The Shuffle Up series rolls along. Today we’ll hit the quarterbacks. We appreciate the unusual gap between fantasy quarterbacks and real-life ones; the quarterback is everything in the NFL, the search for the Holy Grail. But it’s usually not that hard to find a solid fantasy quarterback.
The salaries are unscientific and meant to illustrate where I see pockets of value. Everything to this point has been an audition, I’m now ranking and tiering them as if I were drafting from fresh right now. Remember the golden rule — no player gains or loses extra value because you choose to roster them.
The Big Tickets
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$35 Lamar Jackson
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$33 Jalen Hurts
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$31 Josh Allen
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$28 Jayden Daniels
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$27 Joe Burrow
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$25 *Jordan Love
Jackson’s accuracy has never been better, and although the Ravens definitely didn’t need help in the receiver room, the addition of Diontae Johnson does make a strong group stronger. Jackson’s also looking at career bests in several other areas — interception rate, YPA (a juicy 8.9), quarterback rating. It’s scary to think that he’s already won two MVPS and yet this could be his best season yet.
Hurts gets the nod over Allen because the Eagles are still calling Hurts’ number at the goal line (seven rushing touchdowns), while the Bills have pulled back from Allen in close (three rushing touchdowns). Allen is the better passer of the two, though Hurts probably has more help at the position, at least with his top two receivers.
Love is obviously dinged up at the moment and the interception rate is worrisome, but he’s working with a ridiculous collection of receiving talent and his touchdown rate has spiked up to 7.5%, the best in the league. Some might look at that number and scream “Regression!” but given the supporting cast and the genius of Matt LaFleur, I’m going to bet on Love keeping most of that rate.
Legitimate Building Blocks
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$23 Kyler Murray
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$23 Brock Purdy
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$21 Jared Goff
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$20 C.J. Stroud
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$18 Sam Darnold
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$17 Patrick Mahomes
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$16 Matthew Stafford
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$15 Tua Tagovailoa
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$14 Caleb Williams
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$14 Kirk Cousins
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$14 Dak Prescott
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$14 Baker Mayfield
Purdy’s red-zone work has been up and down, but getting George Kittle unlocked of late seems to solve the problem. And as much as we hate to see Brandon Aiyuk down for the season, San Francisco has decent receiver depth after him. Purdy has also proven to be a resourceful runner, especially against man coverage when the defenders turn their backs.
I’ll believe the Mahomes fantasy comeback when I see it. He hasn’t cracked the top 10 in any game since Thanksgiving Week of 2023, and that’s 11 freaking months ago. The Kansas City defense is also keeping Mahomes down; the Chiefs rarely need to play in a shootout.
Stafford flashed his potential in Week 8 (four touchdowns) with the return of his two superstar receivers. Looks like Cooper Kupp isn’t going anywhere; the Rams know they can steal a wide-open NFC West.
Nothing Prescott has done to this point justifies his rank here, but the Cowboys steered all the way to CeeDee Lamb last week, and we can’t forget how that duo went ballistic in the second half of 2023. It’s time for the Cowboys to pepper their best player, and Lamb is capable of dragging Prescott to fantasy relevance, even if the team isn’t going anywhere.
Talk them up, talk them down
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$13 Geno Smith
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$13 Bo Nix
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$13 Joe Flacco*
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$11 Jameis Winston
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$10 Aaron Rodgers
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$10 Russell Wilson
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$8 Justin Herbert
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$8 Trevor Lawrence
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$8 Derek Carr
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$7 Drake Maye
Nix seems to get a little better as a passer every week, and he’s doing something as a runner just about every Sunday. Sean Payton would pick him again. I’m also interested in a possible buy-low with Courtland Sutton, whose expected fantasy return is much higher than the actual.
You’re wondering why Flacco has an asterisk. While Shane Steichen has committed to Flacco “moving forward,” it remains to be seen if that’s for the remainder of the season. But there’s always a chance the Colts try Anthony Richardson again, play for the big picture. In the meantime, dial up the Indy receivers that you can, especially Josh Downs.
The Jets still play at a maddeningly slow pace, and Rodgers no longer has running chops. He’s a low-upside QB2 in Superflex leagues and not someone you ever consider starting in leagues that require just one fill. Tom Brady’s endgame probably set unrealistic expectations for future quarterbacks in their 40s.
The switch to Wilson was the right move in Pittsburgh, and there’s a budding rapport with WR George Pickens. But the Steelers will always try to win with controlled offense and strong defense, and Wilson no longer has juice as a scrambler. He’s a reasonable depth play, but don’t dream of an upside that probably doesn’t exist.
Bargain Bin
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$5 Daniel Jones
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$4 Gardner Minshew
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$2 Justin Fields
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$2 Andy Dalton
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$2 Mason Rudolph
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$1 Bryce Young
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$1 Anthony Richardson
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$1 Will Levis
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$1 Malik Willis
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$1 Michael Penix
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$1 Jacoby Brissett