Fantasy Football Player Notes
Week 2 Rankings
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1.
Kyler Murray
ARI (vs . MIN)
Kyler Murray absolutely torched the Tennessee Titans in week one. He finished with 289 yards passing, four passing touchdowns, one interception, 20 yards rushing, and another touchdown on the ground. He was the QB1 in all of fantasy football last week and helped carry you to a victory if you started him. Moving forward, there's little reason to doubt Murray as a top-tier option and he should put together another solid performance in this one against Minnesota.
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2.
Patrick Mahomes II
KC (at BAL)
The season-ending injury to CB Marcus Peters just a few days before the start of the season was crushing for the Ravens. With Peters healthy, Baltimore could deploy an excellent 1-2 cornerback tandem of Peters and Marlon Humphrey. Without Peters ... well, David Carr just dropped 435 yards on Baltimore, and the Raiders got some splash plays late in that game to help them pull out the win. Now, the Ravens have to try to deal with Mahomes, who threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns in a Week 1 win over the Browns. Without Peters, the Ravens will be hard pressed to stop Kansas City's aerial onslaught.
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3.
Josh Allen
BUF (at MIA)
It was a rough outing for Josh Allen and the Bills passing game on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Allen had a completion percentage below 60% and averaged only 5.3 Yards Per Attempt. Allen simply didn't look like himself and we're hoping to see a different version of the star QB here in week two up against Miami. This is going to be an incredibly entertaining game to watch and we could see Allen bounce back in a big way. In the two games Allen played against Miami last season, he threw for a combined 639 yards, seven touchdowns, and one interception. We shouldn't have any hesitation plugging Allen back into our lineup as a top-5 option again in week two.
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4.
Russell Wilson
SEA (vs . TEN)
It's a big thumbs-up for Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron's system after a one-game trial. Waldron let Russ cook, but in an efficient way - no fancy garnishes or unnecessary food waste. Wilson was a tidy 18 of 23 for 254 yards, with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Now he gets a date with a Tennessee defense that just gave up 34.6 fantasy points to Kyler Murray - the highest total of Week 1.
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5.
Lamar Jackson
BAL (vs . KC)
In Monday night's overtime loss to the Raiders, Jackson completed 19 of 30 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown, and he ran 12 times for 86 yards. Jackson has faced the Chiefs in the regular season every year since he came into the league in 2018. In his three games against Kansas City so far, he's averaged 169.3 passing yards and 65.3 rushing yards, and he's had three TD passes and one TD run. All in all, the Chiefs have done a pretty good job of defending him.
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6.
Tom Brady
TB (vs . ATL)
How is Tom Brady still doing this? At 45 years old, Brady is out here slinging the ball around 50 times and throwing for nearly 400 yards and four scores! While the matchup was fantastic last week for him - and he has potentially the best receiving corps in the entire league - Brady looked incredible and he appears poised to make another deep playoff run as he aims for his 8th Super Bowl ring. Brady torched Dallas last week and finished as the QB5 on the week...and he might finish even higher than that in week two. The Atlanta secondary doesn't stand a chance this week after watching Jalen Hurts throw for three touchdowns on them in week one. Start Brady as a top-5 option again in week two.
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7.
Aaron Rodgers
GB (vs . DET)
This feels like a bounce-back game, doesn't it? Rodgers, a man known for taking perceived slights to heart, will have had eight days to dwell on an embarrassing loss to the Saints, listening to people talk about how terrible the Packers were. Oh, and the Lions just lost their best cornerback, Jeff Okudah, to a ruptured Achilles. It's a pretty good spot for Rodgers in fantasy, and perhaps he'll avenge that abysmal Week 1 showing.
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8.
Dak Prescott
DAL (at LAC)
So much for the concerns about the fitness of Dak's arm. Prescott launched an aerial assault against Tampa Bay in the Thursday-night opener, completing 42 of 58 throws for 403 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception. Now, Prescott and the Cardinals head west for another potential shootout with the Chargers. The foot injury to Cowboys DE DeMarcus Lawrence could lead to weekly shootouts, since Lawrence was such an integral part of the Dallas pass rush. The Cowboys' cornerbacks aren't good, and without a credible pass rush, opponents are going to race up and down the field. If Prescott repeatedly finds himself in O.K. Corral game scripts, he could throw for 5,500 yards this year.
