With the preseason beginning and many fantasy drafts planned for the next few weekends, it’s time to prep for your 2018 Fantasy Football team. Here is my advice/predictions as it relates to quarterbacks:
- Rahgahs! – There has not been a more consistently great fantasy quarterback than Aaron Rodgers; the guy simply produces. Yes, Brady has been a great pick before, you could argue which one has been better year in and year out, which is #1 over the last decade and which is #2, but at least this season, I’m going with Rodgers. Davante Adams has emerged as a star, Jimmy Graham has come over to be the TE that Aaron has been missing, and even with the loss of Jordy Nelson, I think the Packers could put up big numbers this season. Their division in no cake walk, but Rodgers is my Top QB.
- Young Guns – Two kids near the top of the ranking this year are Carson Wentz and DeSean Watson. It’s dangerous to pick an “unproven” guy as your starting QB, especially if you have to do it early in the draft to get him, but this kids might be worth the risk. They’ve both been injured too, which makes choosing them as your starter all the more risky, but they could pay off big time if they get hot and stay that way. I wouldn’t go out of my way to pick them early, and I might also get a veteran to back them up just in case, but you gotta spend money to make money, or something like that.
- Bench Coach – If you do get a young gun as your starter, you choose also get someone a little more dependable, someone who produces and doesn’t get hurt. Look no further than Matt Stafford and Ben Roethlisberger. These guys are solid, always produce, never blow our minds, but can be trusted as starters if the guy you picked first doesn’t pan out. Heck, if you go heavy at RB or WR and these guys are still on the board in the later rounds, you could do much worse.
- Middles – Two QBs I have my eye on toward the middle of the pack: Jimmy Garappolo and Drew Brees. JimmyG is on his way up and Breesy is on his way down, but they meet in the middle and could prove to be steals if you can get them late in the Draft. The sky is the limit for Garappolo, it’s just a question of the weapons around him. Brees has the team, but he’s getting old, and last year showed a slight dip in production. Don’t reach for these guys, let them fall to you, but you might be in for a treat if either overproduces.
- Feeling Lucky? – I had Andrew Luck last season, but also got Matt Stafford to back him up because I knew he wouldn’t be ready right away. Well, he was never ready, which sucked, but supposedly he’ll be back this year and he’ll be healthy; we’ll just have to wait and see. If he is healthy and if other teams are scared to pull the trigger, he could very well be the steal of the entire Draft, regardless of position. He is a superstar when healthy, so he could lead you straight to a Championship if he gets rolling, and there’s no reason he can’t get rolling if he isn’t injured. Keep an eye on him this preseason and then make a bold move.
- Avoidance – Here are a few quarterbacks I’d rather stay away from, for various reasons. Philip Rivers never scores enough to really be worth it, always teasing and never delivering. Alex Smith is a fine team guy, but his numbers are just never big enough, you’re better off elsewhere. Case Keenum has a lot to prove, and he is talented enough to ignite the offense in Denver, but maybe wait till next year to take a flyer. And Blake Bortles makes me nervous, I don’t care how trendy a pick Jacksonville is right now.
- To Pasture – Every year there are some veterans who used to be fantasy studs who are now headed to pasture, who are perhaps past their prime or simply aren’t surrounded by enough electrifying talent. Dak Prescott just hasn’t turned into the numbers machine that we thought he would be. Matt Ryan has been trending in the wrong direction. Derek Carr is part of Jon Gruden’s old school experiment and who knows how that will turn out. And Eli Manning has had his psyche messed with one too many times, and won’t ever be returning to his former glory days.