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It’s game week ladies and gentlemen! Thanks to a global pandemic, nobody was ever quite sure we would make it to this point, and here we are!
If you’re reading this right now, odds are you completed your fantasy draft over the weekend or will be completing it in the next few days. Depending on where you are in your fantasy season, can either be used as a suggestion for optimizing your already completed roster or a guide to late-round drafting before Thursday. While most teams will league their draft feeling great, often you can make minor improvements to your bench that can have league-winning potential.
Regardless, there is plenty of value at the quarterback position again this season thanks to some highly talented rookies and veterans in new situations. Because of this depth, fantasy gamers have more incentive than ever to play the matchups with quarterbacks (unless they drafted a premium player early). In this article, I will be focusing on quarterbacks that are still widely available in fantasy leagues to best prepare you to win this football season!
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Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco
AVAILABILITY: (Yahoo: 52% rostered, ESPN: 36% rostered)
2019 marked Jimmy Garoppolo’s first full season as the San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback thanks to an ACL injury. The 28-year-old quarterback completed 69.1 percent of his passes for 3,978 yards and 27 touchdowns with 13 interceptions en route to a 49ers Super Bowl appearance. Jimmy G didn’t get a ton of publicity, but he averaged 16.27 fantasy points per week on his way to a QB14 finish overall in fantasy football. Garoppolo was rarely flashy but provided an extremely high floor that you could count on weekly.
Looking to week 1, Garoppolo gets a fantastic matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals were one of the worst defenses against opposing passing games in 2019, especially from the tight end position. The Cardinals allowed the second-most passing yards (4,510), passing touchdowns (33) and generated the lowest number of interceptions last season (seven).
The 49ers wide receivers are banged up at the moment, with Deebo Samuel (foot surgery), Brandon Aiyuk (hamstring), and Jalen Hurd (ACL tear) all on the injury report heading into the season. Even with that, Garoppolo has targets like George Kittle, Kendrick Bourne, Jordan Reed, and his backfield to make a dent in the passing attack. While the Cardinals added Isaiah Simmons in the first round of the draft, a matchup against George Kittle figures to be a difficult introduction to the league.
Beyond week one, the 49ers have a very soft schedule at the start of the season that benefits rostering Jimmy Garoppolo. According to sharpfootballstats.com, the 49ers will face the 4th easiest schedule when it comes to defensive efficiency in 2020. After the Cardinals, the 49ers face weak secondaries in the form of the Jets, the Giants, and the Eagles. As these games are played out, players will start healing and the passing game will go to full strength.
Even though we haven’t played a game in 2020 yet, Jimmy G should be rostered in all leagues for at least the first quarter of the regular season.
Philip Rivers, Indianapolis Colts
AVAILABILITY: (Yahoo: 32% rostered, ESPN: 15.5% rostered)
For one of the first times in his career, Philip Rivers started to show his age for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2019. Rivers had his seventh straight season with at least 4,300 yards passing but took major steps back in touchdowns (23, lowest since 2007) and interceptions (20, most in a season since 2016). Despite the dip in numbers, Rivers still finished the fantasy season as QB15 while averaging 15.97 points per week while supporting an RB1 (Austin Ekeler), a WR1 (Keenan Allen), and a TE1 (Hunter Henry). Rivers moved on from the Chargers during the offseason, signing a 1-year, $25 million deal in Indianapolis.
The Colts get arguably the best matchup for their offense in week 1 against a rapidly tanking Jaguars’ team, especially on defense. Jacksonville spent the past week releasing running back Leonard Fournette and trading their best pass rusher (Yannick Ngakoue) and top safety (Ronnie Harrison) to accrue more draft picks.
Rivers may have shown last season that his arm strength was diminishing, but he was still fairly accurate (66% completion percentage) and has different types of weapons in the receiving game. TY Hilton and Parris Campbell are more explosive weapons at receiver after the catch and the trio of Marlon Mack, Nyheim Hines, and Jonathan Taylor can also provide targets out of the backfield.
The Colts face three weak secondaries to start the 2020 season, giving Rivers solid value to begin the year. The Jaguars, Jets, and Vikings all suffered personnel change on defense and could struggle mightily thanks to a loss of preseason games. Meanwhile, the Colts receivers have the running ability to break open short-to-intermediate throws and turn them into long touchdowns.
Rivers ultimately may not spend the whole season on your bench, but he is an excellent addition to try and get your team off to a fast start.
Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders
AVAILABILITY: (Yahoo: 19% rostered, ESPN: 12.1% rostered)
Derek Carr finished his sixth year with the Raiders with arguably the best performance of his career. Carr had his second consecutive season with over 4,000 passing yards. The 29-year-old as had a 21/8 touchdown to interception ratio and set a career-high for completion percentage (70.4).
Carr finished as QB17 with 15.77 points per week during the 2019 fantasy season. The Raiders added an array of weapons in the passing game, picking up Nelson Agholor in free agency and drafting Henry Ruggs III out of Alabama in the first round and Bryan Edwards out of South Carolina in the third round. These players will slot in nicely to 2019 standouts Josh Jacobs, Darren Waller, and Hunter Renfrow.
The Raiders find themselves facing the Carolina Panthers week one. The Panthers spent the 2020 offseason overhauling their offense while relying mainly on the draft to add talent to the defense. Ultimately, the Panthers spent seven draft picks on the defensive side of the ball, but only first-round defensive tackle Derrick Brown figures to start.
The linebacking corps and secondary are filled with unproven players, making them a fantastic week one matchup. Carr has some of the best yards after the catch weapons in the league, and this game may turn into a track meet with a projected over/under of 46.5.
The Raiders have a very rough stretch of games after week one, so Carr would be more of a short term solution if you don’t like your starting quarterback’s matchup in the opening week. Ultimately, we don’t know how well he will utilize his new weapons in the air attack, making him a decent stash unless you have to add players to offset injuries as weeks go on.
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