We’re now two weeks into the 2014 NFL regular season and the quarterback position seems to be taking its cue from last season. Through two weeks, we’ve seen 36 quarterbacks score at least one fantasy point. If we cheat and include Thursday Night’s game, the number goes up to 37 when Mike Glennon came relieved Josh McCown and his strained thumb.
In standard leagues where only one quarterback is required in the starting lineup it doesn’t matter all that much to know who the backup and third string quarterbacks are on each team. If you’re starting someone like Josh McCown you can safely drop him and pick up another signal caller like Ryan Tannehill or Alex Smith.
In 2-QB leagues, if you lose McCown you better hope Glennon is already on your roster or that you can snatch him off the waiver wire before someone else does. The season is only two weeks and one game long, yet we’ve already seen four backups (Kirk Cousins, Austin Davis, Mike Glennon, Drew Stanton, and Derek Anderson) see significant snaps/start a game.
As a 2-QBer, one of the most important managerial skills you can have is to be up-to-date on the quarterback depth charts of each team, and be ready to pounce when a new quarterback(s) is elevated into the QB1 role.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at this week’s quarterback rankings and stock watch report…
Week 3 Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings for 2-QB Leagues:
1. Aaron Rodgers @ Detroit
2. Drew Brees vs. Minnesota
3. Matthew Stafford vs. GB
4. Nick Foles vs. Washington
5. Andrew Luck @ Jacksonville
6. Russell Wilson vs. Denver
7. Peyton Manning @ Seattle
8. Jay Cutler @ New York Jets
9. Matt Ryan vs. Tampa Bay
10. Cam Newton vs. Pittsburgh
11. Tom Brady vs. Oakland
12. Kirk Cousins @ Philadelphia
13. Colin Kaepernick @ Arizona
14. Philip Rivers @ Buffalo
15. Tony Romo @ St. Louis
16. Ryan Tannehill vs. Kansas City
17. Geno Smith vs. Chicago
18. Austin Davis vs. Dallas
19. Andy Dalton vs. Tennessee
20. Ben Roethlisberger @ Carolina
21. Josh McCown @ Atlanta
22. Joe Flacco @ Cleveland
23. Alex Smith @ Miami
24. Jake Locker @ Cincinnati
25. EJ Manuel vs. San Diego
26. Ryan Fitzpatrick @ New York Giants
27. Eli Manning vs. Houston
28. Derek Carr @ New England
29. Drew Stanton vs. San Francisco
30. Brian Hoyer vs. Baltimore
31. Chad Henne vs. Indianapolis
32. Matt Cassel @ New Orleans
33. Blake Bortles vs. Indianapolis
34. Mike Glennon @ Atlanta
Week 2 Quarterbacks on the Rise in 2-QB Leagues:
Austin Davis
Austin Davis might not have wowed you on the stat sheet in his first NFL start. He finished the week throwing 235 yards, with zero touchdowns and zero interceptions. His 9.4 fantasy points saw him end the week as the QB29 in standard scoring leagues.
With Shaun Hill sidelined, Davis has taken over the QB1 reigns in St. Louis, and until Hill comes back Davis will be taking starters’ snaps under center. A good performance vs. Dallas in Week 3 will give coach Jeff Fisher something to think about during the team’s Week 4 bye, and if Davis is still the starting quarterback a Week 5 matchup vs. Philadelphia is on the docket.
Kirk Cousins
When injury takes away a starting quarterback in 2-QB leagues a backup emerges. That’s the case with Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins in Washington. If you were able to stash Cousins in light of RG3‘s injury news you may have found yourself with a weekly starting QB2 at worst, either for the rest of the season or until (if) RG3 returns.
Week 2 Quarterbacks on the Slide in 2-QB leagues:
Carson Palmer
Week 1 was a moment of triumph for Carson Palmer owners in 2-QB leagues. For those that took advantage of his low 2-QB ADP, Palmer came out firing Week 1. He threw for 304 passing yards, two touchdowns, and ran for 29 yards, which saw him finish the week as the fifth-highest scoring fantasy quarterback.
Then Palmer was forced to miss Week 2 with a nerve injury, which saw Drew Stanton start in his place, and Palmer has been ruled OUT for Week 3. Dealing with an injury that Palmer has no idea when he’ll return from makes it hard to trust him for the time being. You can’t drop him 2-QB leagues, meaning you’ll have some roster tinkering to do to manage your quarterback depth.
Robert Griffin III
Just like how Cousins saw his stock rise, RG3 saw his stock fall. His dislocated ankle injury has no clear return timeline, forcing you to decide what to do with RG3 in your 2-QB league a difficult decision. Your RG3 backup plan options are limited and unappealing, but until more news comes our way we’re stuck.
