This week we enter the first of two weeks of the fantasy football bye apocalypse, where twelve teams over two weeks have byes. This is going to decimate even the most well-constructed roster over the next two games, and streaming may be the key to keeping afloat in your leagues. Every week we explore three players at each fantasy football position that can help you with your streaming or spot starts. In this article we will highlight two quarterbacks available in 50% or less fantasy football leagues (per Yahoo! statistics) and normally we highlight one quarterback is available in 90% or more leagues for you deep divers, but the bye week has snapped up all the starting QBs at that level, so we’ll fudge that a bit this week.[embedit snippet=”jeff-ads”]
Alex Smith at Indianapolis (42% owned)
Alex Smith is the ideal bye week quarterback when he has a great matchup. He will slot in, get you 15-20 fantasy points with little threat of him tanking your week and he won’t do anything spectacular that will prompt you to try to keep him on your roster or do anything other than stream. If you need solid production for a fill-in, go for Smith. He takes on a Colts team that yields the eighth most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks and has yielded at least 200 yards and a score in each game in the last four weeks. He’s solid but isn’t going to win you your week. He’s the safe play here.
Ryan Fitzpatrick at Cleveland (28% owned)
Fitzmagic completed his turn on the Ryan Fitzpatrick Career Wheel by playing bad enough to get benched, but Geno Smith tore his ACL and he was back on the scene last week. He did well enough, turning 14 pass attempts into 120 yards and a score without turning it over. This week he takes on the Browns, who are giving up the second-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, and the next game they hold a QB to only one touchdown would be their first. Fitzpatrick has the highest upside of these three picks, but he threw six interceptions in a game this year, so he has the lowest floor.
Brock Osweiler versus Detroit (14% owned)
Osweiler has become one of the most predictable quarterbacks in fantasy football in a short period of time: He excels against beatable competition and absolutely craters in the face of any sort of adversity. Luckily for him this week, he takes on the Lions who give up the most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, yielding multiple touchdowns to every quarterback they’ve played this year. The only question with Osweiler in this matchup is if he can fully take advantage of such a juicy matchup. He’s available in more than 80% of fantasy leagues, so he is a great option for you deep league players.