Injuries have taken a toll in the NFL this season, and it seems like every week there is at least one major injury. Week 10 of the NFL season was no exception.
In Week 9 we witnessed Aaron Rodgers fracture his collarbone, sidelining him around four to six weeks. In Week 10 saw Jake Locker suffer a Lisfranc injury, which will keep him shelved for the rest of the season.
Having to adjust for injuries makes coming up with a rest of season rankings for the quarterback position in 2-QB fantasy football leagues difficult because you never know when you have to eliminate a quarterback completely due to injury, or cautiously downgrade them because of injures.
The purpose of rankings quarterbacks for the rest of the season is to determine trade value at the position in potential 2-QB league trades, or aid in start/sit questions.
It’s getting close to trade time in fantasy football leagues, and determining fantasy value of players will go a long way in assessing trades.
Below you’ll find a chart with updated rest of season quarterback rankings for 2-QB leagues, and as always make sure to thank Patrick Thorman of Pro Football Focus Fantasy for his strength of schedule analysis help.
Here is the color coding legend for the chart:
RED=Avoid/Bye Week
ORANGE=Tough match-up/Avoid if possible
YELLOW=Potentially bad match-up
WHITE=Neutral
LIGHT GREEN=Good match-up
DARK GREEN=Must start match-up
Some notes on the above rankings:
-It’s hard to deny the hot streak Russell Wilson has been on the past few weeks, and after Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers (when he returns), deciding who the next best fantasy quarterback is/who you’d want leading your 2-QB team is a difficult decision.
Currently fantasy QB5 on the season, Wilson has a fantasy floor of 15.16 points to a fantasy ceiling of 22.6 fantasy points in his past six games. He might not be a volume passer, but his consistency, and added rushing ability makes him a safe bet each week in fantasy football.
In those same last six games he’s sporting a 11:3 touchdown to interception ratio, and has averaged 44 rushing yards as well. His rushing yards averaged is boosted by one game where he rushed for 102 yards. Still, Wilson has been as consistent as they come since his up and down start to the season, and if he can keep it up, he should be able to finish the season at his current QB5 pace.
Watch for some potentially touch games versus the Saints, 49ers, and Cardinals coming up though. However, the Week 16 playoff matchup versus the Cardinals shouldn’t be too concerning, as he put up 20.3 fantasy points in their first encounter this season.
-Terrelle Pryor saw the biggest drop out of the QB1 tier, going from QB11 to QB18, and for me it has to do with his recent play, coupled with fears he might be more injured than we thought. There’s already talk he might not be full go this week, and if you read my earlier article this week on XN Sports about Pryor, you’ll see just how much his play has tapered off as of late.
If you own Pryor, now’s a good time to see what you can get for him in a trade, by targeting a team desperate for quarterback help, or that is tantalized by his rushing ways.
-The rankings of Nick Foles, Case Keenum, and Josh McCown might seem high to you, and you might think I was writing this article under the influence of a higher power. Hugs are my only drugs, so you can just stick to questioning my judgement in the case of these three players.
Hot streaks matter in football, and Foles and Keenum are two of the hottest signal callers playing right now. Sure, Andy Dalton once fell under that category as well, and both Foles and Keenum could make their way back down into the Andy Dalton tier of fantasy quarterbacks. Anything can, and does happen, in the world of football, both real and fake.
With Foles, it’s all about the system, and his ability to lead Chip Kelly’s offense that has me intrigued enough to rank him so highly. His rest of season schedule doesn’t hurt either.
Each of the teams he has left to face have given up at least 14 passing touchdowns on the season, with the Vikings, Cowboys, and Redskins amongst the top three most giving defenses in terms of passing touchdowns allowed.
As well, every team but the Cardinals, are in the ten of most passing yards allowed per game, with Dallas the worst, allowing 313 passing yards per game, and Arizona, “the best”, giving up an average of 244 passing yards per game.
While you might not believe in Foles’ ability to continue playing at his current torrid pace, the rest of season schedule for Foles and the Eagles looks great, and Kelly has no reason to go back to Vick, for now.
Case Keenum is almost in the same boat as Foles, with a good looking schedule on paper, and a hot streak of his own. While Foles has thrown for 634 passing yards, ten touchdowns, and zero interceptions in his last two games, Keenum has almost matched him, throwing for 551 yards, six touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
If you want to read up on Keenum some more, from a brilliant football mind, then this article by Matt Waldman will be able to answer any questions you have about Keenum.
As long as Head Coach Gary Kubiak keeps playing Keenum, you shouldn’t have any worries about the former undrafted quarterback. Luck plays a large part in fantasy football, no matter how much we want to admit it, and Keenum’s luck is still going strong.
The one name out of the three that might not belong, when thinking long term, is Josh McCown. It’s hard to say the Bears need Jay Cutler to run that offense, as McCown has been more than adequate in replacement duty. If Cutler were out for the rest of the season, rather than his mysterious week-to-week basis, I would have no problem saying McCown is a rest of season QB1.
Since Cutler has a chance to return at some point this season, McCown’s ranking might not hold weight rest of season, but we don’t know when/if Cutler will be back.
In his one start this year, McCown finished as QB8 for the week, and showed glimpses of QB1 potential in his other turns of Cutler injury mop up duty. His grasp of Marc Trestman’s offense, as well as his schedule, point to a quarterback able to play at a QB1 level, if given the chance.
If you own Cutler, trade for McCown. If you own McCown but not Cutler, trade McCown to the Cutler owner, as you might not get more for him that you can right now. Or trade for an injured Cutler on the cheap. Or just ride it out with McCown until Cutler is back, and reap the QB1 rewards that will come with starting McCown.
-Ryan Fitzpatrick is another interesting quarterback case. Twice this year he’s finished the week as a QB1, and now that Jake Locker is out for the year, a rest of season QB2 player has emerged from the waiver wire for free. If you already have two solid quarterbacks on your team, and picked up Fitzpatrick for depth, send out feelers to your 2-QB league about his availability.
Highlight his Week 16 fantasy playoff match-up versus the Jacksonville Jaguars as a selling point, and see what offers you might get.
-Last time I mentioned Jason Campbell as a QB3 who could be a potential cheap QB2 to acquire, and this time around I’ve bumped him up into the QB2 tier.
Mike Glennon’s schedule is hit or miss rest of the season, and EJ Manuel has to shake off the rust before I can trust starting him. And that gave Campbell an opening to move up from QB3 to QB2 status.
Campbell put up back-to-back QB1 performances in his two starts, and has a relatively smooth schedule from here on out. A fantasy playoff showdown versus the New York Jets is his one obstacle, but you might be able to weather that storm if you trade for Campbell, and he’s your QB3.
-A healthy Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler would both find themselves in the QB1 tier.
-The above chart is there for you to use as a springboard in trade discussions revolving the quarterback position in 2-QB leagues. Don’t take the rankings as fact, but more as a guide, on how to view fantasy quarterbacks going forward.
In the end, the only opinion about quarterbacks and trade values that matters is yours, and you’re in control of your 2-QB team. Good luck with any trade talks!
Stats used in this article from FantasyData.com, ESPN.com, and Yahoo! Fantasy Sports
