Dynasty Buckets, a Different Look at Tiers: Quarterbacks

Below, you'll find quarterbacks grouped by bucket, along with the tier in which they currently reside in the Footballguys Dynasty Rankings for a little added fine-tuning.

We did our first two runs of bucket ranks over the past couple of months. You can find them here.

For this third and final edition, we'll use the comments to highlight some of the movers within tiers in our consensus ranks and speculate on players we think could change buckets as we move through training camp and begin scoring fantasy points.

We're now in July, so we will soon start receiving some real, tangible information. However, we don't see as many notable players in preseason games as we used to. Over the past couple of years, we've heard coaches discuss the notion that they get more out of joint practices with other teams than they do from preseason games. It makes sense. The controlled environment of a joint practice better allows coaches to test different players in different positions and moments than they can during the organic flow of a game.

So, as training camps open up and the preseason unfolds, remember a couple of things when you are evaluating your dynasty rosters. First, you can all but ignore the games. They're fun, but you are unlikely to glean much actionable information watching them. The main dynasty players just won't be on the field enough. Instead, pay close attention to practice reports. And here comes my shameless plug: Here at Footballguys, we have a team put together to bring you all of the important practice and training camp information we can find for each team. Keep an eye out when the games start for our training camp updates.

Second, and something you've heard from me and many others before, be careful with coachspeak during July. My general rule is that I pay attention when a coach or exec is saying negative things about a player in the media. There just isn't any upside to dogging a player publicly unless the staff has reached the point they feel it's the only way to put the right kind of pressure on a player.

On the flip side, I don't put a lot of stock in positive reports unless I am hearing them consistently and from a variety of sources. I am a lawyer in real life, and one of my mantras when investigating a case is "one witness equals no witness." I want independent corroboration when a coach is showering a player with praise during the preseason, because, unlike negativity, there are plenty of reasons to pump a player up publicly, even if what is being said isn't entirely true.

Starters (with Footballguys Tier in parentheses)

Players I'm comfortable starting, either at a specific position, or at a flex or superflex spot.

• Josh Allen, BUF (1)
• Joe Burrow, CIN (1)
• Lamar Jackson, BUF (1)
• Patrick Mahomes II, KC (1)
• Jayden Daniels, WASH (1)
• Jalen Hurts, PHI (1)
• Caleb Williams, CHI (1)
• C.J. Stroud, HOU (2)
• Justin Herbert, LAC (2)
• Bo Nix, DEN (2)
• Jordan Love, GB (2)
• Drake Maye, NEP (2)
• Baker Mayfield, TB (3)
• Jared Goff, DET (3)
• Kyler Murray, ARI (2)
• Brock Purdy, SF (2)
• Dak Prescott, DAL (3) Tier 4 last month
• Michael Penix Jr., ATL (3) Tier 4 last month
• J.J. McCarthy, MIN (4) He's back up a tier in our consensus ranks this month, but he is still too low.
• Cam Ward, TEN (4) Tier FA last month. Ward jumps two tiers since our last review of these buckets. I think he ends up in an even higher consensus tier before the season starts, which is why he is in my starter bucket. Either way, he did not belong in the FA tier last month, so I am optimistic to see him move up. He might not be a superstar, but he will be a good dynasty asset for at least a couple of years and should be a riser in our consensus tiers.
• Justin Fields, NYJ (4) Tier FA last month.  Another player who jumped two tiers this month after having dropped a tier from the previous month.
• Sam Darnold, SEA (4) Tier FA last month. Darnold is the last quarterback in our starters bucket to jump two tiers this month after dropping one tier in June. Milroe might still be the future, but Darnold would probably have to implode or suffer an injury to lose the starting position over the next year or two.
• Trevor Lawrence, JAX (3)

Many of these players could be pushed into the Rotation bucket depending on whether a league is Superflex and other specific rules related to your league's scoring or starting lineups. As we sit here today, these are the players I am reasonably confident I could rely on in starting lineups for my dynasty teams over at least the next couple of years.

Rotation

Contributors and spot starters.