Week 6 Rankings (2016): Top 25 Quarterbacks

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

There are only two teams on byes this week (Vikings and Buccaneers), and they hardly have an impact on the rankings.  Instead the bigger issues are top performers facing difficult matchups (like Matt Ryan traveling to Seattle), those expected to produce who are consistently struggling (like Eli Manning) or injuries (like Cam Newton and Carson Palmer).  Trying to keep those things in mind, let’s take a look at the rankings for the coming week:

1. Tom Brady – New England Patriots – vs. Cincinnati
2. Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers – at Miami
3. Russell Wilson – Seattle Seahawks – vs. Atlanta
4. Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints – vs. Carolina
5. Andrew Luck – Indianapolis Colts – at Houston
6. Cam Newton – Carolina Panthers – at New Orleans
7. Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers – vs. Dallas
8. Carson Palmer – Arizona Cardinals – vs. New York Jets
9. Derek Carr – Oakland Raiders – vs. Kansas City
10. Marcus Mariota – Tennessee Titans – vs. Cleveland
11. Andy Dalton – Cincinnati Bengals – at New England
12. Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons – at Seattle
13. Blake Bortles – Jacksonville Jaguars – at Chicago
14. Brian Hoyer – Chicago Bears – vs. Jacksonville
15. Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys – at Green Bay
16. Carson Wentz – Philadelphia Eagles – at Washington
17. Matthew Stafford – Detroit Lions – vs. Los Angeles
18. Joe Flacco – Baltimore Ravens – at New York Giants
19. Philip Rivers – San Diego Chargers – vs. Denver
20. Kirk Cousins – Washington Redskins – vs. Philadelphia
21. Eli Manning – New York Giants – vs. Baltimore
22. Alex Smith – Kansas City Chiefs – at Oakland
23. Tyrod Taylor – Buffalo Bills – vs. San Francisco
24. Ryan Tannehill – Miami Dolphins – vs. Pittsburgh
25. Brock Osweiler – Houston Texans – vs. Indianapolis

Thoughts:

• Ben Roethlisberger leads the NFL with 15 TD passes, with 3+ TD throws in four of the five games the Steelers have played.  The Dolphins don’t have a particularly strong secondary, including 8 TD vs. 1 INT, so there’s a good chance that he lights it up once again.
• It had been a slow start for Russell Wilson, but he’s coming off a big game against the Jets (309 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT) and will have had a bye week to get fully healthy.  Considering his matchup against the Falcons, who are allowing the most points per week to opposing quarterbacks, he’s an easy Top 5 option and could easily be the #1 producer in Week 6.
• The numbers for the Houston Texans may look pretty good overall, but they just allowed Sam Bradford to throw for 271 yards and 2 TD.  Andrew Luck has already thrown for 320+ yards three times this season, could he make this #4?
• It’s been a slow start for Carson Palmer, but he’s expected to be healthy and faces what has been an abysmal Jets’ secondary (12 TD vs. 2 INT).  Call him a “sleeper” if you want, but he’s going to be impossible not to trust.
• Matt Ryan has been among the best quarterbacks in the league through five weeks (1,740 yards, 12 TD, 2 INT), but he draws the top rated Seahawks defense.  While it’s impossible to call Ryan a sit, it also is impossible to call him a must start.  Consider him a borderline QB1, but much better suited to be utilized as a QB2.