Matt Ryan is the top fantasy QB over the first two games of the season
Eric Moody provides the numbers behind Week 2 QB performances to help fantasy football owners prepare for Week 3.
Fantasy football is a game of numbers. The goal is to outscore your opponent every week. The game film tells one story, but innovative statistics and analytics tell another.
Matt Ryan (52.2) is your top fantasy quarterback through two games. He was drafted late or went undrafted in many fantasy football leagues. The late-round quarterback methodology is alive and well. Cam Newton and Philip Rivers were the only quarterbacks to throw four touchdowns in Week 2. Andy Dalton (54), Jameis Winston (52), and Blake Bortles (50) were the only quarterbacks to attempt 50 or more passes. Ten quarterbacks threw for 300 or more yards. Blaine Gabbert, Aaron Rodgers, and Dak Prescott scored a rushing touchdown. Andrew Luck (5) and Rodgers (5) took the most sacks in Week 2. Sam Bradford (81.5), Marcus Mariota (80.6), and Eli Manning (80) completed 80 percent or more of their pass attempts.
Quarterbacks were not immune for injuries in Week 2. Josh McCown and Jimmy Garoppolo suffered shoulder injuries. Bengals’ Andy Dalton is dealing with an ankle injury and Bears’ Jay Cutler will miss time with a hand injury.
The fantasy football season continues to be a rollercoaster filled with numerous twists and turns. The goal of this weekly column is to share stats with you to provide you context, clarity, and to help you understand how productive certain players can be for your fantasy football team. With that in mind, it’s time to dive into Week 2.
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The Top 14 Fantasy Quarterbacks
| Rank | Player | Week | Team | Comp | Att | Pct | Yds | Yds/Att | TD | Int | QBR | Ru Att | Ru Yds | Ru Yds/Att | TD | FP |
| 1 | Cam Newton | 2 | CAR | 24 | 40 | 60 | 353 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 112 | 6 | 37 | 6 | 0 | 29.82 |
| 2 | Matt Ryan | 2 | ATL | 26 | 34 | 77 | 396 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 132 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.84 |
| 3 | Derek Carr | 2 | OAK | 34 | 45 | 76 | 299 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 115 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 24.96 |
| 4 | Tyrod Taylor | 2 | BUF | 18 | 30 | 60 | 297 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 113 | 2 | 25 | 13 | 0 | 24.38 |
| 5 | Carson Palmer | 2 | ARI | 18 | 31 | 58 | 308 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 124 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24.32 |
| 6 | Philip Rivers | 2 | SD | 17 | 24 | 71 | 220 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 139 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 23.8 |
| 7 | Ryan Tannehill | 2 | MIA | 32 | 45 | 71 | 389 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 94 | 6 | 35 | 6 | 0 | 23.06 |
| 8 | Jimmy Garoppolo | 2 | NE | 18 | 27 | 67 | 234 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 131 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21.36 |
| 9 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | 2 | NYJ | 24 | 34 | 71 | 374 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 117 | 5 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 21.06 |
| 10 | Blaine Gabbert | 2 | SF | 17 | 36 | 47 | 243 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 65 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 20.72 |
| 11 | Ben Roethlisberger | 2 | PIT | 19 | 37 | 51 | 259 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 79 | 1 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 19.76 |
| 12 | Andy Dalton | 2 | CIN | 31 | 54 | 57 | 366 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 84 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 19.34 |
| 13 | Sam Bradford | 2 | MIN | 22 | 31 | 71 | 286 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 121 | 1 | -3 | -3 | 0 | 19.14 |
| 14 | Kirk Cousins | 2 | WAS | 28 | 46 | 61 | 364 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 84 | 2 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 18.56 |
Newton continues to justify his ADP (average draft position) with another strong performance. Ryan continues to be a value and appears much more comfortable in his second season in Falcons Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s scheme. Carr will have to throw early and often in games. The Raiders defense is a liability. Taylor bounced back from a dismal Week 1 performance. The potential issue is that 52.1 percent of his passing yards came from two big plays. Rivers should be able to salvage his fantasy value despite the loss of wide receiver Keenan Allen. Running back Dexter McCluster will help fill the void of Danny Woodhead. The Chargers should find themselves in shootouts more times than not. Gabbert’s stat line is the epitome of garbage time, but manufactured quarterback production tends to be a byproduct of 49ers head coach Chip Kelly’s offensive scheme. Bradford will be a legitimate streaming option this season. Vikings Offensive Coordinator Norv Turner has a quarterback that can fully execute his vertical scheme. The team’s offensive line is a liability and the absence of Adrian Peterson allows them to embrace a new identity.
