Week 17 vs. Cleveland Browns
Surprise! Carson Wentz is suddenly the starting QB in Washington again. He actually looked pretty good last week in mop-up duty, finishing 12-of-16 with 123 yards and a touchdown on just 19 offensive snaps. We wouldn't get too excited, though. Wentz draws a surprisingly tough matchup against the Browns (1st aFPA) this week. There are worse options at QB in Week 17, but we really wouldn't recommend going with Wentz for your fantasy football championship. Of course, if you made it this far, you probably already knew that.
Week 6 at Chicago Bears
Carson Wentz got back on track last week with a productive game against the Titans. Wentz finished with 359 yards and two touchdowns with an interception and 15 rushing yards. It's the third game this season where Wentz has topped 300 yards with multiple scores. Wentz has been a solid streaming option this season when he's placed in favorable matchups. This week he gets an OK matchup against the Bears. With four teams on bye in Week 6, Wentz could be someone worth picking up. He has a lot of talent around him, and he's put up some decent numbers this year. He'll be a mid-tier option in Week 6.
Week 5 vs. Tennessee Titans
After starting the season with two great games, Carson Wentz has crashed back down to reality. Wentz's TD-INT ratio in the first two games was 7-3, while averaging 325 pass yards. His TD-INT ratio in his last two games is 1-2, averaging 190 pass yards. There's a pretty obvious reason as to why also: matchups. Wentz had two favorable matchups to start the year, but then faced two of the best defenses in the league. Wentz should be viewed as a matchup-based streaming option moving forward, and for teams in need in Week 5, Wentz gets a favorable matchup vs. the Titans. Tennessee has given up the 8th-most average fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. If you already have an elite option at QB, we wouldn't view Wentz as a replacement. But if you need a replacement in Week 5, then Wentz is a pretty good option as a one-week fix.
Week 4 at Dallas Cowboys
The Carson Wentz hype train derailed a bit in Week 3. Wentz struggled to get anything going as he kept going backwards, getting sacked nine times. When he wasn't getting pushed into the dirt, Wentz finished with 211 yards with no touchdowns and a turnover. It was a disappointing outing considering what Wentz accomplished in the first two games. But like we mentioned last week, Wentz had much better matchups in those weeks. He'll draw another tough matchup this week against the Cowboys, and could face a similar pass rush as Dallas leads the league in sacks. Wentz has some appeal based on what he did in the first two games, but he's still not a stellar option. He'll be around the QB20 range for Week 4.
Week 3 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Carson Wentz showed Week 1 wasn't a fluke with another strong game in Week 2. Wentz now has back-to-back games with 300 passing yards, throwing four touchdowns in Week 1 and three in Week 2. Granted, the games were against the Jaguars and Lions, but it's been a real promising start for Wentz and this Commanders offense. This week he gets a Revenge Game against the Eagles. Revenge factor aside, it'll be a tough matchup as the Eagles have given up the sixth-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks this year. Still, Wentz is a viable fantasy option this season with what he's shown so far. He should be viewed between the QB15 to QB20 range in Week 3.
Week 2 at Detroit Lions
Is Carson Wentz ... good again? Granted it was against Jacksonville, but Wentz had an incredible stat line of 313 pass yards with four touchdowns (although he did have two INT). Washington's offense looked good with a strong receiving trio in Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, and Jahan Dotson. We may not see this production every week, but it's a much more promising start than anyone anticipated. Wentz has a chance to keep the momentum going in a favorable Week 2 matchup vs. the Lions. If you recently lost Dak Prescott, then Wentz would be a great replacement in Week 2. He's not quite a top-10 option, but he's one of the better available QBs at the moment.
Week 1 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Another year, another new starting quarterback for Washington. The Commanders brought in Carson Wentz this offseason to be their QB1. Wentz didn't have an amazing season last year with the Colts, but it was a big step up from his disastrous 2020 season in Philadelphia. Wentz enters a decent situation in Washington with some strong receiving threats in Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel. But Wentz is also someone who averaged just 209.6 yards per game in 17 starts a year ago. He gets a favorable matchup vs. the Jaguars in Week 1, but there are a lot of other QB options that have more potential than Wentz. He's outside the top 20 quarterbacks for the week.
2022 Fantasy Upside
Carson Wentz showed improvement last season with the Colts compared to his 2020 campaign. He went from 16-15 TD-INT ratio to 27-7 while also improving his accuracy. This year he joins a promising offense in Washington that features Terry McLaurin, 1st-round rookie WR Jahan Dotson, a healthy Curtis Samuel and Antonio Gibson. The Commanders also have the easiest strength of schedule, setting up for some good matchups throughout the season.
2022 Fantasy Downside
Carson Wentz hasn’t averaged above 20 fantasy points per game since 2017, averaging just 15.2 a season ago. While he did make some improvements last season, such as cutting down on turnovers, he still wasn’t that good, averaging just 209.6 passing yards per game. He finished with one or fewer passing touchdowns in eight games last season and topped 300 yards just twice.
2022 Bottom Line
It’s hard to get too excited about Wentz in Washington. It’s a decent-enough offense, and it’s a favorable schedule, but Wentz hasn’t been a good fantasy option in a few years. He’ll likely have a few good matchups throughout the season where he’ll be streamer worthy, but he’s certainly not someone you want as your mainstay quarterback option. He can safely be undrafted in most single quarterback leagues. He’d be a later-round pick in two quarterback or superflex formats.
Week 17 vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Carson Wentz had 225 yards and a pair of touchdowns in an efficient outing against the Cardinals last week. The Colts are playing winning football by running the ball and playing good defense, which is good for Wentz, but not good for fantasy.
This week, Wentz faces a Raiders defense that ranks 26th in aFPA to opposing quarterbacks. A nice matchup against a team that should be able to keep the game relatively close should mean viable streaming numbers for Wentz, though he’s more of the QB2 streaming variety than a legit QB1.
Week 16 at Arizona Cardinals
The Colts ran a winning game plan last week against a tough Patriots defense, which worked great for winning, but held Carson Wentz to just 12 pass attempts. He finished with 57 yards, a touchdown and a pick, adding 17 yards on the ground. Make no mistake, this low-volume passing production is by design and is the way the Colts would prefer to play.
This week, Wentz faces a Cardinals defense that ranks fourth in aFPA to opposing quarterbacks. While it’s possible a negative game script might occur – which Cardinals offense are we getting? – the matchup doesn’t look great on paper and expect the Colts to continue to try and pound the run game. Wentz is too risky to trust outside of deep 2QB leagues. Sit him.
