FantasyPros has its consensus rankings from the experts for fantasy football. In a standard 12-team league, you’re generally going to carry two quarterbacks, meaning 24 should be available.
Since there could be some debate among those top 24 for the best fantasy football QBs, I’ll break down the top 30 quarterbacks in fantasy football, and decide whether they could make the grade, or disappoint.
30. Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams
There’s upside if you blindly believe in a No. 1 pick. However, we’ve seen NFL teams make mistakes in the past, and Goff is high on my list as a mistake.
He struggled through early season practices, and once he started, he wasn’t much better. In the past, rookie quarterbacks took time to develop. Nowadays, we can generally see if there’s potential or not in the first year. And Goff just doesn’t have much going for him.
The Rams were by far the worst offense in the NFL last year and that likely won’t change much. Goff has the nice ability to hand off the ball to Todd Gurley, which should limit his pass attempts. The only upside in fantasy production is that the Rams will trail in most games. No matter how many times Goff is likely to sling it, he won’t make up for his lack of talent or lack of weapons on the outside. — Verdict: Stay away at all costs
29. Trevor Siemian, Denver Broncos
The valley is vast between the talent levels of our Nos. 29 and 30 fantasy football quarterbacks. Siemian wasn’t horrible last season. He passed for more than 3,400 yards. He didn’t do much in the touchdown department, going for just 18 against 10 interceptions.
But he has weapons, something severely lacking on other NFL teams. Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders are still on the outside, and the running game can’t be much worse than last season.
If the offensive line improves and the Broncos air it out a bit more, Siemian could be a sneaky play. His biggest issue currently is that he’s competing for the starting job with former first-round pick Paxton Lynch. If he wins the job, don’t just pass him up. — Verdict: Worth a look as a 2nd stringer
28. Mike Glennon, Chicago Bears
I’m probably a little more bullish on the Bears than most, but this team can win more games than many believe. Glennon can air it out, too. He’s shown that in the past.
But this is Jordan Howard’s team. So I don’t see as many passing attempts for Glennon this season. And I also don’t believe this defense is bad enough that the Bears will have to play catch-up. Glennon may have a few games here or there with decent numbers, but as a consistent match-up backup, he just doesn’t make the grade. — Verdict: Stay away
27. Brian Hoyer, San Francisco 49ers
Name a San Francisco wide receiver. If you’re not a 49ers fan, you’re likely unaware that Pierre Garcon and Marquise Goodwin are on the roster now. But Garcon’s not the answer as a dominant receiver, and Goodwin is good for speed, and that’s about it.
We pretty much know who Hoyer is going to be. When he threw a million balls to DeAndre Hopkins in Houston, he was pretty good. When Hopkins wasn’t around him, he threw a lot of interceptions. Having Kyle Shanahan as the head coach does make me believe that he has a chance at being decent. But I’ve seen too much of his inability to put up major fantasy numbers in the past to be confident that he’s not a backup in fantasy. — Verdict: Stay Away
26. Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans
This is a tough one. He’s just outside that 24 mark, and he has the unknown quality that makes him more appetizing than these other also-rans.
He’s going to be a late draft pick, so when evaluating him, you really have to look at the basement against the ceiling. His basement is a quarterback who can’t catch up to Bill O’Brien’s system, who throws too many interceptions in a run-first offense and gets benched for Tom Savage. And that’s even believing that he wins the starting job.
His ceiling is that of Dak Prescott. Watson impresses right away and is able to put up major fantasy points in an offense centered around the running game.
I love the Texans’ weapons with Lamar Miller and Hopkins. Mix in Will Fuller and Braxton Miller, and this team can make up for Watson’s rookie mistakes. He’s an unknown, but if you have a top-tier starter at quarterback, he’s worth the risk. — Verdict: Worth a look as a 2nd-stringer
25. Sam Bradford, Minnesota Vikings
Here’s another situation where there’s a competition. We don’t know enough about Teddy Bridgewater’s situation to guarantee Bradford will be the man. If he is, I’m going to stick with my original belief two years ago that Bradford can put up numbers in fantasy football.
He’s proven me wrong in the past, but I’m tripling down on his production. The Vikings offensive line has to be better than last year and Bradford went for 17 or more fantasy points in three of the final four games last season. He has the ability to put up points. It’s just a matter of being more consistent.
The Vikings are primed to be better, so he’s easily a back-up quarterback. — Verdict: Should be a back-up
Best of the Bunch
Sam Bradford — This is an easy pick. He presents the best upside and is on the best team of the bunch.
Sleeper
Trevor Siemian — If we don’t consider Bradford a sleeper, Siemian could do something in Denver. The weapons are there to put up decent fantasy production.
Worst of the Bunch
Jared Goff — If I had to make a choice if Goff would be the starting quarterback in the last quarter of the season, I would side with “no.”
Best of the Rest
33. Tom Savage — See Watson above. Savage is still pretty unknown and the talent is there in Houston.
38. Teddy Bridgewater — If he’s healthy and gets a crack at the starting spot, he could be the ultimate sleeper.
