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Quarterbacks are not only the cornerstones of NFL teams, they can be the cornerstones of fantasy football franchises as well.
While running back is still the most important position in fantasy football, there is no way to win a fantasy football league without an above-average quarterback. While there are plenty of superb signal callers that can steer a fantasy team to a championship, there are a couple superstars who are being overvalued heading into drafts and auctions that could be busts that ruin the title hopes of millions of fantasy general managers.
Which three quarterbacks are overvalued and could be potential fantasy busts? Here is my take:
Three Potential Quarterback Busts For 2022
Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Brady has never let his fantasy managers down, has he? All he did last season was set a career-high with 5,316 passing yards while tossing 43 touchdown passes, and he did it when he was 44 years old. The man is a machine who shows now signs of slowing down even though he entered the NFL at the turn of the century back when AOL was everyone’s internet provider.
Usually, you could stick Brady in a situation with an XFL offensive line and CFL receiving corps and he could still be a QB1 in fantasy football, but he has more things going against him than ever before. His offensive line took a big hit thanks to center Ryan Jensen’s serious knee injury and the surprising retirement of Pro Bowl guard Ali Marpet.
Brady’s receiving group is arguably worse since Chris Godwin is not ready to return from his torn ACL and a past-his-prime Julio Jones was brought in to replace Antonio Brown. Then you have the tight end position, where Rob Gronkowski’s retirement has left the roster with slow-footed veterans Cameron Brate and Kyle Rudolph and fourth-round rookie Cade Otton.
With his supporting cast downgraded around him, how is Brady supposed to overcome all this at age 45 when he had one foot out the door this offseason and missed almost two weeks during the preseason? He will not duplicate his 2021 numbers in 2022, and he could fall to a QB2 as the season goes on. And if Brady decides to re-retire halfway through the season because his heart is no longer in it and he misses Giselle, then he could be one of the busts of the year.
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Rodgers has been a fantasy demigod throughout his storied career. The “inoculated” icon just threw 85 touchdown passes over the past two seasons, and he only threw nine interceptions during that scintillating span. His thoughts on psychedelics, vaccinations, and Joe Rogan have not distracted or deterred him from continuing to be a fantasy force. Rodgers has also been durable as he has only missed one game over the past four seasons. Plus, he is younger than Brady, so what’s not to love?
Well, Davante Adams, arguably the best receiver in the NFL, is no longer a part of Rodgers’ receiver rotation. That would not be as much of a problem if Green Bay filled that gigantic void with a proven, quality receiver. Instead, they signed oft-injured Sammy Watkins, drafted Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, and handed the No. 1 WR role to Allan Lazard, who has never had 45 receptions or 550 receiving yards in a season. Not having Adams in the fold for the first time in eight years will cause a stat regression for Rodgers.
Rodgers cannot even count on top tight end Robert Tonyan since he is coming off a torn ACL and might not provide his usual output for the first couple of contests of the campaign. He might be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and of all time, but even the best QB in the world needs someone on the other end of the battery to catch his passes.
Green Bay will have an above-average running attack with Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon as its tailback twosome, which might cause the Packers to be a run-first team, especially with the revamped receiving crew. The last time Rodgers' receiving corps was this questionable was 2015 when James Jones and Randall Cobb were his top two WRs. Cobb might be one of his top two this year, which speaks volumes. Rookie receivers usually need time to get the hang of the offense and the NFL, so Lazard and Cobb will be counted on too much. None of this bodes well for Rodgers, who could be a bust at his hefty fantasy price tag.
Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
Make no mistake, Fields has all the upside in the fantasy world. He has game-breaking ability with his greyhound-like legs and is not bashful about throwing the ball downfield. Now he gets the opportunity to start for the entire season and have a new coaching staff guiding him after Matt Nagy and his coaches got the heave-ho. After an uneven, borderline-disastrous rookie year, Fields and his fantasy value have nowhere to go but up.
Is this an ideal situation for Fields though? Granted, his long-term potential is undeniable, so his stock in dynasty leagues is much, much higher than in standard leagues. He just threw a trio of touchdown passes in Chicago’s preseason finale and seems to be clicking with his receivers after a year of seasoning, so you might believe that because of his run-pass multi-threat talents that he could end up being a top-10 fantasy quarterback by season’s end.
Besides 1,000-yard receiver Darnell Mooney and touchdown-starved tight end Cole Kmet, who in blue blazes is Fields throwing to? Byron Pringle and N’Keal Harry, hardly the second coming of Swann and Stallworth, are both banged-up. Velus Jones is an unproven rookie. The rest of the roster is filled with turtle-speed tight ends and retread receivers. This is why Chicago might ride the RB tandem of David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert, which would do Fields no fantasy favors unless his number gets called for running plays.
Fields still has improving to do. He was 30th in completion percentage and 20th in yards per pass in 2021. He also needs 7-to-10 rushing attempts per game, and he needs to stay healthy while getting them. On top of that, he needs Mooney to be a 1,300-yard guy, Kmet to find the end zone, and someone else on the team to emerge as a decent No. 3 option in the passing game. Fields needs a lot to go right. Yes, he could turn into a Lamar Jackson clone who can throw better, but he could also have another season like last year’s that makes him as worthless to fantasy managers as a punter or a long snapper. The bust potential is definitely there.
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