Week 15 Rankings (2018): Top 25 Quarterbacks

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

With the fantasy playoffs underway, the decision on who to trust and who not to trust becomes paramount.  Do you continue to try and ride the big name, despite some questionable performances?  Or do you instead go with the favorable matchup despite it being a “lesser’ quarterback?  It’s a fine line, so let’s take a look at who we are willing to trust and who should be ignored for the coming week:

1. Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs – vs. Los Angeles Chargers
2. Philip Rivers – Los Angeles Chargers – at Kansas City
3. Jared Goff – Los Angeles Rams – vs. Philadelphia
4. Tom Brady – New England Patriots – at Pittsburgh
5. Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers – vs. New England
6. Cam Newton – Carolina Panthers – vs. New Orleans
7. Deshaun Watson – Houston Texans – at New York Jets
8. Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints – at Carolina
9. Russell Wilson – Seattle Seahawks – at San Francisco
10. Andrew Luck – Indianapolis Colts – vs. Dallas
11. Carson Wentz – Philadelphia Eagles – at Los Angeles Rams
12. Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons – vs. Arizona
13. Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys – at Indianapolis
14. Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers – at Chicago
15. Mitchell Trubisky – Chicago Bears – vs. Green Bay
16. Derek Carr – Oakland Raiders – at Cincinnati
17. Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills – vs. Detroit
18. Kirk Cousins – Minnesota Vikings – vs. Miami
19. Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens – vs. Tampa Bay
20. Baker Mayfield – Cleveland Browns – at Denver
21. Jameis Winston – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – at Baltimore
22. Jeff Driskel – Cincinnati Bengals – vs. Oakland
23. Ryan Tannehill – Miami Dolphins – at Minnesota
24. Nick Mullens – San Francisco 49ers – vs. Seattle
25. Eli Manning – New York Giants – vs. Tennessee

Thoughts:

• Does the defense really matter for Patrick Mahomes at this point?  He just continues to steamroll the league, including racking up 377 yards and 1 TD against a difficult Baltimore defense.  At this point he’s emerged as the elite and needs to sit atop these rankings regardless of who he’s lining up against.
• Over the past three weeks Drew Brees has thrown for 171, 127 and 201 yards, including back-to-back games with just 1 TD and 1 INT per game.  A matchup with the Panthers, who haven’t had an interception since Week 9, would appear to be a promising one (but we said the same thing regarding Tampa Bay heading into Week 14).  The key is this is another game on the road, where the New Orleans offense has generally under performed, and that’s going to drag Brees down to a mid-to-low level QB1 (though given the recent production he’s becoming tougher to trust).
• Tom Brady has now thrown for 300+ yards in back-to-back games (283 or more yards in three straight), including torching the Dolphins for 358 yards and 3 TD in Week 14.  It would appear that he’s finally gotten things back on track and he now draws a Pittsburgh defense that’s allowed 621 yards, 4 TD and 0 INT over the past two weeks.  While he’s had a down year, Brady is worth utilizing as a solid QB1 in all formats.
• Josh Allen has been racking up the points as of late, but it has come solely from his legs and not his arm.  In fact he has 4 INT over the past two games, but has averaged 111.67 rush yards per game and has found the end zone in each game since returning to the starting lineup.  Detroit, though, has allowed the fewest rushing yards to opposing quarterbacks overall at 62.  While it doesn’t mean he’s unusable, you need to depend on value from his legs and that’s hardly a guarantee.
• Has it gotten to the point that it’s impossible to trust Aaron Rodgers?  Over the past three weeks he’s been held to 233 yards or fewer and draws a Chicago defense that held Jared Goff to 180 yards, 0 TD and 4 INT.  It’s amazing to think, but Rodgers is nothing more than a high-end QB2.
• Jared Goff has struggled over the past two weeks, with 387 yards and 1 TD between the two games.  Of course they both came on the road, where he has 9 TD over six games.  He returns home in Week 15, where he’s averaging 366.5 yards and 3 TD per game.  Fire him up as a good QB1 in all formats.
• Will the Ravens turn back to Joe Flacco for Week 15?  Time will tell, but at the very least there’s a good chance that Lamar Jackson and Flacco share the role.  That’s going to limit Jackson’s upside, despite what would be an otherwise favorable matchup.
• It’s hard to fathom trusting Derek Carr, but he’s thrown for 607 yards and 5 TD over the past two weeks and draws a Cincinnati defense that entered Week 14 allowing the second most points per week to opposing quarterbacks.  While he’s hardly a must use, if you are searching the waiver wire for an option he’s a good choice.

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