Fantasy Football: Early Top 15 QB Rankings
We conclude our “Early Rankings” series with The Fantasy Footballers’ Early QB rankings for the 2018 season. We will include context for some of the players we feel necessary to address. Be sure to listen to the full episode below if you would like to hear thoughts on these QBs from Andy, Mike, and Jason!
Episode #541: Early Top 15 QB Rankings
[lptw_table id=”53297″ style=”default”]Kirk Cousins
Consensus Ranking: 5
We begin with the top 5 consensus quarterbacks. Andy, Mike, and Jason were unanimous through the first 4 QBs and then the wheels fell off! Mike has Kirk Cousins ranked the highest as the 5th best QB and despite Andy’s lowest rank of 9th, Cousins still finds himself at the consensus #5. There are plenty of positives to Cousins’ new situation in Minnesota. He has completely upgraded weapons (Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Dalvin Cook, and Kyle Rudolph) and offensive line to help bolster his stats in 2018. Kirk Cousins finished as the 6th best fantasy QB last season despite the inferior offensive options so seeing him in any Top 5 QB rankings for 2018 shouldn’t shock you.
Drew Brees
Consensus Ranking: 6
Drew Brees has been so consistent for so long that it almost becomes impossible not to rank him in your top 6-10 QBs. Nothing is impossible for Jason Moore, however. Currently, Jason has Drew Brees ranked at 11. That may seem crazy to most but I have to say, I don’t disagree with the reasoning here. It is true, this New Orleans offense has changed it’s offensive scheme. The running back duo of Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara takes pressure off of Brees to not have to throw a thousand times a game which in turn, will diminish his volume and opportunities that we are used to seeing from the New Orleans Saints’ quarterback. One could argue this improved backfield helps Drew Brees to be more efficient with his lighter workload thus, not negatively impacting his fantasy points enough to warrant a major change in his typical rankings. Regardless of what side you fall on, Drew Brees is ranked inside the consensus Top 10 where he belongs until he proves otherwise.
Andrew Luck
Consensus Ranking: 8
To steal a line from my friend and fellow writer, Keaton Denlay, “Andrew Luck is a unicorn.” Meaning, he doesn’t exist. We hear about this fable and how good he is. The problem is, we haven’t seen him play football in well over a year and he has yet to pick up an NFL football. The red flags in his health are abounding and should scare most off of him until he can not only throw a football but actually see some action on the field. His health isn’t the only thing that should have you hesitant. The Colts offensive weapons are not exactly something to write home about even with a 100% healthy (yet to be seen) Andrew Luck. To counter the “doom and gloom” aspect of this quarterback, Luck has been a top 5 fantasy QB since 2013 (with the exception of 2015 and 2017 due to injury) and we all know his potential elite production if he truly comes back healthy in 2018. For now, he is in the Footballers’ top 10 but things could change as we get closer to the season.
Philip Rivers
Consensus Ranking: 11
One of the most underrated QBs since he became a starter in 2006, Philip Rivers has been a top 15 option at the position in 10 of the last 12 seasons. Don’t expect that trend to change in 2018. He has young, talented weapons around him on an offense that is sure to score a ton. His top receiver, Keenan Allen was finally free of a freak injury last season and was a top 3 fantasy WR (half PPR). It’s always helpful to have a big body to target in the end zone and Hunter Henry is becoming just that for Philip Rivers and the Chargers. Melvin Gordon is a workhorse back that can reduce pressure on Rivers in both the run and pass game allowing him to carve up defenses. I could continue to list the weapons Rivers will have at his disposal but at the end of the day, there is too much happening in this offense to not consider Philip Rivers a QB1 and that is exactly where the Footballers have him.
Jimmy Garoppolo
Consensus Ranking: 14
Jimmy Garoppolo is probably the most intriguing quarterback for 2018. He came onto the scene in San Francisco last year and completely changed the outlook of the team. He only has 7 career NFL starts (5 of them with the 49ers) but has been more than impressive and has yet to lose a game. No, Jimmy G will not be undefeated in his career but if his first 7 starts have shown us anything, it’s that he is a winner and knows how to transform an organization. That is something only the “elite” class of QBs can do. I hate to do this but the numbers are impressive. If we are to extrapolate Garoppolo’s production in his 5 games with the 49ers over a 16 game season, he’d end up with the stat line below. Yes, we have yet to see him play a full season and he has a lot to prove but his sample size and instant impact on a struggling team should give you an idea of the type of quarterback we can expect out of Jimmy Garoppolo.