As fantasy football drafters enter the heart of redraft season, here are my updated quarterback tiers after Week Three of the preseason.
The tiers are based on a four-point per passing touchdown scoring system in leagues with one starting quarterback. The players within each tier are ranked in order of preference.
Fantasy Football Redraft Quarterback Tiers
Tier One: Top-Five Floor
- Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers): When healthy, Rodgers is the best fantasy quarterback in the NFL.
- Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers): Newton has averaged 617 rushing yards and 7.7 touchdowns per year.
- Tom Brady (New England Patriots): Consistency is key for this future Hall of Famer.
Tier Two: Small Concerns
- Andrew Luck (Indianapolis Colts): If healthy, Luck is a clear Tier One quarterback.
- Philip Rivers (L.A. Chargers): The veteran Chargers signal caller is up for a career year if Mike Williams breaks out.
- Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions): Will threaten 5,000 passing yards/40 touchdowns this season.
- Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints): Death, Taxes, and Brees as a QB1.
- Deshaun Watson (Houston Texans): A safe QB1 floor even with expected efficiency regression in 2018.
- Carson Wentz (Philadelphia Eagles): Concerns over his season-ending knee injury from last year is the only issue for the 2017 MVP candidate.
- Jimmy Garoppolo (San Francisco 49ers): Kyle Shanahan‘s new Matt Ryan.
Tier Three: Solid Weekly Starters
- Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks): Limited weapons + Brian Schottenheimer = fantasy disappointment.
- Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons): Positive regression coming from disappointing 2016 season.
- Marcus Mariota (Tennessee Titans): New offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur will get his best.
- Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers): Fantastic weaponry for a quarterback who always excels in the second half.
- Derek Carr (Oakland Raiders): Completely healthy plus Jon Gruden makes a repeat of 2016 possible.
- Jared Goff (L.A. Rams): Sean McVay pulls the efficiency strings as NFL Gepetto.
Tier Four: Low-End QB1 Upside
- Alex Smith (Washington Redskins): Safe floor after an overall QB4 season in Kansas City.
- Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys): Limited receivers but averages six rushing touchdowns per year.
- Andy Dalton (Cincinnati Bengals): Biggest upside among Tier Four quarterbacks.
- Eli Manning (N.Y. Giants): Best weapons of his 14-year career at the age of 37.
- Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs): Growing pains to come in his first year as the starter but he boasts playmakers at every position.
- Blake Bortles (Jacksonville Jaguars): Offensive system minimizes his mistakes.
- Mitch Trubisky (Chicago Bears): Trust second-year quarterback at home with first-year head coach and offensive guru Matt Nagy.
Tier Five: Streaming Options
- Case Keenum (Denver Broncos): Had 3,547 passing yards in 2017 but only 3,464 total passing yards in his prior three seasons.
- Tyrod Taylor (Cleveland Browns): Would be a lock for QB1 if he played 16 games with the best offensive weapons of his career.
- Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens): Still throws a great deep ball and has new receiving core including Michael Crabtree.
- Ryan Tannehill (Miami Dolphins): Last chance for the former 2012 first-round pick.
- Jameis Winston (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): His role as the Bucs franchise quarterback is now in jeopardy.
- Baker Mayfield (Cleveland): The 2018 first overall pick is a matchup-dependent QB1 when starting.
Tier Six: Not This Year
- Sam Darnold (N.Y. Jets): Gang Green quarterback of the future won’t be fantasy relevant in 2018.
- Josh Rosen (Arizona Cardinals): Inevitable starter in Arizona but will need time to build wide receiver rapport.
- Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills): Has looked better over the course of the preseason but needs more protection.
- Teddy Bridgewater (N.Y. Jets): Wait for a trade and pounce.
