Week 7 Fantasy Football QB Ranks: Bryce Young QB6, MORE
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this video and kept the full transcript here for context.
31 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Oct 20, 2026
Published
Tue, October 20, 2026
24
Player insights
23
Players mentioned
Topics
C.J. StroudAaron RodgersBaker MayfieldBo NixBrock PurdyBryce YoungCaleb WilliamsDak PrescottDeshaun WatsonDeVonta SmithGeno SmithJacoby BrissettJared GoffJaylen Waddle
Player analysis
Player insights
Aaron Rodgers
PositiveProjection18:04
Ranked as QB15, Aaron Rodgers leads the NFL in passing touchdowns over the last four weeks. He faces a Saints defense that is 31st in points allowed per game, making him a strong start. Hartitz also identifies Rodgers as a quarterback expected to have significant time to throw this week based on favorable combined offensive and defensive pressure rate projections.
Insight pageBaker Mayfield
NegativeInjury17:12
Ian Hartitz ranks Baker Mayfield as QB26, expressing significant hesitation to trust him due to a recent right thumb dislocation and his history of playing through multiple injuries. Hartitz notes that while Mayfield could potentially be treated as a QB2 if he shows accuracy, he prefers to avoid him on fantasy rosters. Additionally, Mayfield could use all the help he can get given his upcoming schedule.
Insight pageBo Nix
PositiveValue0:09
Ian Hartitz ranks Bo Nix as QB23 for Week 7, acknowledging his poor real-life play and low air yards per attempt. Despite these struggles, Hartitz highlights Nix as a viable speculative add against a weak Cardinals defense, which ranks as the third-worst in the league in EPA allowed per dropback.
Insight pageBrock Purdy
PositiveProjection5:38
Ian Hartitz ranks Brock Purdy as the QB5 for Week 7, citing his spectacular play and early MVP-level performance. Purdy is not just a product of the Shanahan system, as he consistently makes impressive off-script plays. The 49ers have the fourth-highest implied team total (26.5 points) for the week.
Insight pageBryce Young
PositiveProjection7:47
Ian Hartitz ranks Bryce Young as QB6, highlighting his career-best play and fantasy-friendly volume. Young has recorded five games with 275+ passing yards this season, compared to only four in his previous 47 career games. He is currently the QB4 in fantasy points per game, supported by a Panthers offense that ranks fourth in points per game. Hartitz notes that despite a decent Buccaneers defense, Young's recent performance makes him difficult to bet against, though fantasy managers will learn more about his consistency against tougher upcoming matchups.
Insight pageC.J. Stroud
PositiveProjection8:20
Ian Hartitz ranks CJ Stroud as QB7 for Week 7, noting he is playing the best football of his career. Stroud faces a Giants defense that is one of seven allowing 20+ fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. He is also expected to have significant time to throw based on pressure rate projections.
Insight pagePositiveProjection8:20
Ian Hartitz ranks C.J. Stroud as QB7, noting he is playing the best football of his career. Stroud faces a Giants defense that is one of seven allowing 20+ fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. Hartitz expects Stroud to have significant time to throw this week based on favorable pressure rate projections and hopes for increased passing volume to utilize his receiving corps, including Nico Collins and the returning Tank Dell. Note that Stroud has a Week 8 bye, making Jacoby Brissett a potential streaming replacement.
Insight pageCaleb Williams
NegativeProjection10:27
Ian Hartitz ranks Caleb Williams as QB9 for Week 7. While Williams leads the NFL in completion percentage, Hartitz remains cautious due to his recent 'dink and dunk' usage and limited rushing upside following a hamstring injury. The team is expected to keep 'training wheels' on him for the short week.
Insight pageDak Prescott
NegativeProjection23:34
Ian Hartitz ranks Dak Prescott as QB13 for Week 7, citing a career-low 6.7 yards per attempt and significant home/road splits, with Prescott averaging 16.1 fantasy points on the road versus 20.8 at home. Despite these concerns, he is projected to have significant time to throw this week based on favorable pressure rate projections.
Insight pageDeshaun Watson
NegativeProjection34:09
Ranked as QB19 against the Titans, Deshaun Watson has struggled significantly in weeks 5-6 after a strong stretch in weeks 2-4. While he leads the league in sacks taken (24), he remains a high-volume rusher, trailing only Josh Allen and Jayden Daniels in rushing production.
Insight pageDeVonta Smith
PositiveUsage45:10
Ian Hartitz highlights DeVonta Smith as a player who remains fantasy-relevant due to the high volume of targets he receives, even within the context of a struggling offense.
Insight pageGeno Smith
PositiveMatchup17:44
Ranked as QB14, Geno Smith is a strong streaming option against a Dolphins defense that ranks second-worst in EPA allowed per dropback. Smith is currently averaging a career-best 8.1 adjusted yards per attempt and benefits from a healthy pass-catching corps.
Insight pageJacoby Brissett
NegativeValue18:48
Ranked as QB18, Jacoby Brissett is a mediocre fantasy option against the Broncos, but Ian Hartitz recommends him as a proactive waiver wire add for managers needing Week 8 bye coverage for C.J. Stroud, Tyler Huntley, or Brock Purdy. He faces the Cowboys in a favorable spot following the Broncos matchup.
