 total touchdowns. Even more exciting for fantasy owners is the Chargers’ willingness to let Herbert sling it, as he’s averaging 35 pass attempts per game. Herbert is among the league leaders in Yards per Attempt, Yards per Completion, as well as Passing Yards per Game. Herbert takes on Jacksonville in week seven, a decent matchup for fantasy purposes. Furthermore, the Chargers defense is not getting the job done, forcing the offense to keep up. Looking out to week 16, six of Herbert’s next 10 matchups are against bottom-10 defenses against the quarterback position for fantasy purposes, and only two are against top 10 (Miami and New England). Herbert is not only a solid play this week, he’s a viable season-long option at this point.

Gardner Minshew

Gardner Minshew continues to find himself as a fantasy-relevant quarterback on the waiver wire in roughly half of fantasy leagues. Minshew has thrown for at least 300 yards and two touchdowns in three of Jacksonville’s six games and three of his six games were at 20 points or higher. Thus far, only one game has come in below 17.62 points and in only one game has he thrown the ball less than 40 times. This is a tremendous floor for a streaming option, which you should consider doing in week seven. Jacksonville takes on the Chargers, who are the third-worst team against the quarterback position in fantasy behind Atlanta and Seattle. After a week eight bye, five of Minshew’s next seven opponents are plus-matchups for fantasy quarterbacks, including a juicy fantasy-playoff week 13 and 14 schedule against Minnesota and Tennessee.

Teddy Bridgewater

Bridgwater is the first quarterback in this list coming in at less than 50-percent owned. At this point, the waiver wire continues to look more and more bleak with each passing week as fantasy owners tend to hold on to viable fantasy options for the remainder of the season. Bridgewater seems risky, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better two-week option at this point in the season on the waiver wire. Carolina’s next two opponents are New Orleans and Atlanta, the number-four and number-one worst teams against the quarterback position in fantasy. Despite the narrative that Carolina likes to run the ball, Bridgwater is averaging 34 pass attempts per game. With the emergence of Robby Anderson as a one-two punch with D.J. Moore, the Panthers have opened up the offense a bit. Bridgewater has a rough week nine and 10, and a week-13 bye, but weeks 11, 12, and 14 are all good matchups against Detroit, Minnesota, and Denver.

Andy Dalton

If you really enjoy rolling the dice, and no other options are on the table, consider Andy Dalton in week seven. Although his debut with the Cowboys wasn’t pretty to say the least, he had a second touchdown pass go through the hands of Michael Gallup in the first half and lost a few possessions early to Ezekiel Elliott fumbles. Dalton, with his hindered offensive line, might be serviceable after another week of preparation working with their incredibly talented skill group. While you might be concerned that Dallas will lean on Ezekiel Elliott next week, keep in mind that they are giving up an average of 36 points each game. It’s hard to imagine they’ll give up 36 to Kyle Allen and the Football Team, but they have yet to prove they can stop anyone. While stock on Andy Dalton might be at an all-time low, recall that he finished eight of his 13 games last season with the Bengals with at least 16 fantasy points. If he can provide just 75-percent of what Dak Prescott was, he’ll be a serviceable fantasy quarterback going forward. Four of his next five opponents include Washington twice, Philadelphia, and Minnesota.