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9.
Justin Herbert
LAC (vs . DAL)
What can the rookie sensation do for an encore? Herbert's first start of 2021 wasn't spectacular, but it was solid. Against a tough Washington defense, Herbert completed 31 or 47 passes for 337 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, and led the Chargers to a quality road win in the sort of game they usually lost in the past. This week, Herbert gets a home date against a Dallas defense that just lost ace pass rusher Demarcus Lawrence to a foot injury. The Dallas secondary has major holes, and without a decent pass rush, Herbert has a chance to pick the Cowboys apart.
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10.
Jalen Hurts
PHI (vs . SF)
Well, Jalen Hurts came through in a big way for fantasy managers in week one against the Atlanta Falcons defense. Hurts was able to throw for 264 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 62 yards on the ground as well. The Falcons secondary looked abysmal though and Hurts will have a tougher matchup here against the 49ers defense, despite what the numbers suggest from the Lions game in week one. With that being said, we saw enough from the second-year QB in week one to continue plugging him into our starting lineups as a low-end QB1. Even if he struggles as a passer in this game, he'll provide a high enough floor with his rushing output to return value on where he's being ranked.
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11.
Matthew Stafford
LAR (at IND)
Rams fans, how are you feeling about the QB upgrade after one week?! Stafford looked unstoppable in week one against the Bears defense and he consistently took advantage of poor defensive coverages or breakdowns in communication for big plays. Last season, Jared Goff was consistently holding this offense back with his tendency to keep the ball near the line of scrimmage - as evidenced by his 6.7 ADOT from 2020 - and Stafford has blown the doors open for this offense and what it can do. Through one week, Stafford is already towards the top of the NFL in ADOT with 10.3 and he's showing that he's constantly looking for the big downfield play. That type of play worked last week against Indianapolis for Seattle and you can better believe that Stafford's going to try to replicate exactly what Russ did with Lockett here in this matchup. Moving forward, Stafford belongs in the top-12 of QB rankings every single week. Start him with confidence here.
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12.
Ryan Tannehill
TEN (at SEA)
Was it just rust for Ryan Tannehill in week one? Or is this the version of him we can expect in Todd Downing's offense? Last season, Tannehill was throwing off of play action 36.4% of the time. In week one, he only threw off of play action designs 11.6% of the time. Tannehill was deadly in this passing concept last season and it was one of the main reasons why he was so successful and productive for fantasy football. If that isn't going to be a key part of the offensive design in Tennessee, this means we need to adjust our expectations for Tannehill moving forward. It's not time to completely panic just yet - Tannehill is still worth starting as a low-end QB1 - but we need to monitor Tannehill's performance closely this week against Seattle to see if it was a one-time fluke or not.
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13.
Joe Burrow
CIN (at CHI)
The Cincinnati Bengals certainly made it a priority to ease Burrow back into action - as evidenced by only 27 pass attempts even as the game when into overtime - and it worked. Burrow looked sharp, he was decisive, and he was able to take some contact and get right back up. Moving forward, we should feel very confident with Burrow from a fantasy perspective as we progress deeper into the NFL season. Burrow and the Bengals get to take on the Bears this next week, who just let Matthew Stafford throw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns on them. While we shouldn't expect that same level of output for Burrow in this one, he's still a fine start in Superflex formats and can be viewed as a mid-range QB2. Until we see the pass attempts jump up to 40+ - like they were before his injury last year - we can't move him into the top-12.
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14.
Baker Mayfield
CLE (vs . HOU)
This Browns team seems to be for real. They just battled the Kansas City Chiefs all the way up until the final moments of the game and Baker looked sharp outside of his interception that ended the game. While Baker's fantasy stock is going to be hit-or-miss due to the potential that all the touchdowns go to the run game - like they did against Kansas City - this matchup absolutely indicates that he should be in the streaming conversation. If you're looking to pivot to another option in 1QB formats, Baker's most likely available on your waiver wire still and could be scooped up for cheap. He can be viewed as a mid-range QB2 this week with upside if the touchdowns go his way versus the running game.
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15.
