3 Fantasy Football Quarterback Streaming Options for Week 1

Quarterback streaming isn't for everyone, but if you're in a standard league -- like a 10- or 12-team league that features just one starting signal caller -- grabbing productive quarterbacks who have good matchups off the waiver wire is often doable.

Sure, you won't have the luxury of setting it and forgetting it with Patrick Mahomes as your quarterback, but when the top-end signal callers draw a tough matchup, their upside can oftentimes be matched by a waiver-wire option in a more favorable situation.

Last season in this series, we streamed to an average of 17.76 points per game -- which came out to the QB16 -- with seven top-12 weeks.

If you're looking for some quarterback options from the waiver wire -- regardless of league size -- we have you covered. Here are three quarterbacks owned in fewer than roughly 30% of Yahoo! leagues who are in good spots this week.

Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions

Yahoo Ownership: 28%

Week 1 sets up pretty nicely for Matthew Stafford. He's taking on what should be a pretty average Arizona Cardinals defense, one we project to be the 17th-best D in 2019. On top of that, the Cards will be sans their top two corners, with stud Patrick Peterson suspended and Robert Alford (leg) injured.

It gets even better as the likely up-tempo pace of Arizona's offense should lead to a higher volume of plays in this game, boosting Stafford's floor and upside. This game has a 47.0-point over/under, with the favored Detroit Lions carrying a 24.75-point implied total, 11th-highest of Week 1.

Stafford has a ton going for him, but don't sleep on the Lions being a favorite. He has significantly better numbers in wins than he does in losses (shocker, I know) over his career.

Stafford and his receiver duo of Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay should feast in this indoor matchup. We have Stafford slotted as just the QB23 this week, which isn't all that sexy, but he could blow up in this spot.

Nick Foles, Jacksonville Jaguars

Yahoo Ownership: 19%

Nick Foles opens his Jacksonville Jaguars tenure with a home clash against the Kansas City Chiefs. As we saw in 2018, using the quarterback opposite Patrick Mahomes can be a boon as KC's opponents usually had to throw early and often to keep pace with the Chiefs' offense. That's how the Kansas City defense ended up allowing the fifth-most fantasy points per game to opposing passers.

Jacksonville's defense should be one of the better units in the league, but as is going to be the case a lot this year, KC's game has the highest over/under (52.5) of the week, and the Chiefs own the top implied total (28.00). That helps Foles and company as Jacksonville's implied total is a solid 24.5.

It remains to be seen just how much Foles can elevate this Jags offense, but playing at home in what should be a points-filled game against what we project to be the NFL's 16th-best pass D is a pretty nice way to start the campaign for Foles, who we rank as the QB21 for the opening week.

Sam Darnold, New York Jets

Yahoo Ownership: 28%

The arrow is pointing up for Sam Darnold heading into this season.

It's normal to expect some improvement from Year 1 to Year 2, especially for a big-time prospect like Darnold, and there's reason to think we could see a pretty large jump from the former USC star. Not only has Darnold been solid in the preseason -- 17 for 25 with 211 yards, two scores and no picks -- but there's been plenty of talk about the New York Jets running a more fast-paced offense under Adam Gase.

A home matchup with the Buffalo Bills is a nice Week 1 spot for Darnold, even though the Bills should be pretty stout defensively (fourth by our models). Gang Green is a 3.0-point home favorite with a decent 21.25-point implied total in what's expected to be a low-scoring affair.

Darnold doesn't have the upside in this matchup that Foles and Stafford do this week, but if you can't get either of those two, going with a home favorite who is trending up isn't a bad idea.