Favorable QB & TE Matchups for Week 3 (2021)

Zach Berger

Every week this season, Fantasy In Frames is going to help you stream quarterbacks and tight ends by going over which ones have some of the most favorable matchups each week.

“If it weren’t for the rocks in its bed, the stream would have no song.” – Carl Perkins

That quote is some foreshadowing for this article, so let’s talk about streaming. Week 2 was CRAZY! There were several injuries, a lot of duds, and some huge scores (looking at you Derrick Henry). After Week 1 people thought one thing then Week 2 flipped it, which is why we need to stay fluid and take in as much information as we can because trends cannot be set in two weeks. There is plenty to learn and plenty will change, which is why streaming QBs and TEs allows us to be flexible and go with the flow and hopefully land a player that will provide value for your roster for multiple weeks. Ideally, you are streaming these positions because you drafted them late, and the rest of your roster has strength and depth at RB and WR. There will be great weeks for streaming when it is like a coursing river, and bad weeks for streaming when it is a trickling faucet. This week is a great week for streaming QBs and a bad week for streaming TEs.

All players below are rostered on less than 50% of teams on ESPN.

Quarterbacks to Stream – Week 3

Daniel Jones (vs ATL) – 30.5% rostered in ESPN:

Do you know which QB has the 3rd most rushing yards through 2 weeks? Daniel “Danny Dimes” Jones! Hopefully, that was obvious since I already gave you the answer, but I do not think any of us expected Jones to be the answer before the season started. Jones has rushed for 122 yards this season, which would be the 18th most among RBs tied with Chris Caron. Jones isn’t getting his rushing yards from just scrambling. The Giants are calling designed runs for Jones, which gives him a great fantasy floor every week. Daniel Jones is currently the QB5 and he has only thrown 2 TDs because his rushing has elevated his fantasy scoring (122 yards and 2 rushing TDs). 47.5% of Jones’ fantasy points have come from his rushing. Daniel Jones is capable of finishing as a QB1 for the rest of the season if he continues to run, but he is a great streamer this week because he is playing at home against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons’ defense has continued to struggle this season after giving up 5 passing TDs to Tom Brady and the Bucs.

Kirk Cousins (vs SEA) – 29.7% rostered in ESPN:

We have talked about Kirk Cousins already this season, and he continues to produce. There is a perception that the Vikings are a running team. Dalvin Cook has been running well, but Kirk Cousins is still slinging the ball all over the field.

The season is still young, but Cousins is the QB10. Cousin’s passing volume will continue because the Vikings’ defense has been disappointing this year and he will need to keep passing to keep them in the game.

Derek Carr (vs MIA) – 35.3% rostered in ESPN:

Time for another obvious pop-quiz! Who leads the league in passing yards? Ding-ding-ding! Derek Carr leads the league with 817 passing yards, which is 128 yards ahead of the next QB, Kyler Murray. I don’t think any of us predicted that stat before the season started either. Carr is currently the QB9, averaging 24.6 ppg, and the Raiders will not have a functional running game for the foreseeable future while Josh Jacobs continues to be out while injured. Carr is expected to keep throwing it A LOT, and he already leads the league in pass attempts with 93, 46.5 per game.

Teddy Bridgewater (vs NYJ) – 22% rostered in ESPN:

We talked about Teddy Bridgewater last week. He has a great matchup against the New York Jets this week, and he continues to impress.

Even without Jerry Jeudy for at least another month, the Broncos still have quality offensive skill players and Bridgewater has been throwing the ball well. Again, Bridgewater is not an exciting name, but he has played great through two weeks and has a great matchup this week.

Honorable Mentions: Justin Fields (@ CLE) 49.1%and Sam Darnold (@ HOU) 7.8%

Tight Ends to Stream – Week 3

Hunter Henry (vs NO) – 39.3% rostered in ESPN:

Tight ends are the rocks in the bed of the stream this week; a lot of probable thuds. There are plenty of tight ends to pick up, but you cannot feel confident about them this week. You are just hoping you pick the right one that scores a touchdown this week.

Hunter Henry saw his snaps go up about 9% while Jonnu Smith’s dropped about 23% because Smith was injured going into last week’s game. Smith may not be fully healthy going into Week 3 too. The Patriots were not in a favorable passing game script last week because the Jets had several turnovers, but Henry still managed 4 targets (15% target share). You are not blown away by that, but compared to the other available tight ends that is something I can chase for Week 3.

Evan Engram (vs ATL) – 24.2% rostered in ESPN:

Evan Engram is expected to play for the first time this season in Week 3. This is a shot in the dark because we haven’t seen Engram yet, but he is an athletic tight end who had over 100 targets last season. Daniel Jones has been playing well, you can’t ask for a much better matchup to make your season debut against the Atlanta Falcons. You should not expect Engram to receive a massive target share this week, but he could get a redzone target and that optimism is enough for me compared to other tight ends this week. If Engram can stay healthy, he has the skill to be your tight end the rest of the season and you won’t have to jump back in the stream and sift through these “rocks” again.

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