The fantasy football season has taken a wild turn over the past few weeks with a ton of big name stars going down with injuries. Malik Nabers was lost for the season in Week 4 while Mike Evans and Joe Burrow were among the largest impact players already sidelined before a potential fantasy-changing injury occurred in Kansas City on Sunday.
Ravens' quarterback Lamar Jackson, arguably the top fantasy quarterback this side of Josh Allen, left Baltimore's loss to the Chiefs in the third quarter with a hamstring injury. Testing is scheduled for today to determine the severity of the injury, but there are concerns that Jackson could miss some time.
The good news is that while Baltimore is a real life loser if their star quarterback has to sit at 1-3, fantasy owners could likely survive a Jackson absence if it is short term. Jackson has been one of the league's best players in the first three weeks of the season, allowing teams that roster him to likely get out to at least a 2-1 start on the strength of his strong performance.
With Baltimore's bye not until Week 9, it is likely fantasy owners were carrying a backup quarterback to cover for that game. If they weren't or said backup is on bye in Week 5 (such as Jordan Love or Aaron Rodgers), there are a few good options available on the waiver wire to hold the fort until Jackson's return.
If Jackson is to miss significant time, that is obviously a game changer since no quarterback can replicate what Jackson does for an extended period besides Allen. Let's look at five potential streaming fill-ins for Jackson, with all players listed available in more than 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
5 Fantasy Football Streaming Options To Fill In For Lamar Jackson
Matthew Stafford
While he is a better real-life quarterback than a fantasy one due to his lack of mobility, Stafford is working with a talented supporting cast and has the ability to go off in any given moment. The Rams saw Stafford have his most prolific passing game of the season in Week 4 as he threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns to help Los Angeles take down the undefeated Colts at home.
There is a short week for the Rams in Week 5 as they take on the wounded San Francisco 49ers, who are trying to navigate the rest of the season sans star defensive end Nick Bosa. Stafford and the Rams have traditionally played well against San Francisco, so feel free to grab him here as Stafford is only rostered in 42 percent of leagues.
Jaxson Dart
The newest fantasy sensation could well be Dart, who showed flashes of potential in the Giants' first win of the season on Sunday. New York head coach Brian Daboll offered a conservative passing game plan for Dart, who attempted just 20 passes, but he completed 13 of them for 111 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.
The intriguing potential for Dart comes on the ground, where he ran 10 times for 54 yards and another score, offering a solid rushing floor. A plus matchup against New Orleans' awful defense in Week 5, but you will likely need to burn your waiver priority to land Dart, who is rostered in just 23 percent of leagues.
Tua Tagovailoa
While the state of the Dolphins is admittedly stinky, Tagovailoa is still set up to deliver big time fantasy efforts if needed. All of Miami's key skill position guys are healthy and the Dolphins looked far more competitive in Week 3 against Buffalo, with Monday night's game against a leaky Jets' secondary offering a blow-up spot for Tagovailoa to reset his confidence.
The positive of having Tagovailoa as your fill in plan is that he should still be on waiver wires until Monday night's game kicks off. If you want to avoid the mad scramble to snag Dart or Stafford off the wire, Tagovailoa is available right now and rostered in only 24 percent of leagues.
Sam Darnold
A fantasy superhero last year, Darnold has been more of a game manager in Seattle, which prefers to run first behind the two-headed monster of Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. While his pass catchers aren't as strong as they were in Minnesota, Darnold does have a strong duo to throw to in the form of ascending star Jaxon Smith-Njibga and savvy veteran Cooper Kupp.
After a tough Week 1 against a full-strength 49ers defense Darnold has righted the ship, throwing five touchdown passes against just two interceptions in the past three games. A Week 5 matchup with Tampa Bay offers some shootout potential here for Darnold, who is rostered in 21 percent of leagues, but you will be taking on game-flow risk because the Seahawks will ride their running game if they can build a comfortable lead.
Jake Browning
If you're feeling bold you can look to buy low on Browning, who was a solid streaming option when he filled in for Burrow during the 2023 season. The setup for Browning is the same now as it is then, with a solid running back (Chase Brown instead of Joe Mixon) and the dynamic duo of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on the outside, and Browning thrived by force-feeding the ball to his two top receivers as often as possible.
A rough debut against Minnesota's swarming defense in Week 3 soured people on Browning, who is rostered in 13 percent of leagues, and Monday's trip to Denver to take on the Broncos' elite unit may not go much better. Four of Browning's next five matchups are favorable from a fantasy perspective (Detroit, Pittsburgh, the Jets and Chicago, with a Week 6 trip to Green Bay the lone exception), so the buy-low window may be closing. Like Tagovailoa, Browning is available now without a waiver claim until the Bengals' game kicks off at 8:15 p.m. ET, making this a potential guaranteed option if you don't want to play the waiver game.