Today’s Best Bets
Sam Choudhury
The 2020 NFL season will be like no other, and that holds true for fantasy football as well. And that’s not because of players, coaches or teams. It’s because COVID-19 is blitzing the football world, while the NFL is trying their best to protect the season.
While it still seems like a football season is on the horizon, the virus is definitely going to make things interesting, which should force fantasy managers to change their league a bit. Over the course of the year, players are going to test positive for the coronavirus, which means we could see even more backup quarterbacks under center than in years past.
With all that said, let’s rank the best and worst backup quarterback situations for fantasy football.
1. New Orleans Saints
The Saints are obviously No. 1, folks. We saw Drew Brees miss five games last year and during that span, Teddy Bridgewater served as the QB11 in fantasy. Now Winston is in New Orleans, a far more aggressive quarterback than Bridgewater, who posted a 6.1-yard average depth of target in 2019, the lowest mark in the league. And if Winston also went down, Hill would step in and be very fantasy relevant due to the offense he’s in and his running ability.
2. Dallas Cowboys
Dallas signed Dalton this offseason, a really good move for the Cowboys. Dalton scored 20 total touchdowns in 13 appearances last season and has been the QB13 in fantasy in five full seasons with the Bengals since 2012. If Dak Prescott were to miss time, Dalton would be a viable streaming option, as he’s been exactly that whenever he’s been surrounded with talent in Cincinnati. I think it is safe to see that a supporting cast of Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb qualifies as “being surrounded with talent.”
3. Miami Dolphins
I’m operating under the assumption that Ryan Fitzpatrick will remain the starter. If that is the case, Tua is already one of the best backup signal callers in the league. Injury possibly kept him from being the top pick of the draft and while it is possible Miami redshirts him during his rookie season, Tua still has the pedigree and talent to warrant this spot.
4. Indianapolis Colts
(Jacoby Brissett, Jacob Eason)
Brissett started 15 games last year and finished with middling numbers (18 TD, 6 INT). He averaged 0.41 fantasy points per dropback, which ranked 14th among all passers. However, he was very conservative, as his 5.3 completed air yards per completion ranked second-worst in the league. Philip Rivers will be more aggressive but with enough talent around him, Brissett can still keep this team in the mix if Rivers were to miss time.
5. Cleveland Browns
Keenum was an under-the-radar signing for Cleveland. Baker Mayfield is still the guy and should bounce back in year three, but if things go south or he gets hurt, Keenum is a perfect guy to fill in. For starters, he is very familiar with new head coach Kevin Stefanski, who called the plays during Keenum’s magical 2015 campaign where he tossed 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Secondly, the Browns continue to add to that offense, bringing in Austin Hooper, Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills this offseason.
6. Las Vegas Raiders
I’m not crazy about Mariota but general manager Mike Mayock has been for years. Maybe he and Jon Gruden can get the best out of him if Derek Carr misses time. The Raiders added a ton of weapons to their offense this offseason, too.
7. Los Angeles Chargers
With familiar face Anthony Lynn calling the shots, I expect TyRod Taylor to open the season as the starting quarterback for the Chargers. Of course, first-round pick Herbert could very well be under center at some point this season, which would give the team a strong-armed quarterback that is still fairly mobile. The fantastic supporting cast would do wonders for Herbert.
8. Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles shocked the world when they selected Hurts in the second round of this year’s draft. Considering Carson Wentz has been no stranger to injury, there is an outside shot that Hurts gets some run in year one. He’d immediately be fantasy relevant due to his rushing ability, as Hurst ran a 4.59 40-yard dash, while accumulating 1,300 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns on 233 carries at Oklahoma last season.
9. Chicago Bears
Mitchell Trubisky and Foles will battle it out for the starting job. Regardless, I think this is a good spot for the Bears, though they likely get a slight bump if Foles is the backup. Chicago’s offense can’t get worse than last year when it finished 29th in yards per drive (27.8) and 30th in three-and-outs per drive (.292). And many would argue that their offense would see an uptick if Foles takes over at quarterback.
10. Green Bay Packers
While I don’t agree with the pick, Love is certainly a major upgrade over someone like Tim Boyle. There is plenty of upside here, as Love has a rocket arm and strong mobility. However, he’s a work in progress, too, as he has a tendency to play schoolyard football.
