Welcome back to another weekly edition of “The Wire”. In this series, I review several players each week that you should target on the waiver wire for your Dynasty teams. To keep the information in this series consistent, I will only refer to players with an ownership percentage of less than 50%, according to Sleeper Dynasty leagues. I typically focus on players with long-term upside versus a one-week ceiling, as this is a Dynasty series. But with the sheer number of quarterback injuries this season, there are quite a few targets available on the waiver wire for contending teams that may have lost a QB recently, or those fringe playoff teams that need a Week 14 win to keep their championship hopes alive. For clarification, these guys would only be targets in Superflex leagues. Let’s jump right in and discuss those quarterbacks first.
Joe Flacco | QB | Cleveland Browns
38% Rostered
I had Flacco in our waiver wire article last week (you can check that out here), and I was a bit surprised his ownership percentage was still under 50% on Sleeper. Last Sunday, Flacco and the Browns kept it close with the Rams early on, but the L.A. was able to pull away in the fourth quarter in convincing fashion. While Flacco was nowhere near efficient in this game, he performed above expectations from a fantasy football perspective, throwing for 254 yards and a pair of touchdowns. All things considered, he did fine from a real-life perspective as well. Remember, he had only signed with the Browns the week prior; he didn’t have much time to prepare and create rapport with his receivers and offensive line.
Cleveland is still in the playoff hunt, sitting as the last wild-card team in the AFC after their Week 13 loss. So, what does this mean? It means Kevin Stefanski and company will continue throwing Flacco out there while there’s still hope. And frankly, Flacco is light years better than P.J. Walker and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, so it’s the right call. Flacco won’t get you any rushing production, but he can still put up 20+ FP performances off pure passing volume here. If you’re still pushing for a playoff spot and maybe you had Kenny Pickett or Derek Carr as your QB2 or QB3, Flacco is an excellent substitute if he’s available. Hell, he’s probably an upgrade.
Jameis Winston | QB | New Orleans Saints
35% Rostered
Man, has Derek Carr been beaten up this year or what? Carr exited the Saints’ Week 13 matchup early with several injury concerns, including his shoulder, back, and head. Carr is now in concussion protocol for the second time in three games, so he will likely be sitting out the game against Carolina next week. Enter Jameis Winston, who has been quite underwhelming in his few relief appearances this year, but still, he’s a live arm with a decent fantasy ceiling.
* Click on image for full tweet
In 2019, Winston threw 30 interceptions, the most by a quarterback in a single season in this century. However, he finished as the QB4 that year. How, exactly, did he do that? He threw the ball 626 times and had over 5,000 pass yards. Winston is inefficient and likely not even a good NFL quarterback, but he has big-play potential and loves to air it out. Jameis has slim to no chance of being a long-term starter at this point, but like Flacco, he’s a great pickup if you’re thin at quarterback and still looking to compete for a championship this season.
Mitchell Trubisky | QB | Pittsburgh Steelers
17% Rostered
Honestly, I threw up a bit in my mouth when I typed that name. But hey, he’s walking into a starting role on a playoff-contending team, and that means something. As we all know, Kenny Pickett was added to the long list of QB injuries in 2023, going down with an ankle injury that required surgery. He’s likely to avoid IR but also unlikely to return before your fantasy playoffs are over. Now, you may be thinking, how many dynasty teams out there are really playoff teams if they had to start Kenny Pickett?
You’d be surprised, I’m sure. I can think of one of my teams off the top of my head in this exact scenario. I mean, just think of the starters that are still out today. We have Joe Burrow, Anthony Richardson, Kirk Cousins, Deshaun Watson, Daniel Jones, Aaron Rodgers, Derek Carr, and now Kenny Pickett. Not to mention several QBs that were out earlier in the year, including Justin Fields and Matthew Stafford. Everyone is struggling in this department; if you aren’t, consider yourself lucky.
We know what kind of QB Mitch is, and it’s not overly exciting. Still, I don’t know if it’s too much of a dropoff from Pickett. Trubisky came in mid-game this past Sunday and was serviceable, completing 11 of 17 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. Week 14 will be a difficult matchup against a stout New England pass defense in a game with an over/under line of just 30.5, according to DraftKings. Still, I think Mitch can safely score double-digit fantasy points this Thursday, which may be better than throwing a wide receiver in your Superflex spot if you’re in that position now.
Alright, we’ve covered some QB waiver options if you’re contending and need a spot-start or two. I want to give you one more player that I believe is an excellent pickup for any roster in Dynasty. He was featured in my Week 11 waiver wire article, but I felt it best to give everyone a refresher.
Xavier Gipson | WR | New York Jets
12% Rostered
Seriously, how is this guy still not remotely close to 50% ownership in Sleeper Dynasty leagues? The rookie from Stephen F. Austin has been making a name for himself in the latter part of this season, establishing himself as the WR2 on this Jets roster. Sure, I know that doesn’t mean much this season, with Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian feeding the skill players. But from a dynasty perspective, this guy could legitimately become a productive fantasy asset.
*Click on image for full tweet
Gipson has seen over two-thirds of the snaps weekly in the past four weeks. He had his best performance of the year against Atlanta this past Sunday, posting five receptions for 77 yards on six targets. He’s clearly ahead of veteran Allen Lazard on the depth chart, who was a healthy scratch in Week 12 and saw just one target in Week 13. Gipson’s speed and quickness make him a potential deep threat. He knows how to create separation and is impressive in the open field. If the Jets can solve their QB issues, either with Aaron Rodgers or a 2024 draft pick, this kid could have a blowup sophomore campaign.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, and I hope you got some valuable information you can use for your fantasy team! If you’d like additional insight into Dynasty Football news and analysis, please follow me on Twitter at @jim_DFF. Until next time, keep grinding out there, DFF family! #DFFArmy #AlwaysBeBuilding
