Conventional fantasy wisdom says if you’re happy with your starting QB you shouldn’t waste a valuable bench spot on a backup. If your Allen/Hurts/Mahomes suffers an injury, you can stream a QB based on matchups.

But with so many QBs going down to injury, QB waivers are starting to look very thin. There is a steep dropoff from the lowend QB2 tier to the QB3s. The difference between overall QB5 Dak Prescott and QB19 Baker Mayfield in points/game is less than the difference between Mayfield and QB26 Desmond Ridder. In many leagues there may be only 1 or 2 QBs available who are better than Ridder.

If you’re happy with your starting QB and getting your team ready for the playoffs, are you holding/stashing a backup or riding with just one QB?

The lowend QB2 tier:

• Russell Wilson: 17.2 ppg (18th overall)
• Baker Mayfield: 16.5 ppg (19th)
• Matthew Stafford: 14.4 ppg (23rd)
• Geno Smith: 14.2 ppg (24th)

The QB3 tier:

• Will Levis: 14.0 ppg (25th)
• Desmond Ridder: 12.9 ppg (26th)
• Derek Carr: 12.6 ppg (27th)
• Mac Jones: 11.7 ppg (31st)
• Bryce Young: 11.7 ppg (32nd)
• Gardner Minshew: 11.5 ppg (33rd)

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