Insight pageJared Goff
PositiveProjection1:40
Ian Hartitz ranks Jared Goff as the QB4 for Week 7. Goff trails only Josh Allen in fantasy points per game, driven by a career-high 38.2 pass attempts per game. His production is bolstered by a Lions defense that forces high-scoring, pass-heavy game scripts. Hartitz expects Goff to continue performing well despite a tough schedule.
Insight pageJaylen Waddle
PositiveValue44:01
Ian Hartitz suggests buying Jaylen Waddle in fantasy leagues, noting that his value is currently at an absolute floor and it is unlikely to get any worse.
Insight pageJoe Burrow
PositiveProjection0:55
Ian Hartitz ranks Joe Burrow as the QB2 for Week 7 against the Ravens. The Bengals are playing in a high-total game (51.5 points) with a +6% drop-back rate over expected. Burrow has historically excelled against Baltimore, with three of his top six career fantasy performances coming against them. He is also projected to have significant time to throw this week.
Insight pageJonathan Taylor
NegativeValue48:24
Ian Hartitz identifies Jonathan Taylor as the only reliable fantasy asset on the Indianapolis Colts, explicitly advising managers to avoid starting any other players from the team.
Insight pageJordan Love
PositiveProjection1:40
Ian Hartitz ranks Jordan Love as the QB3 for Week 7. Love benefits from an offense highly willing to throw due to run-game struggles and faces a Lions defense that has allowed five additional fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks compared to the next worst defense.
Insight pageKirk Cousins
NegativeProjection17:36
Ian Hartitz ranks Kirk Cousins as QB17/QB18, noting it is difficult to rank him higher due to a tough matchup against the Rams defense, which allows the second-fewest fantasy points to the position. While Cousins is the QB13 in fantasy points per game, there is lingering uncertainty regarding his job security and his ability to maintain production against tougher upcoming matchups.
Insight pageKyler Murray
PositiveProjection0:00
Ian Hartitz ranks Kyler Murray as QB8 for Week 7, citing his strong performance in the six quarters leading into the bye week. Murray is in a fully healthy offense, building confidence, and faces a favorable stretch of matchups from Week 7 through Week 12. Hartitz recommends targeting Murray if he is available on fantasy rosters, noting his value extends beyond a single-week outlook.
Insight pageMalik Willis
NegativeUsage37:04
Ian Hartitz ranks Malik Willis as QB21, expressing concern over his lack of consistent rushing attempts and the offense's low play volume. Willis is on one of the two teams averaging under 55 plays per game, making it difficult to rely on him for fantasy production.
Insight pageMichael Penix Jr.
NegativeProjection17:36
Ranked as QB16, Michael Penix Jr. faces the 49ers. While he has shown promise with an 8.6 yards per attempt average, the Falcons' run-heavy offensive scheme limits his fantasy volume unless the team falls into a comeback script. Hartitz notes that fantasy managers will learn more about his performance against tougher upcoming matchups.
Insight pageRashee Rice
NegativeInjury21:42
Ian Hartitz does not expect Rashee Rice to return for Week 7, noting he did not practice at all due to a hamstring injury.
Insight pageTyler Huntley
NegativeProjection22:13
Ranked as QB20, Tyler Huntley is a superflex or two-quarterback league option. Ian Hartitz notes that while he is a backup, his floor is acceptable; fantasy production relies on a negative game script against the Bengals forcing him to throw. He has struggled with three consecutive games under six yards per attempt and a reluctance to throw over the middle.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00It's a great day to break down my week seven fantasy football quarterback rankings. Going to be going QB1 through QB28. Hyping up Kyler Murray as a top
0:09eight quarterback. We are so back and doing the opposite of hyping up Bo Nix.
0:13My god, the Broncos have been a tough watch this season. But at the end of every tier I'm also going to go over
0:18some bigger picture questions. Who has the best and worst strength of schedules moving forward? Best and worst pressure matchups this week? All that and so much
0:24more. So again, appreciate you guys tuning in and with that, let's get after it with our QB1, Mr. Drake Maye with
0:30Josh Allen accompanied on by. Guys, I know by weeks influence it, but over the past three weeks Drake Maye has scored
0:3622 additional fantasy points than any other NFL player. Yeah, he's playing pretty well. So Bears have done okay on defense in certain matchups, but I don't
0:46know, man. We've seen Bryce Young, Jordan Love, and even to a lesser extent Michael Penix put up some big-time numbers against this group. I'm not
0:52overthinking it. Drake Maye, we're back.
0:55Thank thankfully so, man. That was a rough freaking start to the year. QB2, I'm going Joe Burrow against the Ravens.
1:00If you wanted to, we'll list them out here. QB3, Jordan Love. QB4, Jared Goff.
1:05If you wanted to slide Burrow behind those guys, if and I'm assuming he is here, Lamar Jackson is out of the
1:11picture, I would get it. As things stand right now though, Bengals-Ravens 51.5 point game total, that is the second highest mark in week seven, only behind
1:20that Lions-Packers likely shootout over in Detroit. So, I understand again the overall game atmosphere cuz I don't think Tyler Huntley is going to be going, you know,
1:29bow for bow with Joe Burrow down the stretch or anything like that. But at the same time, we have seen three of
1:34Burrow's top six highest scoring career performances in fantasy land come against this very Baltimore Ravens defense. And I just think with again
1:42Chase Brown and Samaje Perine, the entire run game really not getting going, we've seen the Bengals really be more willing than ever to put the ball
1:48game in Joe Burrow and his passing game's hands. So, plus 6% dropback rate over expected this year. That's tied with the Cowboys for second highest, you
1:56know, spot in the league. So, Joe Burrow maybe hasn't been, you know, a complete lights-out start to the season or anything like that, but anytime he,
2:03Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins are healthy, which they all are coming off the bye, I'm going to have him near or
2:08near, I should say, the top five in the ranks, which he is this week.
