Throughout the preseason, fantasy football analysts were pushing the mobile quarterbacks on you at a variety of levels. Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson were the top picks.
Kyler Murray and Anthony Richardson were in the mid-tier, then Jayden Daniels and even Justin Fields were late-round options with upside.
“Get those added rushing yards,” was the battle cry, and so far most have lived up to the hype.
But with great rushing ability comes greater risk for injury, and those who drafted Richardson are now scouring the Week 5 waiver wire in need of help.
Hitting waivers in search of quarterbacks is never fun, especially with bye weeks now beginning.
If you’re in a traditional single-quarterback league, you definitely have options, but they are severely limited.
Options like Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield, and perhaps even Fields, likely have been scooped up already.
That leaves you with a few streaming options, none of which are exciting.
In Week 5, Trevor Lawrence might serve as the best option.
The Jaguars are hosting the Colts and their shoddy defense, which just allowed Fields to throw for 312 yards and a touchdown along with 55 rushing yards and another two scores.
Lawrence isn’t known for his rushing ability, but we’ve seen him do it before, and the offense didn’t look like a complete mess on Sunday for the first time this season.
The Colts rank 18th in DVOA against the pass, and they’ve allowed six touchdowns through the air this season.
If Geno Smith is available, he presents a nice option with a home start against the Giants.
Smith has excelled in Ryan Grubb’s offense, and though the Seahawks are likely to use Kenneth Walker to plow over the defensive line, the Giants have also allowed six passing touchdowns on the year and have been victimized by the deep throws.
Diving deeper, you can try Matthew Stafford against the Packers, Andy Dalton against the Bears or even Joe Flacco against the Jaguars.
There could be upside in Tyler Huntley’s second game with Tyreek Hill, but the optimism is limited.
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There is no reason to panic yet.
Don’t be afraid to add and drop quarterbacks until you get someone who shows some consistency, but also don’t hold on for too long waiting for what you have to improve. It is too early in the season for you to not get this right.
Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy football news and advice.