Top 14 Quarterbacks in Fantasy Points Per Drop Back
| Rank | Player | Week | Team | aDOT | FP Per DB |
| 1 | Philip Rivers | 2 | SD | 7.6 | 0.93 |
| 2 | Jimmy Garoppolo | 2 | NE | 9.6 | 0.81 |
| 3 | Cam Newton | 2 | CAR | 10.9 | 0.79 |
| 4 | Tyrod Taylor | 2 | BUF | 12.5 | 0.78 |
| 5 | Carson Palmer | 2 | ARI | 13 | 0.77 |
| 5 | Matt Ryan | 2 | ATL | 9.8 | 0.77 |
| 7 | Blaine Gabbert | 2 | SF | 11 | 0.58 |
| 8 | Ben Roethlisberger | 2 | PIT | 13.6 | 0.56 |
| 9 | Sam Bradford | 2 | MIN | 9.6 | 0.54 |
| 9 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | 2 | NYJ | 12.8 | 0.54 |
| 11 | Derek Carr | 2 | OAK | 5.9 | 0.52 |
| 12 | Dak Prescott | 2 | DAL | 6.9 | 0.51 |
| 13 | Ryan Tannehill | 2 | MIA | 10.3 | 0.50 |
| 14 | Marcus Mariota | 2 | TEN | 7.6 | 0.47 |
This visual uses Pro Football Focus advanced statistics fantasy points per drop back and aDOT (average depth of target). Rivers was phenomenal and helped fantasy owners win matchups. His passes did not travel a great distance, but the wide receivers did an excellent job of generating yards after the catch. Garoppolo was having a monster game prior to his injury. Taylor, Roethlisberger, Palmer, and Fitzpatrick are part of offenses that continue to attack defenses vertically. A Twitter quote from Rotoworld fantasy football writer Rich Hribar who you can find @LordReebs tells you everything you need to know about Gabbert:
Blaine Gabbert has more fantasy points than Aaron Rodgers over the past eight weeks of NFL football.
As Tears for Fears sang in their 1983 classic song (which was excellently covered in 2001 by Gary Jules and used brilliantly in the film Donnie Darko): It’s a very, very, Mad World.
Top 8 Defenses in Fantasy Points Allowed to Quarterbacks
| Rank | Team | QB Points |
| 1 | Raiders | 29.6 |
| 2 | Lions | 26 |
| 3 | Falcons | 25.3 |
| 4 | Buccaneers | 24.6 |
| 5 | Jaguars | 23.6 |
| 6 | Chargers | 23.3 |
| 7 | Patriots | 21.3 |
| 8 | Jets | 21.2 |
Here is a visual of defenses to target if you are an adopter of the streaming methodology. QB1 performances can be replicated by selecting the right quarterback. Rodgers, Brees, Luck, and Ryan will be in a position to finish as top-five fantasy quarterbacks in Week 3 based on their passing volume and supporting cast.
Conclusion
Quarterback is a position I tend to select late in fantasy drafts. I found myself with a high number of shares of Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, Ryan Tannehill, and Ryan Fitzpatrick. If Stafford happens to be available in your fantasy league I suggest you pick him up. He has one of the most favorable schedules for a fantasy quarterback with a high number of soft pass defenses. There are a lot of statistics out there revolving around the NFL and fantasy football. The purpose of this column is to assemble that data in an organized manner to enable you to make better decisions regarding your teams. What statistics stood out to you? Feel free to leave a comment below or better yet reach out to me on Twitter @EricNMoody where I am very active.
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