2:12Mention QB3, Jordan Love. Look, man, shredded the Bears for 367 and two touchdowns in that Cowboys game. It was one of the best 276-yard, one-touchdown
2:20performances that we've seen, considering Matthew Golden dropped not one but two touchdowns. And we also had Christian Watson not necessarily drop
2:28one. I understand it was just ever so slightly tipped, but regardless, Jordan Love playing some great football. He's in an offense that is very willing to
2:35throw the football because of all their troubles on the ground. Maybe getting Josh Jacobs changes some of that to some extent, but man, then you look at the
2:42matchup. Lions have allowed five additional fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks than the next worst defense this season. Speaking of
2:49those Lions, Jared Goff, QB2 in fantasy points per game. Boring, no upside, pocket passer, Jared Goff only trails Josh Allen in fantasy land this season.
2:59So, his efficiency honestly hasn't been anything too special. It's been really good, but it's not like he's taking his game to another level in that avenue.
3:07It's more so a career high, I should say, six-year high, 38.2 pass attempts per game mark that's been aided by the
3:14Lions defense being [ __ ] So, that really is what we're looking for at the end of the day, all right? We want
3:17offenses that are willing to throw the football, have good players there, and accordingly can rack up the stats, but we also want that, you know, 2025
3:25Bengals, 2025 Cowboys mix of having a completely horrible defense on the other side of the ball that regularly, you know, gets these sort of fancy-friendly
3:33shootout game scripts going for us, and that's what the Lions have been this year.
3:37QB5, I'm going Brock Purdy. I had him up there, I think, as QB two even before, you know, the unfortunate Mike Evans
3:45injury. So, it doesn't sound like it's going to be too long-term for Mike Evans, but given the fact the 49ers have
3:50that Week 8 bye coming up, I do think they'll probably give him this week off, particularly coming off a Monday night
3:56game. So, hey, not to take anything away from Brock Purdy. He's played spectacularly this year, okay? Like early MVP stuff. He very much deserves
4:03to be near the top of it. And even in that Monday night game without my Calvin, still seeing a sort of
4:07off-script plays that again just always made me balk at the idea that this dude is a complete product of the Shanahan
4:12system. I get it. Kyle Shanahan, all those playmakers they have help, but particularly over these past couple seasons, man, Brock Purdy is so, so
4:19special he can do personally and individually off-script as well. So, Falcons pass rush is very good. I don't think they're an easy match-up per se,
4:28but they haven't exactly looked like as tough of a match-up as maybe we expected in back-to-back weeks with former Pro Bowl QB Tyler Huntley and Caleb Williams
4:36both kind of doing their thing. So, Brock Purdy, this ranking is more of a testament to him, Shanahan, Kittle, and CMC figuring things out despite being
4:44down so many wide receivers at this point. To be fair, Vegas is also in the same line of thinking that they should
4:50be okay enough. 26.5 point implied team total. That is the fourth highest mark in week seven.
4:58All right, guys. Key question here for this tier. What offenses actually have the most fantasy-friendly combination of drop-back rate over expected and plays
5:05per minute? So, these are teams that move fast down the field and also run regularly throw the football more than they run it. As you can probably guess,
5:13up in the top right corner of this handy-dandy graph, we got the Cowboys, the Packers, the Panthers who we're going to be talking about in just a
5:19second, and the Los Angeles Rams. So, those kind of have been the four teams at the top of the NFL moving the ball
5:25with a quick pace and then also throwing the football more than expected. Also in that tier though, we have the Lions and
5:31Saints. This is what I was kind of getting to with Detroit and Jared Goff before. No, we haven't seen them going
5:36out of their way in either offense just routinely be throwing the football all over the field, but when their defenses have been as bad as they have been this
5:43season, all of a sudden it's been forcing them to throw the football more anyway. So, top six, I would say most
5:48fantasy-friendly environments really all tell a pretty very similar story. Only the Rams, I would say, have this, you know, very, very good defense with
5:55respect to some of the things the Packers have been doing this year. But, yeah, Cowboys, Panthers, Packers, Rams, Lions, Saints, those are really your
6:03most fantasy-friendly game and just team environments in the league. On the other side of thing, Vikings, Jaguars, Ravens, Falcons, Dolphins, these teams stand out
6:11as slowest-moving and most pass-averse offenses in the league. So, I would say, again, it makes sense with all these groups, to be fair. I mean, other than
6:19the Dolphins, we're looking at four really good teams here, for the most part. Lesser extent the Falcons, obviously. But, man, Trevor Lawrence,
6:25let it rip, baby. I know it's not just him. He's absolutely crushing it, but I don't know. Liam Coen, they're winning
6:31football games, they're doing good things. But, just with everything we're seeing with Parker Washington, Travis Etienne coming in and doing great. I
6:37mean, there must still be some level of a good football player left in Bryan Thomas Jr. I don't know. As much as
6:43Chris Rodriguez is running hard last week, would love to see the Jaguars, after their bye, open things up a little bit. Speaking of the Jaguars, real
6:49quick, this is a quarterback, you know, fantasy football show. That fact is not lost on me. But, I do look at some
6:55strength of schedule stuff for positions, you know, across the board.
