We are three weeks into the season, and the fantasy landscape is starting to take shape. This week, I examine the quarterback position and provide you with the necessary stats to determine fantasy success. I give my thoughts on which quarterbacks are on the rise, and who are in decline.
At the end of this page, you'll find quarterback tiers.
QUARTERBACK
The top quarterbacks are taking shape
The current top 3 after three games
- Lamar Jackson, Baltimore 82.7 FP
- Josh Allen, Buffalo 73.6 FP
- Caleb Williams, Chicago 70.3
Last year, the top 3 after three games were
- Josh Allen, Buffalo, 73.9 FP, finished QB3 381.0 FP
- Jayden Daniels, Washington, 69.7 FP, finished QB5 349.8 FP
- Lamar Jackson, Baltimore, 69.5 FP, finished QB1 4384 FP
The Final Top 5 quarterbacks from 2024
QB1 Lamar Jackson, Baltimore
QB2 Joe Burrow, Cincinnati
QB3 Josh Allen, Buffalo
QB4 Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay
QB5 Jayden Daniels, Washington
What does that tell us? Injuries are always a big factor. The final top 5 from 2024 all played 17 games. No quarterback in the final top 10 missed more than two games. In fact, only one quarterback in the Top 20 missed more than three games - Bryce Young, who finished QB20, played in only 14 games. The moral of the story is to stay healthy. C.J. Stroud was the lowest-ranked quarterback of anyone who played 17 games. He finished 17th. In 2022 and 2021, Lamar Jackson finished 14th and 16th, respectively, despite playing in only 12 games in both seasons. This is great information, but if he can't play any given week, especially in the fantasy playoffs, what good is he?
Which quarterbacks tend to stay healthy? Games played by quarterbacks since 2020
- Josh Allen, Buffalo, 87 games
- Patrick Mahomes II, Kansas City, 84 games
- Jared Goff, Detroit, 83 games
- Justin Herbert, LA Chargers, 82 games
- Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia, 79 games
- Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay, 79 games
- Matthew Stafford, LA Rams, 76 games
- Derek Carr, retired, 75 games
- Lamar Jackson, Baltimore, 75 games
- Russell Wilson, NY Giants, 74 games
- Joe Burrow, Cincinnati, 72 games
- Kirk Cousins, Atlanta, 72 games
- Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh, 70 games
If we change that to since 2022, we can add these quarterbacks to the top 15, Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa, and Brock Purdy.
What determines quarterback fantasy success?
Naturally, the first instinct is to see which ones have the most rushing yards (see image below). It is semi-shocking to see Patrick Mahomes II lead all quarterbacks in rushing yards so far. Baker Mayfield, Caleb Williams, and Russell Wilson are also some interesting names on this Top 10 list.
How do rushing yards correlate to fantasy success?
Only one quarterback in the Top 10 overall through three games has less than 50 yards rushing, Jared Goff. Last season, only three quarterbacks with 400 yards rushing or higher finished outside the Top 10 of fantasy quarterbacks.
Caleb Williams, Chicago - 483 rushing yards in 17 games, finished QB15
Drake Maye, New England - 421 rushing yards in 13 games, finished QB21
Anthony Richardson Sr., Indianapolis - 499 rushing yards in 11 games, finished QB25
Conversely, only one player in the Top 10 finished with less than 400 rushing yards last year. Baker Mayfield, 378 rushing yards, finished QB4. Every other quarterback in the Top 10 had at least 400 rushing yards.