Top Week Sixteen Quarterbacks
@RJ_Kasper December 26
First, I just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for reading our weekly positional breakdowns. I hope they are improving your ROI.
Tom Brady @ NYJ ($7500) – Tom Terrific has watched his skill positions fall apart around him all season and he still remains a top option at QB. This week he faces a good NYJ secondary for the 2nd time this year with his best receiver potentially being Keyshawn Martin. With the Patriots plan of attack going to be through the air, you could roll Naked Brady out and realize a floor of at least 20 DK points. The Pats are playing for home field advantage in the playoffs and you can bet they will put this game on Brady to get them there. He isn’t my favorite choice, but may be a good GPP play to pivot off Cam.
Cam Newton @ Atl ($7500) – Cam just got done whooping the Falcons 38-0 in week 14 and now he gets to face them again. The problem is, aside from the perfect season, the Panthers have nothing to play for. I worried about this last week, though, and fading Cam is still a huge regret of mine. Did I think he was a good play? Sure. But did I want to pay up for a hot QB in a game that I felt he could have been shut down in? No. I worry about that here too, but I won’t be without shares of Cam this week. His floor is so high, if he is in for 60 minutes, but you have to think that a Super Bowl is much more important than a perfect season. Maybe not. I, regretfully, will not be rostering him in cash (I don’t think).
Carson Palmer Vs GB ($7000) – We all thought last week was the Palmer spot, but this is the spot. Put Palmer in a competitive game, against a stronger NFC foe, and at home? Yes please! He burned most the crowd, last week, that thought he was the “nuts” (poker term). This opens Palmer to be lower owned and a great GPP play. He is very cash viable as well. GB ranks 11th for pass yards against, but they haven’t quite faced an offense like this yet. I don’t see GB playing any sort of lights out defense on the road, so I expect Palmer to benefit. I love David Johnson too, but I am certain the scoring will be more evenly distributed between the two.
Ben Roethlisberger @ Bal ($6800) – Big Ben is my top QB play this week. That being said, this division tends to play each other tougher and scoring is almost always lower than what Vegas predicts. But the matchup shapes up perfectly: A Bal offense that is depleted and a defense that couldn’t dream of containing Brown and Bryant. I see all of the Pit skill players in play and Ben has one of the best opportunities to pass that 300-yard bonus point threshold on DK. He was the 2nd highest owned on FanDuel Thursday, but still remains great for cash and GPP.
Blake Bortles vs NO ($6500) – “Forget everything I said about those first guys, okay not really, but Bortles has been HOT!” That is what I said last week and it still holds true this week against the worst pass D in the league. It is no secret, however, that his matchup shapes up to be the best of all QBs, so his ownership will be high. He is a super safe cash play and the Jags don’t run when close to the goal line which raises his chances of touchdowns. If Drew Brees is out, I do worry about the Jags sitting on a lead, but this is a small worry as it isn’t a Jags thing to do (I don’t know if they have ever actually had a real lead).
Matt Stafford Vs SF ($6100) – I have targeted this San Fran defense numerous times and QBs let me down. I started an ugly losing streak on the back of Jay Cutler against this D a few weeks ago. No one reminds me of Jay Cutler more than Matt Stafford. But I am a Jim Bob Cooter believer and that gives me the confidence to go back to the well. SF is 26th against the pass and the Lions have played better on their defensive side of things to hopefully give more opportunity to the Lions offense. There are better options, but Stafford should be under owned and we saw Monday what that offense looks like.
Ryan Tannehill Vs Ind ($5100) – This is my GPP QB of the week. Yea he’s not sexy, that’s the point. He was less than 1% owned on Thursday and is facing a Colts team bad on both sides of the ball. Jarvis Landry will be in the slot and is the perfect person to pair him with. This is a run first team and a big time GPP play only.
Tom Brady @ NYJ ($7500) – Tom Terrific has watched his skill positions fall apart around him all season and he still remains a top option at QB. This week he faces a good NYJ secondary for the 2nd time this year with his best receiver potentially being Keyshawn Martin. With the Patriots plan of attack going to be through the air, you could roll Naked Brady out and realize a floor of at least 20 DK points. The Pats are playing for home field advantage in the playoffs and you can bet they will put this game on Brady to get them there. He isn’t my favorite choice, but may be a good GPP play to pivot off Cam.
Cam Newton @ Atl ($7500) – Cam just got done whooping the Falcons 38-0 in week 14 and now he gets to face them again. The problem is, aside from the perfect season, the Panthers have nothing to play for. I worried about this last week, though, and fading Cam is still a huge regret of mine. Did I think he was a good play? Sure. But did I want to pay up for a hot QB in a game that I felt he could have been shut down in? No. I worry about that here too, but I won’t be without shares of Cam this week. His floor is so high, if he is in for 60 minutes, but you have to think that a Super Bowl is much more important than a perfect season. Maybe not. I, regretfully, will not be rostering him in cash (I don’t think).
Carson Palmer Vs GB ($7000) – We all thought last week was the Palmer spot, but this is the spot. Put Palmer in a competitive game, against a stronger NFC foe, and at home? Yes please! He burned most the crowd, last week, that thought he was the “nuts” (poker term). This opens Palmer to be lower owned and a great GPP play. He is very cash viable as well. GB ranks 11th for pass yards against, but they haven’t quite faced an offense like this yet. I don’t see GB playing any sort of lights out defense on the road, so I expect Palmer to benefit. I love David Johnson too, but I am certain the scoring will be more evenly distributed between the two.
Ben Roethlisberger @ Bal ($6800) – Big Ben is my top QB play this week. That being said, this division tends to play each other tougher and scoring is almost always lower than what Vegas predicts. But the matchup shapes up perfectly: A Bal offense that is depleted and a defense that couldn’t dream of containing Brown and Bryant. I see all of the Pit skill players in play and Ben has one of the best opportunities to pass that 300-yard bonus point threshold on DK. He was the 2nd highest owned on FanDuel Thursday, but still remains great for cash and GPP.
Blake Bortles vs NO ($6500) – “Forget everything I said about those first guys, okay not really, but Bortles has been HOT!” That is what I said last week and it still holds true this week against the worst pass D in the league. It is no secret, however, that his matchup shapes up to be the best of all QBs, so his ownership will be high. He is a super safe cash play and the Jags don’t run when close to the goal line which raises his chances of touchdowns. If Drew Brees is out, I do worry about the Jags sitting on a lead, but this is a small worry as it isn’t a Jags thing to do (I don’t know if they have ever actually had a real lead).
Matt Stafford Vs SF ($6100) – I have targeted this San Fran defense numerous times and QBs let me down. I started an ugly losing streak on the back of Jay Cutler against this D a few weeks ago. No one reminds me of Jay Cutler more than Matt Stafford. But I am a Jim Bob Cooter believer and that gives me the confidence to go back to the well. SF is 26th against the pass and the Lions have played better on their defensive side of things to hopefully give more opportunity to the Lions offense. There are better options, but Stafford should be under owned and we saw Monday what that offense looks like.
Ryan Tannehill Vs Ind ($5100) – This is my GPP QB of the week. Yea he’s not sexy, that’s the point. He was less than 1% owned on Thursday and is facing a Colts team bad on both sides of the ball. Jarvis Landry will be in the slot and is the perfect person to pair him with. This is a run first team and a big time GPP play only.