Fantasy football cheat sheet Week 3: How to approach QB amid injury wave
· Yahoo Sports
Welcome to USA TODAY Sports' fantasy football cheat sheet column, where each week I'll provide you with plenty of tips, tricks and strategies about how to win your fantasy league and also regale you with stories and lessons learned from my 16 years of playing fantasy football. For more fantasy advice, check out our new premium tools that can help you make start/sit decisions and figure out how best to attack the waiver wire.
Visit afrikasportnews.co.za for more information.
It would have been bad enough for fantasy football managers to see one prominent quarterback go down in Week 2. Seeing three fantasy starters suffer concerning injuries could create chaos as managers scramble to find replacements.
In truth, that process shouldn't be too difficult for fantasy managers. Quarterback is typically the deepest position across all fantasy formats, and quality streaming options usually litter the waiver wire each week.
That said, the sheer volume of quarterback injuries may create a unique panic among fantasy managers. That could lead to a waiver-wire run at the position as those who have lost the likes of Jayden Daniels, Jaxson Dart or Caleb Williams desperately look to add a proven replacement.
It could also create a big-time opportunity for fantasy managers holding onto two quality quarterbacks. They can dangle one of their quarterbacks on the trade market and hope desperate managers bite.
Now, it's still important not to push too hard in trade negotiations. Even desperate fantasy managers know when a league-mate is trying to swindle them.
But with a measured approach, and a little sweet-talking, fantasy managers trading from positions of strength should be able to entice their league-mates into a favorable deal. Sort of like the one-sided arrangement Audrey II coaxes Seymour Krelborn into in "Little Shop of Horrors" – albeit far less deadly.
Here's more to know about the fantasy football quarterback market entering Week 3 and more advice as the NFL season rolls on.
What we learned in fantasy football Week 2
Before we dive into the fantasy quarterback market, let's quickly recap the key takeaways from Week 2.
Lions establishing themselves as a fantasy goldmine. It's not just the Detroit offense that will have plenty of appeal with Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs. The Lions' defense has performed poorly through two weeks, surrendering a whopping 35 points per game and struggling badly without star safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph.
As long as Branch and Joseph remain out, Detroit's defense will struggle to contain opposing offenses. That, coupled with the Lions' explosive offense, will make most Detroit games high-scoring affairs. With that in mind, keep starting all your Lions skill-position players, and don't be afraid to confidently stream against their leaky defense.
Patrick Mahomes is officially back. Much of the fantasy discussion about Mahomes in the lead-up to the 2026 NFL season was about his recovery from a torn ACL. Perhaps overlooked in all of that was the return of Eric Bieniemy as his offensive coordinator.
Bieniemy oversaw Kansas City's offense during Mahomes' most successful seasons. In five seasons with Bieniemy, Mahomes averaged 4,791.4 passing yards and 38.4 passing touchdowns per campaign. In three without him, the star quarterback averaged 3,899.3 passing yards and 25 touchdowns per season.
Mahomes has looked closer to the quarterback he was from 2018-22 with Bieniemy. He should only get better as he continues to get comfortable on his surgically repaired knee, so don't be surprised to see him finish the 2026 season as a top-10 fantasy quarterback at the very least.
Bucky Irving is (quietly) also back. Irving failed to live up to the fantasy hype ahead of his second season, but he is enjoying a re-breakout in his third campaign. Through two weeks, Irving has flown under the radar despite averaging 5.4 yards per carry and catching an impressive 11 passes out of the backfield.
As long as Irving stays healthy, he has high-end RB2 upside. That could be a boon for fantasy managers who grabbed him in Rounds 4-5 of their respective drafts.
The Seahawks will retain a frustrating backfield split. Raise your hand if you had Emanuel Wilson finishing the Seahawks' Week 2 game against the Cardinals with 21 carries and 92 yards. Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? That's what I thought.
Jadarian Price (13 carries, 52 yards) still got plenty of work as well, but his inability to get carries near the goal line – as well as him ceding snaps to George Holani in passing situations – figures to cap his upside. That's not to say to drop Price or anything, but he may be better served as a bench stash or speculative flex play for now, especially after fumbling and suffering an injury against the Cardinals.
How to replace injured QBs like Jayden Daniels, Jaxson Dart, Caleb Williams
OK, now to the main problem spot for fantasy football managers. How should they handle their injured quarterbacks as they try to compete for fantasy championships?
Let's start with the obvious. Make sure to hold onto Daniels, Dart and Williams unless they are ruled out for the season. All have too much upside simply to drop – especially Williams, whose injury may be the least severe of the bunch – so stashing them is prudent.
With that in mind, fantasy managers should shift their attention to finding quality streamers to fill in for those injured quarterbacks.
The key to finding quality streaming quarterbacks is simple. Assess which players are in high-volume passing offenses and have the easiest upcoming schedules, as that combination gives a quarterback a high floor. It can also help to grab a quarterback on a team with a leaky defense, since those teams tend to have more scoring opportunities in shootouts.
A trio of younger quarterbacks checks those boxes. They are Tyler Shough, C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young.
Shough is probably the best of the bunch. The second-year New Orleans Saints quarterback has gotten off to a strong start and is leading the NFL in passing yards with 662. He has also attempted 90 passes for a Saints offense averaging 27 points per game and has favorable matchups upcoming with the Las Vegas Raiders and Atlanta Falcons.
Stroud is the only quarterback in the NFL to have attempted more passes than Shough. The Houston starter has chucked 93 times in his first two games, for 627 yards and two passing touchdowns. The Texans may not need to throw as much once their defense improves; however, Houston faces two leaky pass defenses, the Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys, which should give Stroud a high floor over the next two weeks.
