Last year in this space on XN Sports I would provide my quarterback rankings for 2-QB fantasy football leagues each week, and then single out some quarterbacks whose stock was on the rise or whose stock was sliding.
The falling/sliding stock portion of the article was meant as a way to give you some ideas on not only which quarterbacks to start/bench, but which quarterbacks you could target in trades or to trade away.
This year we’ll stick with the same format. First up are the rankings, and below them you’ll find the Stock Watch report for Week 1.
Week 1 QB Fantasy Football Rankings for 2-QB Leagues:
1. Drew Brees vs. ATL
2. Peyton Manning vs. IND
3. Russell Wilson vs. GB
4 Colin Kaepernick vs. DAL
5. Andrew Luck vs. DEN
6. Nick Foles vs. JAC
7. Jay Cutler vs. BUF
8. Matthew Stafford vs. NYG
9. Aaron Rodgers vs. SEA
10. Robert Griffin III vs. HOU
11. Tom Brady vs. MIA
12. Tony Romo vs. SF
13. Philip Rivers vs. ARI
14. Carson Palmer vs. SD
15. Alex Smith vs. TEN
16. Cam Newton vs. TB
17. Matt Ryan vs. NO
18. Geno Smith vs. OAK
19. Ben Roethlisberger vs. CLE
20. Andy Dalton vs. BAL
21. Ryan Tannehill vs. NE
22. Jake Locker vs. KC
23. Shaun Hill vs. MIN
24. Joe Flacco vs. CIN
25. Eli Manning vs. DET
26. Ryan Fitzpatrick vs. WAS
27. Chad Henne vs. PHI
28. Josh McCown vs. CAR
29. Derek Carr vs. NYJ
30. Brian Hoyer vs. PIT
31. Matt Cassel vs. STL
32. EJ Manuel vs. CHI
Week 1 Quarterbacks on the Rise in 2-QB Leagues:
Derek Carr
After stealing the show, and Matt Schaub‘s job, in the Raiders’ final preseason game, it’s kind of hard not to go with Derek Carr in this space. He’s the new QB1 in Oakland, and as a rookie, he’ll have more leeway to keep the job, even if he falters.
The Raiders could be pretty horrible this season, but that shouldn’t impact Carr’s job as the team’s QB1. Dennis Allen has gone all-in with the rookie Week 1, and for those that took a flier on him as a QB3/QB4 at the end of 2-QB drafts have been rewarded with a possible QB2. At the very worst, he’s a QB2 streaming option.
Kyle Orton already won by getting the Buffalo Bills to sign him to a two-year deal worth $11 million, which came with a $3 million signing bonus. For some teams, that can be seen as starting money, but in Buffalo, he’s being paid to backup starter EJ Manuel. For now.
Even if Orton takes meaningful snaps this season he might find himself in a potentially run-heavy offense, which could relegate him to game manager role. Still, he’s one of the few backup quarterbacks worth rostering as a QB3/Q4 in 2-QB leagues right now. If you have the room for Orton on your bench, consider plucking him off the waiver wire sooner rather than later.
Week 1 Quarterbacks on the slide in 2-QB Leagues:
Matt Schaub
Matt Schaub went from Raiders quarterback savior to backup pretty quickly. The team brought in the veteran quarterback hoping he could regain his 2009 form, when he threw for 4,770 yards and 29 touchdowns. Instead they got the Schaub that was benched for Case Keenum last season.
If it wasn’t bad enough for Schaub to lose his job to a rookie, albeit one that was drafted this time around, there’s a possibility he might not even be the team’s QB2 on the team’s depth chart. Raiders beat writer Vic Tafur suggested Matt McGloin could be the backup behind Carr Week 1. That Matt McGloin Bar is tough to crack.
EJ Manuel
When the Bills traded for Mike Williams and traded up in the draft to select Sammy Watkins it was only seen as good news for second-year quarterback EJ Manuel. An injury-plagued rookie season where Manuel missed six games saw him finish with the sixth-worst completion percentage of quarterbacks that attempted at least 300 passes.
Manuel didn’t have an encouraging preseason either, notching the 11th worst preseason PFF grade at quarterback [72.24]. During the preseason, Manuel was 50-of-82 for 517 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
The contract the team dished out to Kyle Orton shows they don’t have the utmost confidence in Manuel, and could send him packing to the bench without hesitation. If you own Manuel in a 2-QB league, his trade value isn’t all that high. You might have to wait for him to have a good game to trade him, or hope he turns it around this season. Seeing if someone like Shaun Hill is sneaking around on your waiver wire might be a good idea.
*Stats used in this article from PFF and Rotoworld