6:58DSTs, guys, if you're Seth, you know, you Spoiler, can't play the Jaguars this week. They are on a bye. But, man, I did
7:05actually look ahead to week 12. This is one of those teams where I'm guessing a lot of people are going to be dropping
7:10Jacksonville this week. After their bye, they get the Colts, the Ravens. That's a tough one, I get it. Colts, Ravens, Titans, Giants, and Titans until week
7:2112. That's pretty good, all right? I would prefer to get a DST I can trust for prolonged stretches. With the Jacksonville Jaguars, we have one of
7:29those.
7:31Back to QBs, guys. Tier two, best of the rest of the QB one. Starting off with QB six, Bryce Young. This season, Bryce
7:38Young already has five games with 275-plus passing yards. In his previous 47 games of his career, he only had four. So, we'll look at the QB4 in
7:47fantasy points per game. He's playing the best ball of his career, and it's not even close. You can look at any
7:52number of stats, and you can also just trust your eyes. Bryce Young going out there balling, and now it's a Panthers
7:57offense that ranks fourth in points per game. Credit to Brad Idzik, credit to Bryce Young, Jaylen Coker, Terron McMillan, the whole nine yards. So, the
8:04Buccaneers defense hasn't been bad.
8:06They've actually done a pretty good job holding up against the Cowboys, the Bengals, and the Packers in recent weeks, but just just so tough to really
8:13be going against someone playing as well as Bryce Young right now with that fantasy friendly volume that we mentioned before.
8:20QB7, I'm going with another QB playing the best ball of his career, and that is C.J. Stroud going up against the New
8:25York Football Giants. And maybe the Giants run defense is bad enough to actually let Woody Marks and Ja'Hard Jordan go ahead and do their thing, but
8:32more and more, man, I just wish that DeMeco Ryans would let C.J. cook out here. Nico Collins, Jaylen Noel, Marvin Harrison, Jr., Tank Dell's coming back.
8:41This is a scary passing game to deal with. If your favorite team is playing the Houston Texans, and you see C.J.
8:46Stroud turn around to hand the ball off to Woody Marks, I am guessing you are breathing a sigh of relief. It's when
8:52he's dropping back, and he's got all those weapons at his disposal, that things really can't go south in a hurry.
8:56So, look, I don't think that too much at all, okay, of the Giants defense as a whole. Could their run defense again be
9:02worse than the past? That's fine, but usually again it's a situation where I just think we'll be attacking them from any angle we can get. So, again, great
9:10stuff from C.J. He better himself. He's about to make himself a lot of money here coming up. And the Giants, to be
9:15specific, one of seven defenses allowing 20 plus fantasy points per game to opposing QBs. Shout out to Mr. Stroud.
9:22QB8, I got Kyler Murray, guys. So, when I was putting together my ranks initially, I had Kyler more so QB12, QB13, but I just started writing out the
9:30case for the guys that we're about to talk to about after Kyler, and I just kept moving Kyler up because of
9:35everything going his way.
9:37Last six quarters we saw from Kyler before the bye week, really, really good stuff. The previous quarters were not so good, but the last six, we actually
9:44started to see, you know, vintage Kyler Murray for the most part. Actually ran for 51 yards, you know, in the last four
9:50quarters we saw him in the game before the bye. And we had Justin Jefferson go down a little bit earlier in week four.
9:56We had T.J. Hockenson get concussed immediately in week five and Jordan Addison missed that game. So, now we get a fully healthy Vikings offense with a
10:05Kyler Murray who's building some confidence, just had a bye week to continue to learn things even more.
10:09Going up against a Colts defense that man, don't think much of them and I'm also not expecting them to be putting
10:13anything close to a good position given that we have Brian Flores going up against Daniel Jones. So, Kyler Murray again, everything is going his way and
10:21as we'll talk about in a little bit with the schedule guys, it's going to be like this year for quite a while.
10:26QB9, I got Caleb Williams going up against the Patriots on Thursday night football. Another situation guys where I'm just trying to follow the fantasy
10:32friendly shootouts here, okay? 50.5 point over under in this one that is tied for the third highest mark on the week. And Caleb Williams, don't look
10:40now, leads the NFL in completion percentage.
10:44Man, I've again been someone who believed in Caleb Williams and no, he hasn't exactly, I would say it's the verdict's still out, okay? I'm not
10:52trying to pull Justin Herbert here and everything, but to have this guy year one, biggest problem is taking way too many sacks. He
10:59just fixes that in year two. And then what was the biggest problem in year two? He can't even average 60% completion rate.
11:05Now he's over 70%. The dude's fixing his fatal flaws in a single off season, man.
11:10Scary, scary high ceiling for what Caleb could do when things really fully come together. I know, I know, the completion rate is in part really high because
11:18we've seen him be more of a dink and dunker this year. Just a 2.9 yard air yards per attempt mark back in week six
11:24in his first game back from injury.
