Fantasy Football Roundtable : Quarterbacks

Quarterbacks are not as valuable in fantasy football as they are in real football.

Traditionally, there is usually a small statistical difference between the 4th best fantasy quarterback and the 12th best at the end of the season. Conventional wisdom says that if team owners do not land one of the top few QBs, they are better off waiting until the middle rounds to fill the top spot of their rosters. We shall see if that trend holds in 2016.

The Beatdown team begins our fantasy football preview with Quarterbacks...

Who is the most overvalued?

Aaron Rodgers : Goes early based on name recognition, but isn't worth it. 2nd/3rd rounder last year who placed 7th among QBs. - Nathan Beaucage

Andy Dalton : Dalton was great last year, but after losing some depth at receiver and ending his season on injury, he may not be worth the risk of an early pickup. - Jacob Louque

Philip Rivers : Poor offensive line, as well as unreliable pass catchers. Defenses will key in on Keenan Allen, leaving Rivers few options and little protection. Not good for QB production. - Matt Cohen

Russell Wilson : You are paying the price for best case scenario and I am not sure he can repeat that performance, especially with another weak OL to break in. - Yitzi Weiss

Tony Romo : Averaged the 33rd most points per game in four games, before another broken collarbone, and their offense will be centered on running the ball. - Vasilis Lericos

Who is the most undervalued?

Blake Bortles : High volume quarterback in a young pass-heavy offense. - Nathan Beaucage

Derek Carr : Carr had a great second NFL season.  With another offseason to grow, and with his myriad of weapons retuning around him, his continued development could make him worth a mid-round pick. - Jacob Louque

Eli Manning : OBJ and Sterling Shepard will make a fearsome receiving duo for Eli to lean on. The line will finally keep him upright. Manning could lead the league in passing yards this year. - Matt Cohen

Matt Ryan : Until this past season, Ryan was always around the top 10 fantasy QBs. I expect him to return there, with the elite Julio leading the way. - Yitzi Weiss

Blake Bortles : The 3rd highest fantasy QB last season has plenty of weapons to inflate his stats and should be in plenty of shoot-outs. - Vasilis Lericos

Who is the safest player?

Drew Brees : You know what you're getting here. A solid veteran quarterback who puts up points each week. - Nathan Beaucage

Carson Palmer: Palmer was a dynamite QB1 last season, and with all of his weapons returning, even his increasing age shouldn't be enough to keep him down. - Jacob Louque

Cam Newton : Newton was unbelievable last year with lackluster receivers. This year he gets Kelvin Benjamin back. Enough said. - Matt Cohen

Aaron Rodgers : After a down year last season, you aren't paying a premium price. With Jordy Nelson back, Rodgers should return to elite status. - Yitzi Weiss

Russell Wilson : Over 4,000 yards and 34 touchdowns on the 18th most passing attempts, with 550 rushing yards to boot. - Vasilis Lericos

Who has the biggest bust potential?

Cam Newton : I think Cam will do great this year, I just think he'll have a hard time hitting last year's great totals. He will only be a "bust" relative to his extremely high draft position. - Nathan Beaucage

Ben Roethlisberger:  Roethlisberger could possibly go in the first five or six rounds in some drafts this season, and to live up to that, he'll need to be healthy for most of the season. - Jacob Louque

Tony Romo : Romo has proved to be very injury prone. Plus, with Ezekiel Elliott in the backfield, there is a chance Romo gets less opportunities to throw, assuming he is healthy. - Matt Cohen

David Carr : Oakland may try to return to the running game, and Carr is due for a return back to earth after a big year. - Yitzi Weiss

Drew Brees : Close to the end of a superb career at 37 years old. Injuries could become an issue. - Vasilis Lericos

Who will be the top rookie?

Jared Goff, LA: Let's face it, you're not drafting a rookie QB this year. But Goff probably will probably see the most time on the field of any rookie quarterback. - Nathan Beaucage

Jared Goff: No rookie quarterback is typically worth a draft pick, and that looks to be the case again this year, with Goff being the only one to be considered as a possible waiver pickup - Jacob Louque

Paxton Lynch : I’m going to predict that Lynch is going to win the job in Denver. Lynch already has a great team around him. It would be hard to fail with Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders catching the ball. - Matt Cohen

Jared Goff : Goff is the only one I expect to start games, so it's not really much of a competition. - Yitzi Weiss

Paxton Lynch : Better situation for fantasy relevance than Wentz or Goff. - Vasilis Lericos

Who is the biggest ‘sleeper’?

Tyrod Taylor : Unlikely to decline in growing offense as a young QB. Beat Rivers and Rodgers in points per game. Is consistent too. - Nathan Beaucage

Kirk Cousins: Cousins was a great waiver pickup for many a quarterback needy owner last season, and with more firepower being brought in to help him, he may even be worth drafting this season. - Jacob Louque

Teddy Bridgewater : Tempted to put Derek Carr, but Bridgewater is a bigger sleeper. Bridgewater will lead what now looks like a complete offense with reliable players at every position. Bridgewater could finish as a top 10 QB. - Matt Cohen

Andy Dalton : The redhead was an underrated fantasy QB every season, and I don't expect much dropoff despite the loss of Marvin Jones and Sanu. Green, Boyd, Eifert, and Bernard are above average weapons, and his OL is amongst the best in the league. - Yitzi Weiss

Jameis Winston : Found his stride over the final three games of his rookie season. Chipped in six rushing scores. Will only get better from here with a talented young core surrounding him. - Vasilis Lericos