NFC Mid-Season QB1 Review
After reviewing the AFC QB1 landscape, it’s time to turn to the NFC and see what data we can pull out and perhaps help us moving forward.
This summer I spent time diving into “What Makes a QB1?” after digesting all of the numbers. Let’s take an in-depth look how 8 weeks of 2016 has turned out in terms of getting an overhead view of each QB’s performances from the NFC:
(Note: Green represents a top 12 finish, White 13-19, and Red 20-35)
To see which QBs stand out among Andy, Mike, and Jason, check out their QB Rankings.
Here are a couple nuggets I noticed perusing through the greens and reds above:
-It’s no surprise that Falcons QB Matt Ryan tops the board with 6 QB1 performances and a weekly average of 8.625. To put that in perspective, fantasy’s #1 QB is narrowly behind Cam Newton’s 8.25 of 2015 and Andrew Luck’s 8.38 of 2014. Ryan’s 6 QB1 starts tally more than his entire 2015 campaign when he had a total of 5.
-The NFC South started out the year with a bang as all 4 QBs (Matt Ryan, Jameis Winston, Drew Brees, and Cam Newton) finished as top 10 plays. Their 17 QB1 spots lead all divisions. Another way of looking at it is the simple fact that this division doesn’t play defense.
-With 8 total QB1 performances in 8 weeks, the NFC West has been a dumpster fire for fantasy QBs in 2016. Did you have all-world QBs Case Keenum and Blaine Gabbert with more top 12 numbers than Russell Wilson to start the season? Wilson, if you remember, started 2015 extremely slow with only 1 QB1 spot in the first half of the season before shifting into high gear with an other-worldly second half.
-The NFC flexed their muscles in Week 3 showing out with 9 of the 12 QB1 spots for the week. Of course, the NFC West decided to take the week off with an average finish of QB23 between the 4 teams.
-The only QBs in the NFC to fail to register a “bad” performance (QB20+) in the first 8 weeks have been Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan. Those 2 faced off against each other last week and finished as QB2 and QB6 respectively.
-Dak Prescott has been quietly consistent since Week 3 as he’s averaged 21 fantasy points per contest, 5th best in the entire NFL during that span. Although he’s failed to throw over 300 yards this season, he seems to have developed a fairly safe floor.
-Brian Hoyer’s three-week QB1 run was epic for a player banished from the Texans after flailing in the playoffs. Hoyer averaged 20.7 fantasy points per game as the QB3 during that span. What’s eerie is the fact that Hoyer had a similar span in 2015 with 4 QB1 weeks in a row (Weeks 4-7) before getting injured. This year he is out indefinitely as Clay Matthews decided to ruin this party with a broken arm. Now Bears fans can revel once again in the glory of Jay Cutler.