The last thing you want to do is stream a QB for the majority of your season, but that’s exactly what I had to do during the 2021 NFL season. I thought my season was over but I put my thinking cap on and searched the waiver wire for a potential season-saving pickup. I scoured the QBs that were up for grabs.

Nobody wanted them.

Take a look at who they were:

I carefully planned which one I was going to call mine.

Every QB has baggage that they bring along with them whenever you draft them to your team, but the baggage gets bigger when you get them off the waiver wire. 

So what is the plan?

Well, I composed a checklist of things that I would want my QB to bring along on this “vacation” as my fill-in QB starter. 

I wanted 

1. A QB who loves to throw the ball on a team that will have to throw the ball 
2. A solid enough defense, but not one that was going to carry
3. Talented playmakers surrounding him
4. Upside

So who fits this criteria?

Was it going to be Jared Goff?

1. Kinda and yes  
2. Terrible defense that got run over 
3. There was buzz about some guy named Amon-Ra St. Brown
4. It could be better

I could do better

Teddy Bridgewater?

1. Kinda and yes
2. Great defense, potential to carry
3. More solid than Detroit, but that’s not saying much
4. Not into a QB that’s 29

What a pity. But wait, I may have found someone that might just fit all of the criteria. And there he was. He may have been a trash can, but he was my trash can.

1. You couldn’t get the ball out of his hands any quicker and since this team wanted to stay competitive, they were passing more often than not
2. The defense was good, but not good enough to make stops consistently which meant that the offense would be playing catch up which led to even more passes
3. 2 solid WRs, one emerging into a future Pro-Bowl selection and 2 talented RBs, one being a pass-catching machine 
4. We knew his floor, now what is his ceiling

Did I really want to pick up a QB with so many question marks?

No.

But would I look so smart and cool if it worked out for me?

Yes.

So I did it and with my waiver-wire pickup, I selected:

Taylor Heinicke 

And what he did for me was amazing.

He got me through the weeks that I needed him the most.

For the next 8 weeks, he finished as a top-10 QB four times including a top-5 and a top-7 finish. 

He averaged 18.2 FPPG in that 8-week stretch and had an average weekly finish of QB14.

Who would’ve thought that Taylor Heinicke would have saved my season? 

We’re two years from the famous Heinicke heist and I bet you’re wondering why I even told you this story to begin with. 

I wholeheartedly believe that we can use these criteria points to make better judgment calls in both regular fantasy leagues and best ball leagues. 

I’m going to tell you who this year’s Taylor Heinicke is. 

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