11:26That's the only reason I do have him this low, okay?
11:29In that game, we had again the putrid check down Charlie sort of average target depth going on. We also had four
11:34rush attempts, all right? And those four rush attempts were Caleb, a fumble snap, a kneel down, a QB sneak, and then also
11:41one scramble for 2 yards. So, the best version of Caleb Williams, the fantasy star in particular, is going to be one
11:47that can push for 40-50 rushing yards and a touchdown or two per game, just like we saw in week one against the
11:52Panthers.
11:53I think this was a very considered effort not to put too much on his plate in a week one because he's probably
11:58still at like 90% coming back from that hamstring injury. Given a short week on Thursday night football, I don't think we I don't think we see a training
12:05wheels taken off just yet. Caleb Williams, QB9 for me here.
12:09QB10, I'm going Matthew Stafford, guys.
12:11Now, losing Davante Adams isn't ideal.
12:13We did still see Stafford largely keep on keeping on with his production down the stretch of last season when Davante was out, but you know what? That was
12:20also a different version of Matthew Stafford. Seems like he's missing one of his wide receivers on a deep double move seemingly every week at this point. Just
12:28has not been a game where there's the eye test or pretty much any efficiency stat you want to look at, the best
12:32version of Stafford. But, we are facing the Raiders team that again has allowed actually 30-plus points in I believe three straight games. That early season
12:39stretch where it looked like they had a really good pass defense really has come crashing back down to earth. I still do
12:44believe Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua capable of doing some big, big things. And as we've seen past years, Stafford still capable of
12:51throwing a ton of touchdowns to his group of trusty tight ends.
12:55QB11, I'm going Patrick Mahomes against the Seahawks, guys. Now, it's a tough matchup.
13:00We lost Tyquan. I don't think Rashee Rice is going to be back yet this week.
13:04Could be wrong. Hope I'm wrong, but he didn't practice at all with the hamstring injury.
13:07That all existed last week though.
13:09Against a tough Chargers defense, pretty good Chargers defense, and we still got 272 yards out of 9.1 yards per attempt clip, all right? Horrific end-zone
13:19interception from Mahomes. Let's cut that out, but we're just getting to the point where the rest of the quarterbacks I'm about
13:26to talk about, it's either a tough match up or they haven't been playing that well.
13:30Patrick Mahomes looks like Patrick Mahomes. That's enough for low-end QB1 treatment for me.
13:35QB12, I'm going to Tyler Shuck against the Steelers in Paris. So, yeah.
13:40Week six, kind of saved by four total touchdowns. I understand that's kind of a batshit crazy thing to say. All right,
13:46he earned those touchdowns. I get it.
13:49Three consecutive games though for Tyler Shuck under 6 yards per attempt. He'd only done that twice in his last 13 games, man. It has not looked pretty. It
13:56seems like there's a problem with his willingness to throw over the middle of the field. And now against Pittsburgh, like we are looking at the league's
14:03sixth-ranked defense in EPA allowed per dropback. And I do think they've been playing even better ball here in recent weeks. So, Tyler Shuck, he's QB12 in
14:10fantasy points per game on the season.
14:12That's where I'm treating him here.
14:13QB13 though, Dak Prescott going up in Philly ahead of Monday Night Football.
14:18Speaking of dudes just not playing their best ball, man, that is Dak Prescott.
14:21Now, he is averaging a five-year high in passing yards per game, but we're seeing a career low 6.7 yards per attempt. I
14:28mean, as a very, very sad Cowboys fan right here, guys, and I'm 33 years old.
14:33All right? I haven't even seen an NFC Championship appearance with my own eyes. So, save me the, you know, smirk, all this guy's a Cowboys fan. I have
14:40suffered, all right? And that's my choice, and it is what it is, but these last few years have obviously been miserable, but they were at least kind
14:47of a fun bad.
14:48The defense is giving up 30, but Dak and the boys will score 31 sometimes. Recent games, man, can't even get it going on
14:56the offensive side of the ball.
14:58Sad, sad stuff. And it's he's had the benefit of working at least at home in the Buccaneers game, cuz that's been the
15:03other thing in fantasy land, guys. Last five years, Dak Prescott, 16.1 fantasy points per game on the road compared to 20.8 when he's at Jerry World. So,
15:13I wish I had an answer for you on the big problem, cuz that's what I'm trying to research every week, but the
15:17offensive line's gotten healthy. George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb still both seem to be pretty damn good at football.
15:22I mean the run game isn't exactly grooving as well as it was last year, but I don't think that's exactly why Dak
15:28all of a sudden has been more of a mediocre quarterback as opposed to the world beater or at least really freaking
15:33good player that we've seen more times than not in past years. So, going up against the Eagles that again do have a
15:38pretty big defense, Dak outside the top 12 even with four teams on by, surprising stuff indeed.
15:44Key question for this tier though, I want to break down the best and worst upcoming schedules, all right? So, I took every team's week 7 through week 12
15:51opponents, looked at their ranked fantasy points per game allowed to opposing quarterbacks, and made this handy dandy grid for all you guys. So,
15:58blue signifies a good match-up, bad signifies a bad red signifies a bad match-up. So, look at the top five easiest quarterback schedules in week 7
16:07through 12, we got the Eagles, Giants, Buccaneers, Commanders, and the Vikings.
