XFL Week 3 - Quarterback Risers and Fallers

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

With three 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 3 compared to the prior ones to see how those varied. Let's get to it!

Week 1-3 Quarterbacks: Overall View

Three weeks and 12 games in which we've seen 16 quarterbacks attempt a pass and 17 (if we count St. Louis' Nick Fitzgerald's no-pass-attempt efforts) take at least an offensive snap. A total of 791 passes have been attempted so far, with 447 of them being completed for a 56.5% completion rate. The 447 passes completed have allowed quarterbacks to rack up 4,898 yards through the air so far and the touchdowns (36) have gotten up a little faster than the interceptions (26) to outgrow them and raise the TD:INT ratio to 1.38 through three weeks of games.

Not that impactful but still important, players at the position have rushed the ball 90 times for a combined 438 yards and six touchdowns on the ground with no quarterback getting into the endzone carrying the ball twice on the season yet. As far as extra-points go, five quarterbacks have completed at least one of them. Two QBs have scored on 1XP plays, five on 2XP ones (with Phillip Walker the only to do so twice), and two on 3XP plays. Again Phillip Walker is the only QB to have an XP of each variety.

Here is how those 17 quarterbacks have performed in Week 3 (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 3, the bigger the badge in the chart) and those with more reps are the ones averaging 13+ PPR in that same three-week span. Only Taylor Cornelius is over 13 fantasy points per game while having fewer than 60 passing attempts, all because of the Vipers' silly in-game QB rotation.

Let's take a look at the real risers and fallers from Week 3 to the prior ones next.

Week 1-3 Quarterbacks: Risers and Fallers

I have calculated the difference in PPR points from Week 3 to the ones before it (positive numbers favor Week 3), 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 it.

RISER - Phillip Walker, HOU (+23.9, from 17.7 PPR to 41.6)

If Walker doesn't end as the XFL's inaugural season MVP I'd be pretty upset. It's been only three weeks, I know, but what P.J. Walker has done in his three games has no equal--not even a close comparison. Walker is second in total PPR (94.6) in this span only behind teammate Cam Phillips, who can thank his quarterback for helping him reach the first spot. Walker (106) is the only QB to have attempted more than 92 passes, has completed 67 of them (63.2%9 and has thrown for 748 yards and 10 touchdowns already against just one interception. Oh, he's also rushed the ball for 87 yards and an extra score, just in case.

He exploded in W1 (30.5 PPR), tamed himself in W2 (22.5), and just couldn't resist the urge of coming back to his booming ways with a massive 41.6 PPR performance this past weekend in which he threw for 306 (!) yards and three touchdowns while getting his lone TD on the ground too. Adding wood to the fire, Walker also became the first player to have both a 2XP and a 3XP conversion in the same game.

RISER - Taylor Cornelius, TB (+19.9, from 2.1 PPR to 22)

What Tampa Bay is doing with their quarterbacks, no one knows. The Vipers are running some sort of weird rotation of players at the position, which made them flip Cornelius for Quinton Flowers mid-game to later come back to the former to end the game. Aaron Murray will eventually come back to the QB-corps after getting injured in W1, making everything even harder to understand. Until that happens, though, Cornelius is the clear winner of the week other than Impossible Walker. TC completed 16 of his 31 attempts, gained 193 yards through the air, and although he ended throwing an interception he made up for it with a touchdown passing and another one on the ground (six rushing attempts for 33 yards).

FALLER - Jordan Ta'Amu, STL (-10.7, from 16.9 PPR to 6.2)

Even after last weekend's stinker, Ta'Amu is still ranked QB2 and fourth-best player overall in total PPR (56.8) this season averaging 18.9 points per game. And that precisely is what hurts him this week. In his first couple of outings for the BattleHawks, Ta'Amu looked incredible, completing 20 and 26 passes. He could only reach 12 completions this past weekend while attempting a paltry 18 throws.

He dropped from 284 yards in W2 to just 119 and no scores in W3. St. Louis is the most extreme pass/rush team in the XFL (40/60 splits) and the only one passing on fewer than 53% of the snaps, so Ta'Amu needs to be at his best if he wants to keep racking up fantasy goodies.

FALLER - Cardale Jones, DC (-10.3, from 12.3 PPR to 2)

Can somebody tell me what is going on here? I trusted you, Cardale! Jones had a couple of really good games to kick the season off with the Defenders (17.4 and 19.4 PPR) but all of a sudden he lost his magic in Week 3. Last weekend's volume numbers were remarkably similar to those of Week 1, but the results were completely opposite.

Back in W1, Jones completed 16 of 26 passes and in W3 he completed 13 of 26, but in W1 he threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns while in W3 he could only reach 103 yards throwing no scores but four interceptions! Quite a game--to forget, that is. This is not the true level of Cardale Jones, of course, but a 2 PPR game as the starting quarterback of DC is definitely worrying going forward. Let's hope for a quick recovery.

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