XFL Week 4 - Quarterback Risers and Fallers

We previously looked at target and opportunity risers and fallers, based on the first four weeks of XFL data. Now, it's time to evaluate the quarterbacks, for better or worse.

With four weeks already in the rearview mirror and plenty of numbers stored from players showcasing their talent all around the country, it makes sense to crunch some of the data we have at hand to see how things have developed during the games each team has already played.

In this column, I'll be taking a look at some risers and fallers in fantasy football points regarding the quarterback position and the fantasy tallies they earned in Week 4 compared to the prior ones to see how those varied. Let's get to it!

Week 1-4 Quarterbacks: Overall View

Four weeks and 16 games in which we've seen 17 quarterbacks attempt a pass and 23 take at least an offensive snap. A total of 1,041 passes have been attempted so far, with 604 of them being completed for a 58% completion rate. The 604 passes completed have allowed quarterbacks to rack up 6,510 yards through the air so far and the touchdowns (45) have gotten up faster than the interceptions (34) to put the TD:INT ratio at 1.32 through four weeks of games.

Not that impactful but still important, players at the position have rushed the ball 127 times for a combined 650 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground with just one quarterback (Tampa Bay's Taylor Cornelius) getting into the endzone carrying the ball twice on the season. As far as extra-points go, nine quarterbacks have completed at least one of them. Three QBs have scored on 1XP plays, eight on 2XP ones, and three on 3XP plays. Phillip Walker is the only QB to have an XP of each variety, with a 1/2/1 split so far.

Here is how the league's quarterbacks have performed in Week 4 (vertical axis) and the prior weeks (horizontal axis; average value). Those sitting on each axis line mean that they generated no points in that given week(s) or that they didn't play at all.

click image for full-screen view

With three weeks already in the books, we're starting to see much clearer trends when it comes to who's the leading man for each XFL franchise. With the exception of Tampa Bay and New York, the other six teams have used mostly one quarterback (the more passing attempts through Week 4, the bigger the badge in the chart) and those with more reps are the ones averaging 13+ PPR in that same four-week span. Only Taylor Cornelius is over 13 fantasy points per game while having fewer than 90 passing attempts (min. two games played), all because of the Vipers' early-season QB rotation.

Let's take a look at the real risers and fallers from Week 4 to the prior ones next.

Week 1-4 Quarterbacks: Risers and Fallers

I have calculated the difference in PPR points from Week 4 to the ones before it (positive numbers favor Week 4), and here is how things looked after this last weekend's slate of games was over.

In order to give everyone a chance, I have included zero-point earners in any of the weeks in the chart above, so every quarterback appears on

Risers

BJ Daniels, SEA (+16.4, from 0 PPR to 16.4)

Bye-bye Brandon Silvers? The Dragons put BS on the field early but just after 10 attempts (four of them completions) and a measly 27-yard tally they decided to sit Silvers and throw BJ to the fire. Not that he was going to feel it, though. BJ Daniels remained cool, calm, and collected and threw another 10 passes himself completing one more than Silvers in the same number of attempts only he did so for almost four times the yards (100) and a touchdown. Sure, he also logged an interception, but he made up for it with 84 (!) yards rushing on his seven attempts on the day. Not the perfect solution for the Silvers headache, but one that worked to an extent and has put Brandon on the brink of a potentially extended pine-riding period.

Taylor Cornelius, TB (+6.9, from 13.1 PPR to 20)

For the second week in a row, Taylor Cornelius made the list--and both times in the Risers column. It looks like Tampa has realized how stupid their quarterback-rotation from the first few weeks were, and with just one man at the helm now they're thriving. While last week Tampa used both Cornelius and Quinton Flowers, this weekend was all about the former. Taylor attempted 31 passes, completed 24 of them for 211 yards and threw one touchdown (and one interception, too). Not only that, but he rushed the ball four times for 36 extra yards on the ground including another score.

This is the gameplan we were waiting for. Forget about weird experiments and throw your best guy out there, Vipers. Keep doing it and you might keep racking up those Ws.

Fallers

Brandon Silvers, SEA (-13.6, from 14.7 PPR to 1.1)

You can read BJ Daniels' blurb above and that will mostly cover my thoughts on Silvers. After completing four of 10 passes Silvers went to the bench with just 27 yards attached to his name. He threw no touchdowns and no interceptions, and he's now averaging 11.3 PPG, which makes him the second-worst quarterback of the league between those with 100+ pass attempts. It doesn't look good for Silvers and if Daniels can repeat what he did against St. Louis then Silvers might be waving good-bye to the starting role sooner than he wants.

Cardale Jones, DC (-11, from 12.9 PPR to 1.9)

Speaking of league-worst quarterbacks... Who would have said we'd be talking about Cardale Jones in such fashion four weeks into the season? Even more, who would have thought that after his first couple of games in DC? Jones went from 17.4 PPR to 19.4 in Week 2, and then flopped all the way down to a putrid 2 PPR in Week 3 and now 1.9 this past weekend. The signs were there after what he did two games ago, though. Jones' Week 3 outing finishing with the Ohio State star throwing 26 passes of which four finished in the hands of the opposition, and none in the end zone.

This week has been pretty similar. The interceptions didn't reach such ridiculous numbers (he only threw one) but he could only complete single-digits passes (nine of them) while throwing a healthy amount of 22. 72 were the passing yards Jones didn't even try on the ground, rounding up a game to forget and one who makes me wonder how short will his lease be going forward.

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