16:11Mentioned before, hopefully Kyler Murray can build off some of the momentum because he does have a stretch of really good match-ups here. So, again,
16:18expecting too much from the Tanner McKee's and J.J. McCarthy's of the world, probably wishful thinking as always a good on paper match-up should
16:25be viewed as more of a tiebreaker than all of a sudden this new rule of thumb to kind of do our rankings with. But,
16:30hey, already going to be set for some success, and then Jayden Daniels and obviously hopefully returning Baker Mayfield certainly could use all the
16:36help they can get as well.
16:38Toughest match-ups for the next six weeks of action though, Falcons, Bills, Panthers, Raiders, and Lions. I give the Bills and Lions just the benefit of the
16:45doubt as really good offenses with defenses that have a lot that left a lot to be desired. So, I think again, Josh
16:51Allen, Jared Goff should be able to keep on keeping on just fine. Should be finding out a lot more though about
16:55Bryce Young and to lesser extent, Michael Penix and Kirk Cousins and seeing just how high they can continue to fly with some tougher match-ups on
17:02the horizon.
17:03On to tier three though, we are saying there's a chance. We got QB 14, Geno Smith going up against the Dolphins.
17:09He's only had one finish better than QB 17 this season, that was when he balled out against the Lions. But, you know
17:14what? We're looking at a defense that ranks oh, uh, second worst in the league behind only the Cowboys and EPA allowed
17:20per drop back. So, look, Geno, he's averaging a career best 8.1 adjusted yards per attempt. He's taking too many sacks. It's not like he's been perfect
17:28out there, but I think he does fit the profile of someone that, hey, when we have multiple healthy pass catchers out
17:33there, which, yeah, everyone except 80 Mitchell at this point is good to go at least in the wide receiver and tight end
17:38rooms, with a good match up, that's the sort of stuff that streaming dreams are made of.
17:43QB 15, I got Aaron Rodgers in this Paris game that's going to be happening Sunday AM going up against the Saints. Aaron
17:49Rodgers, don't look now, leads the NFL in passing touchdowns over the last 4 weeks in large part because the Steelers continue to want to pound the not pound
17:58the ball, throw the ball inside the 10-yard line more than just about anyone. So, Saints are another one of these teams that we just really want to
18:04be targeting because they're capable of scoring, they're 10th in points per game, and they have a bad defense. I believe they're 31st in points per game
18:10allowed. So, wheels up, you know, to a relative extent for Aaron Rodgers here at this week. QB 16, I'm going with
18:16Marcus Mariota against the 49ers, guys.
18:18In his four starts this year, QB 24, 25, 18, and a QB six finish last week against the Bears. So, a lot of that
18:25wasn't garbage time, but hey, congrats to Mariota, man. 8.6 yards per attempt, that is very good. The problem has just been the Falcons are the league's single
18:33most run-heavy offense in terms of drop back rate over expected, in their case under expected. So, I do think the 49ers
18:39could be a team to build a lead and kind of get the Falcons in that unfamiliar comeback mode that leads more pass
18:45attempts happening like we saw last week. That said, the other side of that coin will be the 9ers having a better
18:50defense, I believe, than what we saw from the Bears last week.
18:54QB 17, I'm going with Kirk Cousins, guys. He's the QB 13 in fantasy points per game this season, which is incredible given some of the preseason
19:02expectations, obviously.
19:04I do wonder just how much longer he's going to be out there. They were warming up Mendoza, at least the broadcast said
19:09he was warming up in the third quarter last week, and then Cousins, you know, just played a little bit better down the
19:13stretch, ended up making things close with a couple real nice throws to Trey Tucker there down the stretch. So, I don't think Cousins has played bad
19:20enough to lose the job or anything like that, but at some point they are going to be putting Mendoza out there in a
19:26really tough match up against the Rams defense that, yeah, number two in the NFL only behind the Seahawks in fantasy points for game allowed to position.
19:33It's just tough for me to get Cousins too high up the ranks. QB 18, I'm going with Jacoby Brissett against the
19:38Broncos. The big thing here is we don't really want to go out of our way to play Jacoby, all right? I mean, he is someone
19:44where we didn't even see a touchdown against the Rams last week, and just more weeks than not he's been a mediocre
19:50real life and fantasy quarterback.
19:52Fourth quarter, lights come on, you know, down 21 points, that changes things, but here's the big takeaway, all right? If you guys, on your fantasy
19:59team, have C.J. Stroud, Tyler Shuck, or Brock Purdy, they have a Week 8 bye.
20:05Guess who Jacoby Brissett plays in Week 8? That's right, it is the Dallas Cowboys. So, I would try to get ahead of
20:11your league mates, pick up Jacoby Brissett today. Well, I mean, all right, tomorrow, whenever your waivers are, all right? Get Jacoby this week, not next
20:18week when everyone's going to be way more tuned in to this idea. If Kyler Murray's on your radar, I wouldn't want
20:23to do that because that's more than just one week cuz, similar to Kirk Cousins, like I could see Jacoby Brissett being
20:28benched sooner rather than later.