Kirk Cousins
MIN (at ARI)
Cousins looked a little shaky to start the game against Cincinnati, but he was able to settle in and put together a solid performance at the end of it. If you ended up streaming him against the Bengals, you should be fairly happy with the end result and the stat line he put up. Moving into week two, Ryan Tannehill didn't exactly light up the Cardinals secondary the way that we all expected, but that offense looked out of sync and shouldn't be an indication of the strength of the unit they played against. Arizona is going to have a very difficult time containing the Vikings receiving duo and Cousins can be viewed as a solid streaming option again in week two.
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16.
Jameis Winston
NO (at CAR)
Alright, who saw five touchdown passes coming from Winston in week one? Yeah, put your hand down, you're lying. Winston looked spectacular against the Green Bay Packers defense and he's doing it without any notable WRs. Moving forward, we shouldn't be expecting this ridiculous touchdown rate from Winston every week, but he's absolutely moving towards a locked-in streaming option that could be moving towards an every-week starter. I'd love to wait another week before I confidently plug Winston into my starting lineup, but he should be able to get it done for fantasy again here this week against the Panthers defense. He can be viewed as a mid-range QB2. Side note, whoever Jameis' agent is needs to get on the phone with Lasik ASAP and get a major endorsement deal signed...
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17.
Ben Roethlisberger
PIT (vs . LV)
Let's be honest, it wasn't pretty for Big Ben in week one. He had a 56% completion rate and only averaged 5.875 yards per attempt with one touchdown. With that being said, this matchup against the Raiders is a get-right game for Ben and the Steelers offense. Ben's on the streaming radar in this one, but based on what we saw last week, we can't view him as anything more than a low-end option. He's a mid-range QB2 in my rankings.
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18.
Teddy Bridgewater
DEN (at JAC)
Teddy Bridgewater came out in his first game with Denver and looked very solid against a solid Giants secondary. He put together a very respectable 264 passing yardage performance to go with two touchdowns and zero interceptions and he now gets to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars defense. While it's quite possible that the RBs in this matchup have a massive outing, these are the types of matchups that you want to attack when you're looking for a streaming option. Bridgewater should be able to have a very solid game here and he's certainly someone you can target if you're in a pinch. He can be viewed as a mid-range QB2 this week.
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19.
Matt Ryan
ATL (at TB)
Falcons fans better be hoping that what they saw from Ryan and this passing game was just rust because it was not pretty last week. Ryan finished with just 164 yards passing on 35 attempts and no touchdowns. He had a bottom-4 NFL Passer Rating in week one and only managed a pedestrian 4.7 yards per attempt. The only QBs that finished with a worse YPA in week one were Taysom Hill and Ryan Fitzpatrick, who threw a combined seven passes. Ryan looked lost without Julio Jones on the field and it's not going to be turning around anytime soon with the Bucs coming up. Ryan is a sit in every format this week. We shouldn't be looking his direction at all.
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20.
Tua Tagovailoa
MIA (vs . BUF)
Last season, Tua was billed as a dink-and-dunk QB that most likely wouldn't grow into the QB that fantasy managers had hoped he would become when he was drafted with a top-5 draft pick. However, the Chan Gailey offense certainly didn't help Tua's development and his top receivers were in and out of the lineup with injuries all year. Tua had a tough matchup against New England in week one, but he showed a lot to be excited about from a fantasy perspective. Did you know that Tua had the 5th-highest ADOT in week one for QBs with a minimum of 20 pass attempts with 10.1 yards? He was looking to push the ball deep downfield, which is a huge improvement over what we saw from him in his rookie season. Tua will have his moments as a streaming QB this year if he continues to show this level of aggressiveness, but this matchup against Buffalo is one to avoid him in 1QB formats. Tua can be viewed as a low-end QB2.
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21.
Mac Jones
NE (at NYJ)
Mac Jones looked competent and capable in his first NFL game action. He faced a very hungry defense that typically forces turnovers and he came out unscathed. With that being said, he didn't exactly make much of an impact for fantasy football. He finished as the QB23 on the week and fell short of the majority of people's expectations. Heading into week two, Jones is an intriguing play for SF leagues due to the matchup up against the Jets. However, he shouldn't be considered just yet for redraft formats.
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22.