11. New York Jets
The Jets just recently signed Flacco, who should enter the season as Sam Darnold's backup. Flacco is still good enough to keep the New York pass-catchers relevant in fantasy if anything were to happen to Darnold.
12. Kansas City Chiefs
Henne is nothing special at all. However, if anything were to happen to Patrick Mahomes, the veteran with 53 career starts should be able to keep this loaded offense afloat, mainly due to the weapons and Andy Reid’s brilliance.
13. San Francisco 49ers
Let’s be honest — Jimmy Garoppolo didn’t do anything other-worldly last year en route to the Super Bowl. Kyle Shanahan’s motion system was responsible for all that, and that won’t change, regardless of who is under center. From 2017 to 2018, Beathard played 13 games for a much worse San Francisco team and averaged nearly 20 rushing yards per game.
14. New England Patriots
(Jarrett Stidham, Brian Hoyer)
Like many, I am expecting Cam Newton to earn the starting job in New England. Assuming that is the case, Stidham and Brian Hoyer would battle it out for the No. 2 job. Stidham is a bit of an unknown, while Hoyer, well, you basically know what to expect.
15. Baltimore Ravens
(Robert Griffin III)
RG3 clearly isn’t the player he once was, but he’s deserving of a spot in the top-15. He can still run with the football, which is important when you consider the offensive system he’s in. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman has worked with many dual-threat quarterbacks throughout his career.
16. Detroit Lions
He isn’t sexy, but Daniel should be much better than what the Lions had last year. After Matthew Stafford went down, Detroit’s offense stuttered with David Blough and Jeff Driskel under center. Daniel completed over 70% over his passes over his last two seasons with the Bears.
17. Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan has been extremely durable over the course of his career, so hopefully the Falcons won’t need to call Schaub’s number. He did start one game last year and actually threw for 460 yards. With as much experience as any backup in the NFL, you could definitely do a lot worse than Schaub.
18. Washington
Washington traded a fifth-round pick for Allen, an interesting move. He got a lot of run last year, starting 12 games for the Panthers. The results weren’t anything to write home about, as he threw 17 touchdowns to go along with 16 interceptions. Allen’s deep ball was a serious concern, ranking 35th in such completion rate (23.2%).
19. Pittsburgh Steelers
(Mason Rudolph, Devlin Hodges)
Because Ben Roethlisberger missed essentially all of last season, the combination of Rudolph and Hodges really held this offense back. The defense kept this team afloat, but Rudolph didn’t help, averaging 6.2 yards per attempt, while throwing nine interceptions and 13 touchdowns.
20. New York Giants
McCoy is much better as a backup than a starter, but you could definitely do worse.
21. Houston Texans
McCarron hasn’t played notable snaps under center since his rookie year back in 2015.
22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Gabbert has obviously been a disappointment in the NFL but at least he has experience.
23. Denver Broncos
Driskel started three games for the Lions last year, completing 59% of his passes for 685 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions.
24. Carolina Panthers
(Will Grier, PJ Walker)
In a very limited sample last year, Grier was a trainwreck. Walker is a name to definitely keep in mind.
25. Cincinnati Bengals
Finley is entering his second season in the NFL, and while he’s obviously not Joe Burrow, we also don’t exactly know what he is just yet.
26. Buffalo Bills
Barkley and Fromm will battle it out for the backup job behind Josh Allen.
27. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars don’t exactly have a ton of experience in their quarterback room. Gardner Minshew was thrown into the fire as a sixth-round pick in 2019, while Dobbs has 12 career NFL pass attempts.
28. Minnesota Vikings
Mannion should be able to remain the second-string quarterback in Minnesota.
29. Arizona Cardinals
Hundley spent time backing up Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay and actually played 11 games back in 2017. He completed 60.8% of his passes for over 1,800 yards, nine touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
30. Tennessee Titans
Woodside has yet to throw an NFL pass in his two-year career and now with Marcus Mariota gone, he will battle seventh-round rookie Cole McDonald.
31. Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles has one of the worst quarterback rooms in all of football.
32. Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson has never missed a game in his NFL career. Let’s keep it that way, please.
