Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups: Quarterback Streamers (Week 12)

Week 11 of the 2022 NFL season is in the books. Last week’s streamers were a mostly successful bunch. Marcus Mariota and Ryan Tannehill each had over 17 fantasy points in wins for their respective teams. More importantly, both quarterbacks scored two touchdowns last week for the second game in a row. However, Davis Mills struggled despite the appealing matchup against the Washington Commanders. He had only 169 passing yards, zero passing touchdowns, and two interceptions, scoring 9.8 fantasy points in defeat.

However, the only easy win was last week’s win. So, let’s look at the top streaming options for Week 12.

All the quarterbacks in this article are rostered in under 50% of ESPN 1QB leagues and under 25% in Superflex leagues.

Before I dive into streaming options for Week 12, I want to remind everyone that now is the time to grab Deshaun Watson off the waiver wire. If you play in an active league with competitive players, Watson likely was added off the waiver wire weeks ago. However, he is currently rostered in only 35.9% of ESPN leagues. Watson will miss this week’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but is eligible to return next week against the Houston Texans.

Streaming Targets in 1QB Leagues

Marcus Mariota (ATL) vs. Washington Commanders (49.3% Rostered)

Despite losing two of their past three games, the Falcons are sticking with Mariota as long as they are playoff contenders. The veteran quarterback took the vote of confidence from the coaching staff and scored 17.7 fantasy points in Atlanta’s win last week. He had only 131 passing yards but added 25 on the ground and scored a pair of touchdowns. More importantly, Mariota has scored 17 or more fantasy points in five of the past seven games, including two straight. Meanwhile, the Commanders have struggled to slow down quarterbacks this year.

Washington has surrendered 16.9 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this season. While Mills was awful last week, scoring only 9.8 fantasy points, the Commanders have struggled to stop opposing quarterbacks lately. Over their previous five games, Washington gave up 16 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Furthermore, they surrendered 15.8 or more fantasy points in four of those five contests, with the lone exception coming against Sam Ehlinger. Moreover, the Commanders have given up 26 or more fantasy points to quarterbacks in 18.2% of their games this season. Mariota won’t score 26 fantasy points against Washington, but he will have no trouble totaling at least 17 points.

Ryan Tannehill (TEN) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (13.4% Rostered)

Last week Tannehill made the streamers list and had a strong performance against the Green Bay Packers. The veteran had a season-high 333 passing yards as he completed 81.5% of his pass attempts. While the Packers somewhat contained Derrick Henry, Tannehill picked their secondary apart. More importantly, the former Texas A&M star had his second straight game with two passing touchdowns and at least 19 fantasy points. Furthermore, he has played well this year with a few exceptions. Tannehill has scored 18.8 or more fantasy points in half of the games this season.

Not only is the veteran coming off back-to-back strong performances, but he has an appealing matchup in Week 12. The Bengals have held quarterbacks to only 12.8 fantasy points per game this season, one of the lowest averages in the NFL. However, their defense has struggled over the past few weeks since losing cornerback Chidobe Awuzie on Halloween. Over their past three games, Cincinnati has surrendered 15.8 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, giving up 16 or more fantasy points twice, including last week. If Treylon Burks and Robert Woods repeat their performances from last week, Tannehill should have his first 20-point performance of 2022.

Streaming Targets in Superflex Leagues

Jacoby Brissett (CLE) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12.2% Rostered)

Despite the awful matchup on paper, Brissett scored 25.9 fantasy points last week against the Buffalo Bills. Before last week’s contest, the Bills had surrendered only 11.8 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, the third-fewest in the NFL. Furthermore, they kept all quarterbacks not named Patrick Mahomes to 15.5 or fewer points in every game. However, Brissett had his best performance of the year, throwing for 324 yards and three touchdowns last week. More importantly, the career journeyman has averaged 20.9 fantasy points per game over the past three games, scoring 20 or more fantasy points twice.

Unlike last week, the veteran’s matchup is more appealing this week. The Buccaneers have surrendered 15.7 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this season, the league average. More importantly, Tampa Bay has given up 16 passing touchdowns to quarterbacks this season. They have surrendered two or more passing touchdowns in seven of their past eight games, including two to Geno Smith in Week 10. Meanwhile, Brissett has five passing touchdowns over the past three weeks. He should have no trouble throwing at least two on Sunday against the Buccaneers.

Kenny Pickett (PIT) vs. Indianapolis Colts (7.2% Rostered)

Since taking over as the starter, Pickett has shown plenty of potential. The rookie is averaging 12.2 fantasy points per game this year, scoring 12 or more fantasy points in 57.1% of the games. However, the former Pittsburgh Panther had picked up his play since the team’s bye week. Over the past two weeks, Pickett has averaged 232 passing yards and 17.5 fantasy points per game, scoring at least 16 fantasy points in both contests. Furthermore, the rookie has zero turnovers over the past two weeks after totaling five in his previous two games. More importantly, the matchup this week is fantasy-friendly.

The Colts have surrendered 16.2 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this season, slightly above the league average. However, they have struggled to slow down quarterbacks lately. Over the past four weeks, opposing quarterbacks have averaged 18.5 fantasy points per game against the Colts, scoring 17.9 or more fantasy points three times. Furthermore, Indianapolis has given up two or more total touchdowns to quarterbacks in back-to-back contests. Pickett is starting to get a feel for the NFL game. More importantly, he is building a connection with George Pickens. While he won’t have a top-five finish this week, Pickett has the potential to be a low-end QB1.

Streamer to Avoid

Baker Mayfield/PJ Walker (CAR) vs. Denver Broncos (3.7%, 1.1% Rostered)

Typically streaming articles tell you which players to target off the waiver wire. However, I will give one quarterback each week that you should avoid.

Whether Walker, Mayfield, or Sam Darnold gets the start for the Panthers this week, fantasy players need to avoid streaming them. Last week, Mayfield scored only five fantasy points filling in for an injured Walker. The former first-overall pick didn’t score a touchdown but had two interceptions against the Baltimore Ravens. Before last week’s contest, the Ravens had surrendered 277.2 passing yards and 18 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Meanwhile, Walker has scored 2.7 total fantasy points over his past two starts.

More importantly, the matchup this week is awful for fantasy purposes. Last week the Broncos gave up 307 passing yards, two touchdowns, and 20.3 fantasy points to Derek Carr. All three were season-highs allowed for the Broncos. However, they surrendered only 196.6 passing yards, 0.7 touchdowns, and 10.1 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks before last week. Furthermore, Denver has held quarterbacks to zero passing touchdowns in 45.5% of the games this season. Don’t let last week’s performance impact your thought process. The Broncos have an elite defense. They will make shut down whichever Carolina quarterback gets the start this week.

Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.