Trevor Lawrence
JAC (vs . DEN)
Trevor Lawrence looked like a rookie QB out there on Sunday, but that's no reason to completely panic just yet. There were plenty of bright moments - mixed with the not so good - and Lawrence should be fine for fantasy football moving forward. However, this isn't a matchup that we should want to target him based on what we saw last week. The Broncos are a stout defense with terrific CB play and they should keep Lawrence in check. He can be viewed as a low-end QB2 in week two.
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23.
Sam Darnold
CAR (vs . NO)
Sam Darnold was able to get the job done for the Carolina Panthers in week one, but he didn't necessarily excel from a fantasy standpoint. The offense continued to flow through CMC and Darnold was simply asked to manage the game. Moving into week two, this Saints defense just completely shut down Rodgers and the Packers offense, so it's probably best to look elsewhere for your QB option in week two.
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24.
Jimmy Garoppolo
SF (at PHI)
Jimmy Garoppolo was able to capitalize on a plus matchup last week and ended up with a solid day from a passing perspective. However, it still wasn't enough to put him in the start-worthy consideration and he saw Trey Lance come in and take away a passing touchdown opportunity. In a matchup that just shut down Matt Ryan and the Falcons passing attack, Garoppolo's not on the streaming radar and he barely makes the cut as someone you could consider playing in Superflex leagues.
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25.
Derek Carr
LV (at PIT)
It wasn't looking pretty for Derek Carr throughout the majority of Monday night's game, but he was able to finally settle in, shake off the rust, and lead the Raiders to an unexpected win in their new stadium. Carr was consistently pushing the ball downfield and had an ADOT of 10.1, which was tied for the 5th most at the QB position (with a minimum of 20 pass attempts) in week one. With other receiving options in this offense stepping up late in the game, Carr was more willing to distribute the ball evenly and let the offense come to him rather than trying to force the issue and it worked. With that being said, Carr's got another tough matchup this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers defense that just stonewalled the reigning fantasy football QB1, Josh Allen. Carr's a fine option in SF leagues as a second QB, but he's not on the streaming radar this week simply because of the matchup. There are better ones out there to target.
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26.
Tyrod Taylor
HOU (at CLE)
Are the Texans...good? Tyrod Taylor led this team to an absolute routing of the Jacksonville Jaguars, but we shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet. Urban Meyer seems to be so far ahead of his skis that he doesn't even know he's wearing skis and the Jags defense didn't seem ready to stop anyone. Reality should set back in here for the Texans offense as they go up against the stacked Cleveland Browns defense though and we shouldn't be looking Taylor's way in any format.
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27.
Taylor Heinicke
WAS (vs . NYG)
Ryan Fitzpatrick has a right hip subluxation (meaning his hip was jolted partially out of its socket), the result of being blasted head-on by the Chargers' Uchenna Nwosu. That leaves Heinicke as the Washington starter for the foreseeable future - probably into November at least. That shouldn't be a disaster for Washington: Heinicke is considered one of the better backups in the league. He isn't quite the swashbuckler Fitzpatrick is, so Terry McLaurin investors might be mildly disappointed. But Heinicke is likely to have fewer multiple-interception games than Fitz would have. Washington went fairly conservative after Fitzpatrick went down in the second quarter, with Heinicke completing 11 of 15 throws for 122 yards, with one touchdown (to Logan Thomas) and no interceptions. That's understandable, with Heinicke having had few reps in the week leading up to the game, and with RB Antonio Gibson capable of doing the heavy lifting for the Washington offense. Heinicke should get more chances to throw this week, and I have him ranked QB25, just out of QB2 range.
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28.
Jared Goff
DET (at GB)
Goff's Week 1 numbers wouldn't have been very interesting if not for some unusual circumstances: an onside kick recovery that gave the Lions an extra possession late, then a 49er fumble that gave the Lions another possession. Quintez Cephus made consecutive circus catches, first on a touchdown, then on the two-point conversion. The Lions somehow ran 81 plays even though they were down big for most of the game. The bottom line is that Goff, the man no one wanted in fantasy drafts, wasn't terrible. He averaged only 5.9 yards on his 57 pass attempts, but he threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception. He's probably looking at a negative game script in a road game in Green Bay, which could mean another game with heavy passing volume.
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29.
