You only start one quarterback so you better make it count. Quality and upside are important here while securing a solid floor. I know that sounds like a lot so let’s try and keep it simple. Look for a good matchup, a quarterback who has been performing well with a strong supporting cast, a defense that will be favorable to opposing signal callers, and a game script that supports success. For the most part, the quarterbacks at the top of the salary list speak for themselves as elite options, but here we dig deeper.
For those who have yet to subscribe, what are you waiting for? Until then you will get one free pick to whet your appetite. Aaron Rodgers ($7,600 DK, $7,800 FD) came into the season with a lot of people doubting that he had much left in the tank. Rodgers has proven this year that he is still capable of being a top tier passer. He is coming off of a 283 yard, four touchdown game against the Texans. Rodgers will be facing a divisional rival in the Vikings this week, who has given up the 10th most passing yards, and the 4th highest QBR so far this year.
Behind the paywall, we will continue to take a closer look at some more quarterbacks who deserve our attention this week along with a few from whom we should keep our distance. Not all will break the bank either which will leave plenty of room for help at running back and wide receiver. So, keep on going and take a look at what we have to offer.
Ryan Tannehill ($6,800 DK, $7,200 FD) heads into Cincinnati, after a tough loss to Pittsburgh last week. Tannehill will face a Bengals team that is in the bottom five in passing yards and rushing yards, which makes this a particularly nice looking matchup, especially when you factor in that the Bengals have been scoring enough to make this a game where Tannehill needs to do more than just hand the ball off to Derrick Henry. There is some risk that this will be a chalky matchup due to the Bengals poor defense, so I would lean more to using him in cash games than GPP.
Baker Mayfield ($6,100 DK, $7,000 FD) is coming off his best game of the year so far against the previously mentioned Bengals, with 297 yards through the air, and five touchdown passes. This is made even more impressive when you consider the absence of Nick Chubb and Austin Hooper in the game. Mayfield will be facing a Raiders team that is in the bottom third of the league in both passing yards and QBR, so I look for another big performance from Baker on Sunday. Both Chubb and Hooper are likely to be out again this week, but Mayfield has proven he can get the job done without them.
Going back to the well with Derek Carr ($5,500 DK, $6,900 FD) can be a dangerous proposition, but I’m a sucker for a good matchup, and the Browns are definitely that. The Browns gave up 400 yards to Joe Burrow and the Bengals last week and while the game scripts will be different between the Raiders and the Bengals, it is hard to imagine that Carr won’t be successful this week. Carr has averaged over 300 yards passing a multiple touchdown passes in the last three weeks, I am looking for much of the same again this week.
Philip Rivers ($5,400 DK, $7,100 FD) will be heading to Detroit to face the Lions this week. With the Colts coming off the bye week, I look for Rivers to be refreshed, and the Colts to have a sound game plan in place against the Lions. Rivers in his last time out threw for 371 yards and three touchdowns. There is some risk going into this one, as the Lions have held other top QB’s under the 300 yard mark such as Kyler Murray and Drew Brees, but in a GPP I would be willing to pay the low price to find out in a few lineups.
Lamar Jackson ($7,600 DK, $9,600 FD) has continued to prove himself difficult to predict. He has completed less than 60 percent of his passes each of the last two weeks, and has passed for under 200 yards each of the past four weeks. The price is starting to come down on Lamar, but week in and week out he is a risk to both go off and have a huge day on the ground and in the air, and to also do flounder in both aspects. He will face the Steelers this week, who haven’t been giving up a lot of yards, so Lamar will be hard to recommend as anything more than a dice roll in a GPP to ensure you have some exposure to him.
If you just looked at the score you wouldn’t have thought Josh Allen ($6,700 DK, $7,500 FD) had a very good week last week, but if you look at the details you see Allen, touchdowns aside, had a really good week with over 300 passing yards and over 50 rushing yards. This week he will be facing the Patriots, who admittedly are a very different team than the Jets he faced last week, however the potential for Allen remains true. The Patriots are trending downward right now, and while the Patriots would have game planned all week for Allen, he is a difficult player to defend. Allen is a good GPP play, as I expect a lot of people will avoid the Patriots match-up, and there is plenty of room for upside with Allen.
