Quick story about one of my favorite Week 8 waiver wire selections for your fantasy football lineups. On Sunday morning, I pushed Tua Tagovailoa as a great Week 7 streamer, suggesting that “in the aftermath of reports suggesting Miami might try to trade him, today’s matchup against Atlanta will be a statement game for the second-year pro.”
But here’s the thing: Tua threw for 125 yards and 2 TDs while playing catch-up in the fourth quarter. 13 fantasy points in the final 13 minutes transformed him from a middling QB2 to an elite QB1. Was it a fluke? Or is Tua the real deal ahead of this week’s waiver period?
Fantasy Waiver Wire Week 8: A league-worst defense puts Tua in position to score fantasy points
Sometimes in fantasy, the best offense is a bad defense. And it doesn’t get much worse than Miami, which has yielded the NFL’s second-most points per game (29.6). In fact, their defense is so bad, they’re No. 7 in offensive time of possession. That’s right — teams are scoring on them so quickly, their offensive unit is enjoying more playing time than most of their peers.
This is why being 1-6 with a porous D has its advantages. Tua has zero touchdowns and a minuscule 59.2 QB rating when leading, but he has 4 touchdowns and a 101.8 QB rating when trailing. His first-half and second-half splits tell a similar story: 6.4 yards per attempt (and 2 total TDs) in first halves compared to 8.1 yards per attempt (and 5 total TDs) in second halves.
A favorable schedule
If you’re limping along because of Russell Wilson’s injury (or if you’re not satisfied with your other streaming options), Tua could be a must-start option from Week 9 until right after their Week 14 bye. After next week’s brutal matchup against the Bills, the Dolphins will face six successive teams, five of which are beatable through the air: Texans, Ravens, Giants, and Jets (twice). They’ll also get a Jekyll-and-Hyde Panthers defense that has been exposed three of the last four weeks.
An underrated Dolphins receiving corps
Tua has looked good even while missing 50-75% of his top wideouts due to injury. When DeVante Parker and Will Fuller return, they’ll join Jaylen Waddle, Preston Williams, and Mike Gesicki as a surprisingly formidable receiving corps. Parker, Fuller, and Williams have all flashed at various times in their careers, while Waddle is an ascending talent with a sky-high ceiling. Meanwhile, Gesicki is somehow the No. 3 fantasy TE at the moment while reeling in 74% of his targets.
When you put it all together, the key question is not whether Tua can help fantasy teams, but rather why more managers aren’t rostering him.
