QB & TE Streamers for Week 3 of Fantasy Football

Cole VanWiechen

Sep 21- 11 min read

Looking for stop-gap starters at QB and TE this week?
Carson Wentz, Gerald Everett and Irv Smith Jr were all successful streaming options last week
Read below for a quarterback and two tight ends to stream for week 3

We are now two weeks into the NFL season, and a lot is starting to take shape. The quarterback and tight end position matter greatly in fantasy football for many reasons. For starters, you can only start one quarterback and one tight end (unless you play one in the flex slot) every week. These are also probably the two shallowest positions in fantasy football. So finding streamers can be necessary if you neglected this positions early in your draft or lost a starter – like Trey Lance – during the year.

Through the first two weeks of the season, the tight end position is seemingly down as only two players, Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews, have had games with over 18 fantasy points. That is compared to 17 running backs and 38 wide receivers who have put up over 18 points in weeks one and two.

Success at both the tight end and quarterback position can be found by carefully playing the waiver wire week-to-week, and that is what I am here for. In this article, I will talk about one QB and two TE’s that are viable streaming options for week 3 of the fantasy football season. All of the players I will mention are rostered in under 35% of leagues.

Marcus Mariota (QB) – Atlanta Falcons

14% Rostered

Marcus Mariota is currently the QB12 on the season, despite opening with two very tough matchups against the Saints and the Rams. This week though, things get much easier for him against an abysmal Seahawks defence that has already lost All-Pro safety, Jamal Adams. This Seahawks defence gave up 17.8 fantasy points to Russell Wilson in week one, despite him only having one touchdown. Then in week two, they gave up 19.2 fantasy points to the San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks. Mariota has been surprisingly successful throwing the ball this year, combining for 411 yards, 2 TDs, and a 62.7 cmp% through the first two games.

Quarterbacks that have thrown for the most yards off of play action so far this season:

1) Lamar Jackson – 15/19 269 yards
2) Tua Tagovailoa – 21/34 266 yards
3) Josh Allen – 18/24 245 yards
4) Justin Herbert – 20/26 238 yards
5) Marcus Mariota – 18/25 220 yards#FantasyFootball

— David Mendelson (@DMendy02) September 21, 2022

The former Heisman Trophy winner has sneaky top-5 QB upside thanks to his running ability and his team’s commitment to him running the football. In the Falcon’s week 1 matchup against the Saints, Mariota ran the ball 12 times for 72 yards and a touchdown. Lastly, his 88 combined rush yards in weeks one and two ranks third amongst all quarterbacks behind only Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson. Speaking of Lamar Jackson, Mariota actually has three more carries than Jackson on the season..

With Cordarrelle Patterson, Drake London and Kyle Pitts at his disposal, Mariota is a fantastic streaming option this week. The Falcons QB is only rostered in 14% of leagues, so he should be a guy that you can acquire very easily. If you lost Dak Prescott or Trey Lance over the past two weeks, Mariota is a great pivot option with his matchup against the Seahawks. Mariota is also featured in our must-add players for week 3.

Irv Smith Jr (TE) – Minnesota Vikings

50% Rostered

In week one Smith Jr didn’t record a single reception as he was being eased back from a thumb injury he suffered in the offseason. Despite that, in week two he saw his routes run rate increase to 60% and his snap share increase to 56%. He saw 8 targets in the Viking’s week two matchup against the Eagles, and he turned that into five receptions for 36 yards and a touchdown. He finished the week with 14.6 fantasy points, which ranked fourth amongst all tight ends. The Alabama grad is the most rostered player on this list but is still available in a number of leagues.

Smith Jr gets the advantage of playing a struggling Lions defense this week that has allowed the sixth-most passing yards in the league over the first two weeks. Furthermore, the Lions have allowed opposing tight ends to have more than 50 receiving yards in both of their games this season, and Logan Thomas even found the endzone in Detroit last week. This game should be a high-scoring affair and I am all in on Irv Smith Jr anytime TD scorer, which you can find at +255 odds on Caesars Sportsbook.

Tyler Conklin (TE) – New York Jets

13% Rostered

Tyler Conklin has some of the best usages in the league at the tight end position. For starters, he leads all tight ends with 97 pass routes through the first two weeks of the season. In week one, Conklin was on the field for 92% of the Jets snaps, and then in week two, that number went up to 100%. One crazy stat I found on Conklin was that he has been on the field for every single pass play the Jets have had this season. He also has the most snaps of any tight end in the NFL and is averaging 73.5 per game. That number is the sixth highest overall and the second highest for a non-QB, behind only Ja’Marr Chase. He has capitalized on these snaps to the tune of eight targets a game, which is the fourth most amongst all tight ends. Conklin is currently the TE9 through two games this season and is averaging 10.8 points per game.

Tyler Conklin leads all TEs with 97 pass routes through 2 weeks.

Tyler. Conklin.

— Jared Smola (@SmolaDS) September 21, 2022

Despite all that, he is only rostered in 13% of leagues, meaning he is someone who will cost basically nothing to acquire. Conklin and the Jets will face off against the Bengals this week, who have looked very disappointing through the first two weeks of the season. In week one, the Bengals allowed Steelers tight ends to put up 115 yards on seven receptions. Conklin has an outside shot to finish as a top 3 fantasy TE this week and I think he is guaranteed to land somewhere in the top ten. The former Central Michigan Chippewa is not just someone I’m targeting to stream for this week but is also someone that in deeper leagues I may be looking to add for the entire year.