Quarterback By Waiver Wire (QBBWW): Week 1

Sep 03, 2013

Real games, with meaningful happenings and points and stats, are on our horizon, and if you’re employing the quarterback by waiver wire (QBBWW) approach, you have a few tasty options for Week 1.

Plucking a starting option from the doldrums of the wire isn’t for anyone who landed a starting caliber fantasy signal caller (hopefully, at a reasonable price). You’re not going to bench Peyton Manning for anyone listed below.

Ignoring matchups ripe for the taking is a fantasy football sin of the highest order, however, and we should always be aware of our extended bench: the waiver wire.

Alex Smith (KC) at Jacksonville Jaguars

I’ve locked in Smith as an ideal waiver wire play for most of this offseason, confident that Andy Reid’s pass happy ways will compensate for Smith’s predictably low yards per attempt and completion.

Smith gets the luxury of easing into the 2013 season with a big, fat, juicy matchup against a Jacksonville secondary that has been described as “green” by observers of all kinds, including Jags coaches. 4for4’s Week 1 projections rank Smith’s matchup as the fourth best matchup among all signal callers.

Smith is projected to outscore guys who are owned in more than 50 percent of fantasy leagues, including Sam Bradford and Andy Dalton.

Smith went 31-of-48 through the air this preseason, for 288 yards, and a touchdown. He didn’t throw a single interception. The YPA are as low as ever (6.0), but with the chance that he’ll throw upwards of 40 times against a lousy secondary, he could threaten top-12 quarterback status.