Week 6 byes: Atlanta Falcons (Matt Ryan), Miami Dolphins (Ryan Tannehill)
The quarterback position took a bit of a hit in Week 5, with the injuries to both Brian Hoyer and EJ Manuel. The news wasn’t good at all for Hoyer, who’s out for the year. We’re still awaiting official word about the severity of Manuel’s injury, but reports have him out anywhere from 4-8 weeks.
The beat goes on in Cleveland with the return of Brandon Weeden to the starting quarterback gig, and it will be interesting to see what he can do with pass catching weapons Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron. Manuel’s replacement, Thaddeus Lewis is somebody to stay away from, unless you are in desperate need of a replacement in your 2-QB line-up.
With Hoyer and Manuel no longer fantasy quarterback options, and Matt Ryan and Ryan Tannehill on their byes, let’s take a look at the rest of the quarterbacks, and where they rank in Week 6.
Following the rankings, stick around for the Week 6 2-QB Stock Watch report. Also, if you’re looking for a different set of quarterback ranks for 2-QB leagues, make sure to hit up my good friends at TwoQBs.com.
Week 6 Fantasy Quarterback Rankings for 2-QB Leagues:
1. Peyton Manning versus Jacksonville Jaguars
2. Tony Romo versus Washington Redskins
3. Robert Griffin III at Dallas Cowboys
4. Drew Brees at New England Patriots
5. Andrew Luck at San Diego Chargers
6. Philip Rivers versus Indianapolis Colts
7. Cam Newton at Minnesota Vikings
8. Aaron Rodgers at Baltimore Ravens
9. Jay Cutler versus New York Giants
10. Tom Brady versus New Orleans Saints
11. Alex Smith versus Oakland Raiders
12. Matthew Stafford at Cleveland Browns
13. Russell Wilson versus Tennessee Titans
14. Colin Kaepernick versus Arizona Cardinals
15. Eli Manning at Chicago Bears
16. Terrelle Pryor at Kansas City Chiefs
17. Joe Flacco versus Green Bay Packers
18. Brandon Weeden versus Detroit Lions
19. Ben Roethlisberger at New York Jets
20. Matt Schaub versus St. Louis Rams
21. Nick Foles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
22. Geno Smith versus Pittsburgh Steelers
23. Chad Henne at Denver Broncos
24. Mike Glennon versus Philadelphia Eagles
25. Sam Bradford at Houston Texans
26. Andy Dalton at Buffalo Bills
27. Carson Palmer at San Francisco 49ers
28. Ryan Fitzpatrick at Seattle Seahawks
29. Matt Cassel versus Carolina Panthers
30. Josh Freeman versus Carolina Panthers
31. Thaddeus Lewis versus Cincinnati Bengals
32. Brock Osweiler versus Jacksonville Jaguars
33. Michael Vick at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
34. Drew Stanton at San Francisco 49ers
35. T.J. Yates versus St. Louis Rams
Week 6 Quarterbacks on the Rise in 2-QB Leagues:
Josh Freeman
The NFL, and fantasy football by extension, is a weekly game. Every week in fantasy football we’re ranking and re-rankings players, either due to play, situation, or match-ups. It wasn’t that long ago Freeman was being mentioned in the “sliding” section of the stock watch, but now that he has a new home in Minnesota, and a chance to possibly start again, he will be a fantasy factor in 2-QB leagues.
If the Vikings felt secure with their current quarterback situation (Christian Ponder/Matt Cassel), there would have been no need to sign Freeman. But they did, and it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to see him start at some point this year.
If you held onto Freeman, after his Tampa Bay benching, you were rewarded for your faith. If Freeman’s still available in your 2-QB league, you should at least entertain the notion of picking him up, as he could become a regular QB2 streaming option, if/when he’s starting in Minnesota.
Brandon Weeden
Another player that was previously sliding in fantasy football is now back on the rise. Weeden had lost his job to Brian Hoyer, and it looked like he was never going to get it back after Hoyer put up more than respectable numbers, and the Browns were winning. But now that Hoyer is out for the year, Weeden gets a chance to lead the Browns offense yet again.
In the off-season, I had targeted Weeden as a potential QB2 option worth drafting in 2-QB leagues, and now that he’s starting again, we can go back to thinking that way. In relief of Hoyer, Weeden finished Week 5 with 11.88 standard fantasy points, good for QB19. Jason Campbell doesn’t seem like much of a threat to Weeden’s job, and unless the Browns acquire another quarterback, Weeden will be valuable in 2-QB fantasy football leagues.
Week 6 Quarterbacks on the Slide in 2-QB Leagues:
Matt Schaub
Here’s what Texans’ Head Coach Gary Kubiak had to say when naming his starting quarterback for the Texans’ Week 6 match-up versus the St. Louis Rams: “It was a tough decision. Real tough. But I feel like it was the best thing for our football team this weekend.”
When a coach says starting you was a “real tough” decision then you have to start to wonder when that tough decision becomes an easy one, and it’s off to the bench. Schaub has a chance to right the ship, and not throwing a pick-six interception for the fifth straight game will be a start.
The thing about Schaub is that even though he has thrown nine interceptions this year, he’s also thrown for eight touchdowns, and is tied with Jay Cutler for the ninth most passing yards, having thrown 1,366 passing yards. All of that has contributed to Schaub finding himself at QB17 in standard scoring leagues.
If you’re a Schaub owner, having T.J. Yates on your team already is a good start. That way you’ll be covered no matter whom Kubiak decides to start. You also need to worry about Yates though, as third-stringer Case Keenum was challenging Yates for the #2 job this off-season.
All this could be mute though if Schaub performs at the level Kubiak, and his fantasy owners, want and expect him to.
Carson Palmer
I try not to double dip with names on either stock watch list, but what’s going on in Arizona warrants monitoring, even if nothing happens. Cardinals’ Head Coach Bruce Arians jumped at the chance to get Carson Palmer to lead his vertical based pass attack system, but it just hasn’t worked out. Yet.
Cardinals players keep talking about how they’re this close to executing plays the way they should be, and making the offense gel, but until that happens we can only go off what has happened. And what has happened, at least at the quarterback position, hasn’t been what Arians drew up.
On the season, Palmer has completed 58.9 percent of his passes, and has thrown five touchdowns, compared to 9 interceptions. He also has 47.5 fantasy points in standard scoring leagues, putting him at QB28. Palmer was being drafted as a low-end QB2 in fantasy drafts, and he hasn’t been able to live up to that.
There haven’t been any signs of a quarterback change in Arizona, and the problems the Cardinals offense has been facing can’t all be blamed on Palmer. The o-line is kind of a mess, and was ranked 27th overall in a recent Pro Football Focus article. The run game is non-existent. Larry Fitzgerald isn’t playing at full health. There’s a lot that needs to be fixed in Arizona.
Also, you don’t see too many teams with winning records, which the Cardinals have, looking to make a drastic change, such as switching to a new quarterback. Palmer still has time to help put it all together, and in the meantime, Drew Stanton is just a name to keep on waiver wire speed dial in your 2-QB league. Just make sure you have a phone near you, especially if you’re a Palmer owner.
*Stats used in this article from Pro Football Focus and FantasyData.com