Finally, Young has already accounted for seven touchdowns for a Panthers offense averaging 35.5 points per game. He has been hyper-efficient thus far and should be poised to continue his strong start against the Cleveland Browns and Lions.
If Shough, Stroud and Young are available on waivers, they will be easy enough to grab. If not, trading for them shouldn't be too difficult. Even a sell-high deal for any of them wouldn't likely cost more than a solid flex player.
The best QB to target on the trade market
Trading for a quarterback should be viewed as an option for fantasy managers looking to acquire a higher-end replacement for their injured signal-caller.
Those individuals could consider trying to buy low on Drake Maye, who has struggled with turnovers, and Justin Herbert, who has endured issues playing behind a poor offensive line. However, such a deal may be hard to pull off, as Herbert and Maye were higher-end fantasy draft picks, so most managers will be reluctant to sell low.
Instead, pursuing an option like Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray could make sense. The veteran suffered a concussion in Week 1, but he is expected to return to play in Week 3.
Murray will have a favorable schedule upon his return. He faces the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3, and the Buccaneers just allowed Deshaun Watson to complete 24 of 30 passes against them for 238 yards and two touchdowns. Yes, that Deshaun Watson, who hadn't posted a game with multiple passing touchdowns since Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season.
Then, in Week 4, Murray gets a date with the Miami Dolphins, who have one of the NFL's worst overall rosters. Need we say more?
Murray does come with health concerns, but he has generally been a solid, dual-threat quarterback throughout his career. Last season, Murray averaged a respectable 192.4 passing yards and 34.6 rushing yards per game across five starts. He had just seven touchdowns, but he should have touchdown potential in a Minnesota offense that features Justin Jefferson and a strong supporting cast of offensive weapons.
Trading for Murray also wouldn't be too costly. Most fantasy managers view him in the backup or streamer category, so a flex-caliber player may be enough to get a deal done.
Best buy-low trade candidates
Murray isn't the only solid buy-low candidate. A few more underachieving players could emerge as quality buy-low candidates for those looking to bolster their rosters.
Falcons receiver Drake London was listed in my column last week, and he's back here. London didn't do much with Cooper Rush at quarterback, so he figures to get a massive boost from Michael Penix Jr.'s return, which will occur on "Thursday Night Football" against the Green Bay Packers.
London has a good rapport with Penix. He averaged 90 receiving yards and notched six touchdowns across nine games working with the 2024 first-round pick last season. As such, this may be the last opportunity for fantasy managers to buy low on the USC product.
Elsewhere, Quinshon Judkins is a sneaky-good trade candidate. That may seem strange to say about a player averaging just 2.3 yards per carry, but his five catches against the Buccaneers showcased he will have more of a role as a receiver with Dylan Sampson (knee) out for the foreseeable future. Judkins was already getting a majority of Cleveland's carries, so if he can get 15-20 total touches per game, he will be a volume-based flex with the upside of a high-end RB2 if he can improve his efficiency.
Finally, if you are in trouble at 0-2 and want to dangle an injured player to get immediate help, that's a sensible strategy. You'll probably only get pennies on the dollar for the likes of A.J. Brown or Caleb Williams, but if you need to win now, gauging their value isn't a bad idea.
Still, it would probably be better to wait until after Week 3 or Week 4 before making such a move. Players will have more trade value closer to their return date, and if you can turn your season around without trading a high-end asset, that would be ideal. As always, patience remains king.
The FAAB Five
These players don't necessarily need to be picked up before NFL Week 3, but keep an eye on them as potential FAAB spend-ups and waiver targets after the games.
All roster percentages via Yahoo Fantasy.
- RB Brian Robinson Jr., Falcons (23% rostered). Robinson's primary value comes as a handcuff to Bijan Robinson, but the Alabama product has averaged 11 touches and 49 yards across his first two games. He's worth stashing as he will have RB2 upside if his counterpart is hurt and can be a touchdown-based flex option in case of emergency.
- RB Chris Brooks, Packers(4% rostered). Brooks is actually leading Packers running backs in snaps taken this season with 65. He hasn't parlayed those into significant touches yet, but that could come, especially if he shows solid receiving ability.
- WR Kayshon Boutte, Texans (28% rostered). Boutte was acquired on eve of the 2026 NFL season from the Patriots but he has already worked his way into a solid role in Houston's receiving corps. He saw five targets against the Bengals and currently ranks second among the team's receivers in snaps played. As long as Nico Collins remains out, Boutte will have big upside. And even when Collins returns, Boutte could remain fantasy relevant as Houston's No. 2 receiver.
- WR Adonai Mitchell, Jets (17% rostered). Mitchell saw a whopping 12 targets in the Jets' overtime loss to the Packers and has established himself as a favorite target of Geno Smith. He's playing the Lions in Week 3, and a monster outing there could make Mitchell the hot waiver-wire pickup after Week 3. Beat them all to the punch by grabbing him now!
- TE Oronde Gadsden II, Chargers (6% rostered). The Chargers lost both David Njoku and Charlie Kolar to injuries. That leaves Gadsden, a talented and athletic receiving tight end, as the last man standing. The tight ends haven't been overly involved in Mike McDaniel's offense yet, but that may change after Los Angeles' 0-2 start.
Full fantasy football Week 3 rankings
Check out USA TODAY Sports' fantasy football podcast
If you want even more fantasy content – including our always ridiculous "Big Take Jake" bold prediction segment – check out this week's episode of USA TODAY Sports Seriously podcast.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fantasy football cheat sheet Week 3: How to approach QB amid injury wave