20:30I do think the win over the Rams probably bought him at least another week. It's not probably going to be pretty this week against the Broncos,
20:37but, you know, it's P.J. Walker out there. Who's to say the Cardinals can't shock the world or at least keep this
20:41one close again as well. Long story short, assuming Jacoby Brissett can hold on this job for at least another week, he's likely going to be a top 12 play
20:49for me against the Cowboys here in Week 8.
20:52Last quarterback of the tier, I got QB 19, Deshaun Watson, guys, going against the Titans. He was playing objectively good football by pretty much any stat we
20:59want to look at in Weeks 2 through 4 this season. Unfortunately, that has disappeared, all right? Weeks 5 through 6 really has been back to just
21:08objectively being a terrible quarterback. So, big issue has just been taking all the sacks, man. League high 24 sacks taken on the season, but he's
21:17still running the ball a ton. He only trails Josh Allen and Jayden Daniels in rushing. And if you are going to see at
21:22least a little better game through the air, I would think it could come against the Titans, all right? They got Jeffrey
21:27Simmons on the line of scrimmage. Not a bad defense per se, but again, Cam Newton and company not exactly putting them in good positions out there anyway.
21:34So, Browns offense for the, you know, I They've been a terrible roster at times as well, obviously, but I would just
21:42say, when you look, if you just again look at every single roster in the NFL without the quarterback, which is the
21:48most important piece of the roster, that fact is not lost on me. The Browns have a bunch of really good young playmakers
21:53on offense and defense alike. That's the point I'm trying to make.
21:57Key question for this tier though, guys, I want to look at what quarterbacks are respecting me on the most and least
22:00pressure of the week, okay? We do this pretty much each and every week here on the video. Red is going to denote a bad
22:05on paper match up terms of combined offense and defense pressure rate. Blue is going to be good. So, quarterbacks who we are expecting to have all the
22:12time in the world to throw this week, highlighted by C.J. Stroud, Aaron Rodgers, Kyler Murray, Joe Burrow, and Dak Prescott. However, on the other side
22:20of that coin, we are not expecting guys like Daniel Jones, Sam Darnold, Drake Maye, and Malik Willis to have exactly a
22:25ton of time to throw. So, three guys we haven't talked about, obviously, and then with Drake Maye, my overall QB1, I
22:31just think he's still playing so well even in the face of a lot of pressure this year. Everything he can do moving
22:36around so it helps that cause. Not overly sweating this dude while he is on such a heater.
22:41Guys, we'll be back to quarterback ranks in just one segment, but just note that, hey, football season, it's in full swing. And if you're trying to catch all
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23:18All right, guys. Last tier now for quarterbacks, the other guys I would like to think you don't have to exactly be relying on these guys in fantasy
23:24land, but superflex two quarterback situations, maybe you just have a shitty bye situation. These are guys for you.
23:31QB 20, I'm going with former Pro Bowl quarterback Tyler Snoop Huntley going up against the Bengals. 23 fantasy points in week five and then 13.4 against the
23:39Browns in week six. But, you know, even as a floor game as a backup QB, not the worst thing in the world. I do think the
23:45hope would just be Joe Burrow and company score enough points to have Huntley and his passing game playing from behind, not able to rely on Derrick
23:52Henry as much, and throwing that football.
23:55QB 21, I'm going with Malik Willis. We saw signs of fantasy life before their bye. 18.9 fantasy points, thanks in large part to eight rushes for 74 yards
24:04and a touchdown. That's what we need.
24:06Man, these games where Malik Willis finished with two or three rush attempts, like what's the point of even pretending like he could be your
24:12long-term quarterback solution if you're going to be doing that stuff out here.
24:15The problem is the offense joins the Titans as the only two teams with under 55 plays per game. It's just been so
24:21tough to consistently move the ball in either situation that we haven't gotten volume. And again, when you're combining that with not that many consistent rush
24:28attempts, tough tough scenes from Malik Willis in fantasy land.
24:32QB 22, I'm going with Sam Darnold against the Chiefs, guys.
24:36Now, last week I ironically, I jokingly as a long-time Drew Lock supporter pointed out that Lock had a lot better stats than Sam Darnold. I wasn't the
24:44only one doing so after that Thursday night game against the Broncos, and it was against the Broncos, but man, now it's against the Chiefs on Sunday night
24:51football.
24:53The eye test has been bad. The stats drop-offs have been even worse, guys.
24:57Minus 7% completion rate, minus 1.6 yards per attempt, minus 11% success rate compared to what we saw from last year. I mean, JSN is still getting his,
25:06but it has not been pretty at all in Seattle. They're asking Mike McDonald about the quarterback situation, and he is saying Darnold, but man, really for
25:15the first time in years, we are seeing a version of Sam Darnold that statistically looks a lot more like the guy we saw at the Jets earlier on his
25:22career. It'll be a lot cooler if they figure it out sooner rather than later.
25:27QB 23, I got Bo Nix against the Cardinals. There's a million different ways we can laugh at his air yards per
25:32attempt, and deservedly so, man. Throw the freaking ball downfield already.
25:36He's 29th in fantasy points per game, but it's still Sean Payton there.
25:43We believe in the roster.
25:44He's been a QB1 in both of his first two seasons. Like, there is a productive fantasy quarterback in there. I'm not
25:52even trying to say Bo Nix has been a world-beater or a really good real-life quarterback the first few years.