Daniel Jones
NYG (at WAS)
The schedule makers did young Mr. Jones no favors, presenting him with the tough Denver and Washington defenses right out of the gate. Jones acquitted himself reasonably well in the Giants' opener, completing 22 of 37 passes for 267 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. The bad news is that the Giants scored only 13 points, and Jones coughed up another fumble. He's fumbled 30 times in 28 career games, losing 18 of them. (Yikes ... is he eating greasy finger food right before kickoff?) In two 2020 games against Washington, Jones threw for 324 yards and two TDs, though he did have a 74-yard rushing day in the earlier of the two meetings. It's not a very good spot for Jones. He's the QB26 in my rankings this week.
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30.
Carson Wentz
IND (vs . LAR)
Carson Wentz certainly didn't look to be 100% himself in week one after working his way back from a foot injury, but he still was able to provide fantasy value to several of the other options in this offense. With that being said, Wentz probably isn't someone we need to consider for fantasy lineups just yet. He takes on the notoriously difficult Rams defense here in week two and it's unlikely that he cracks the top-20 at the position. I'd recommend looking elsewhere if you can.
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31.
Zach Wilson
NYJ (vs . NE)
Zach Wilson was towards the top of the league in ADOT for week one, but it didn't lead to much fantasy production. The offensive line play was rough in front of him and he faced the third-most pressure at the QB position in the entire NFL. He now gets to take on Bill Belichick and a Patriots defense that feasts on young and inexperienced QBs. We could be in for a rough outing here from Wilson and he should be put on the bench in every format.
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32.
Andy Dalton
CHI (vs . CIN)
It didn't look pretty to start the evening for Andy Dalton, but he started to settle in as the game progressed and they were slowly but surely moving the ball on the stout Rams pass defense. Dalton looked good for who he is, which is a dink-and-dunk QB, but it's difficult to be too excited about that when you have Justin Fields waiting in the wings. This is the revenge game for Dalton, but it's difficult to get hyped up about putting him into your starting lineup based off of what we saw in week one. Dalton's merely just a low-end QB2 for week two.
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33.
Trey Lance
SF (at PHI)
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34.
Taysom Hill
NO (at CAR)
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35.
Justin Fields
CHI (vs . CIN)
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36.
Jacoby Brissett
MIA (vs . BUF)
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37.
Drew Lock
DEN (at JAC)
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38.
Jacob Eason
IND (vs . LAR)
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39.
Gardner Minshew II
PHI (vs . SF)
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40.
Mitchell Trubisky
BUF (at MIA)
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41.
David Blough
DET (at GB)
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42.
Chase Daniel
LAC (vs . DAL)
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43.
Davis Mills
HOU (at CLE)
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44.
Jordan Love
GB (vs . DET)
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45.
Dwayne Haskins
PIT (vs . LV)
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46.
Chad Henne
KC (at BAL)
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47.
Colt McCoy
ARI (vs . MIN)
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48.
Kyle Trask
TB (vs . ATL)
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49.
Case Keenum
CLE (vs . HOU)
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50.
P.J. Walker
CAR (vs . NO)
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51.
Brandon Allen
CIN (at CHI)
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52.
Tyler Huntley
BAL (vs . KC)
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53.
Kellen Mond
MIN (at ARI)
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54.
Geno Smith
SEA (vs . TEN)
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55.
C.J. Beathard
JAC (vs . DEN)
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56.
Logan Woodside
TEN (at SEA)
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57.
Mike Glennon
NYG (at WAS)
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58.
Josh Rosen
ATL (at TB)
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59.
Cooper Rush
DAL (at LAC)
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60.
John Wolford
LAR (at IND)
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61.
Cam Newton
FA (BYE)
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62.
Blaine Gabbert
TB (vs . ATL)
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63.
Kyle Allen
WAS (vs . NYG)
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64.
Mike White
NYJ (vs . NE)
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65.
Mason Rudolph
PIT (vs . LV)
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66.
Joe Flacco
PHI (vs . SF)
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67.
Ian Book
NO (at CAR)
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68.
Brett Ratliff
TEN (at SEA)
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69.
Brian Brohm
BUF (at MIA)
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70.
Feleipe Franks
ATL (at TB)
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71.
Brian Hoyer
NE (at NYJ)
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72.
Drew Stanton
TB (vs . ATL)
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73.
Josh Johnson
NYJ (vs . NE)
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74.
Keith Null
CAR (vs . NO)
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