25:56Spoiler, he wasn't, but he was still good in fantasy land. The Cardinals are the third-worst defense in the league in terms of EPA allowed per dropback.
26:04I do wonder, and Nix has been playing so bad, man, but [clears throat] they faced this year the Chiefs, the Jaguars, the Rams, Niners, Chargers, and
26:14Seahawks. That's rough. That is a rough, rough stretch.
26:18They get the Cardinals this week. They get another tough match-up against the Chiefs in Week 8. But after that, Panthers, Raiders, Steelers, Dolphins,
26:26Jets, Raiders, Bills, Patriots through Week 17.
26:31There is never a lower time. I Bo Nix is probably a free agent in your league.
26:34All right, if you need quarterback help, speculative add, wouldn't be going crazy buying literally underneath the floor on Jaylen Waddle.
26:43Can't get any worse, all I'm trying to say.
26:46QB 24, I got Tanner McKee going up against the Cowboys. Was willing to sling the ball around the field, and hey, maybe that's going to be enough
26:51against Dallas. I will say Joey Porter Jr. actually gave the Cowboys signs of someone who can cover other professional athletes, which is a very, you know, a
26:59very good thing to see out there in Dallas. But, you know, Vegas, they had the Eagles implied to score 20 points.
27:05That is the same as the Chiefs going up against the Seahawks this week. So, it's not a matchup I'm exactly trying to get
27:10pieces of in terms of Tanner McKee, but I do think Devonta Smith and Damien Pierce, when we have again guys getting
27:15fed big-time volume at least, that's when I'm more willing to accept a battle offense still keeping on keeping on at least for a couple players in fantasy
27:23land.
27:24QB 25, I'm going with J.J. McCarthy going up against the Houston Texans.
27:28It's just such a tough matchup. And I'm assuming it is McCarthy. [clears throat] I'm recording this Tuesday at about noon. So, we'll see if they do end up
27:34going with James Winston. But just based after what we just saw, guys, most passing yards in the fourth quarter since 2020, any QB not named Dak
27:40Prescott or Josh Allen.
27:42And there were some great throws down there. I know Charlie Jones made the juggling 60-yard catch downfield and stuff, but couple seeds over the over
27:50the likely to neighbors, McCarthy looked pretty good for a little bit.
27:54Ran out the middle for like 30 yards.
27:56Threw a pick, miscommunication it seemed like, almost had a second one picked off. So, I'm not trying to say, "Hey, ignore the first, you know, 10 or 12
28:04games in McCarthy's career. Let's focus on these 15 minutes against the team that thought the game was done." But I was I'm more encouraged
28:13for Malik Neighbors and Isaiah Likely maintaining their fantasy football goodness with J.J. McCarthy under center than I was a week ago. Is that fair?
28:22QB 26, I got Baker Mayfield. I will entertain the idea of treating him as a QB upside QB2 once again if we see him
28:28accurately throw a football. This dude dislocated his right thumb less than a month ago.
28:33We know it's Baker Mayfield. He plays through one injury after another.
28:37I don't want to deal with him on my fantasy football team. All right? Comes down to that. QB 27, Cam Ward. Imagine
28:42if I, or like the fantasy football genie, came up to you on August 10th and said, "Hey, I'm only going to tell you
28:49one thing about this season. Cam Ward will have more fantasy points than Justin Herbert after 6 weeks."
28:56That's a fact. It's a very, very, very sad fact.
29:00QB 28, Daniel Jones against the Vikings.
29:04Yeah, please for the love of God, don't start any Colts not named Jonathan Taylor if you can help it. This is
29:08interesting though. We're going to end on this one, guys.
29:10Daniel Jones is arguably more responsible than anyone for bringing Brian Flores to the Vikings because in the best performance of Daniel Jones'
29:20career, he racked up 279 total yards and threw for two touchdowns in that fever dream of a Giants wild card win over the
29:27Vikings.
29:28The Vikings then fired their defensive coordinator 4 days after that game ended, bringing in Brian Flores in 2023, and he
29:38served in that same capacity every single season since.
29:42We have seen Daniel Jones face off against Brian Flores, which as you guys can imagine, most blitz-heavy, pressure-oriented, havoc-wreaking defense in the league and have been for
29:50quite some time.
29:52The one time we've seen Daniel Jones face off against this defense since, 2.3 adjusted yards per attempt, the fourth-worst single-game mark of Daniel
30:01Jones' career in a 91-game sample.
30:06I don't think Jones is the only problem in this in the offense. I know he's not the solution though.
30:13It's getting to the point where if we see a true meltdown in Minnesota against a coordinator who we know is very capable of bringing out the
30:21worst in any quarterback, let alone a bad version of Daniel Jones, could see Flores do the opposite of returning that favor to Daniel Jones.
30:31Could see Flores being the reason why Daniel Jones' tenure ends as Colts QB1. I don't think Anthony Richardson's going to be better. Could he be more
30:40fun?
30:41I think it's possible, but yeah, sad sad scenes for the Colts. Fire sale could be on the way. Anyway, I'm going to be on
30:49my way. I appreciate you guys tuning in.
30:50If you like the video, please like the video. Hit that subscribe button helps as well. We'll be back with running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends
30:55with some injury breakdowns to end the week. So, appreciate you guys as always.
30:59I'm Ian Hartitz until next time. Take care, everybody.
