Fantasy football draft season is in full gear and many of you will have important roster decisions to make ahead of Thursday’s season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles.
The ability to identify when a personnel change could happen is an important skill to have when putting together a fantasy roster and that especially rings true when it comes to the quarterback position. A mid-season benching will thrust a new QB into the spotlight and that carries with it ramifications on the fantasy football front.
Below, we’ll note a few starting quarterbacks that could be benched at some point during the regular season and the backups who could step in to replace them.
Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns
The most obvious benching candidate is Flacco, who will be the Browns’ starting quarterback when they kick the season off against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1. The 40-year-old Super Bowl winner returned to the organization this offseason and won a crowded QB competition that included himself, Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders, and Kenny Pickett, who has since been traded to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Browns were put into this unenviable position due to Deshaun Watson’s Achilles tear and are simply kicking the tires on what’s available for them this season. Flacco will be benched for both rookies at some point and Gabriel will get the first crack since he was officially named the backup. Cleveland’s bye is in Week 9, so their Week 10 road matchup against the New York Jets on November 9 is most likely when the QB switch will take place.
Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts
Another lackluster QB battle in the AFC was settled during training camp when Jones beat out Anthony Richardson for the starting job in Indianapolis. The former first-round pick signed a one-year deal with the team this offseason and will get a chance to prove himself as a starter after the New York Giants parted ways with him midway through last season.
The organization has taken criticism for benching a QB that it drafted with the No. 4 overall pick two years ago, but general manager Chris Ballard has maintained that they are not giving up on Richardson. Still, Jones’ deficiencies as a passer are well documented and the team’s ceiling with him as the starter is low. It would not be a shock in the slightest to see the team switch to Richardson if the team gets off to a mediocre start and at that point, the jobs of head coach Shane Steichen and the aforementioned Ballard will be in serious jeopardy.
Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints
Somebody had to win the starting job in New Orleans and that honor went to Rattler, who is entering his second season with the team. This three-man battle between him, Jake Haener, and rookie Tyler Shough came about due to the sudden offseason retirement of Derek Carr in May and he will lead the team into their Week 1 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.
The decision to start Rattler over Shough is interesting considering that the latter was just taken in the second round of this year’s draft and is exactly one year older than the former. Actual NFL experience played a factor as the former South Carolina dual-threat weapon was able to start six games in Carr’s absence last season. Similar to the Browns, however, the Saints are most likely just kicking the tires on what they have until a better option presents itself in next year’s draft. If the season goes as poorly as many predict for New Orleans this season, we’ll definitely see Shough take the reigns at some point and it could even happen before the team’s Week 11 bye.
Russell Wilson, New York Giants
Wilson’s post-Seahawks barnstorming tour has landed him in the Big Apple this season and he will be the man under center when the Giants open the campaign against the Washington Commanders in Week 1. The 10-time Pro Bowler is coming off a one-year stint in Pittsburgh, where he managed to sneak the team into the playoffs despite posting mostly pedestrian numbers with 2,482 yards, 16 touchdowns, and five interceptions through 11 games.
While the 36-year-old veteran is the clear starter heading into the season, that could change with the presence of rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart sitting right behind him. The Giants traded up into the first round to draft the Ole Miss QB this past April and some like former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum believes that he should be starting over the aging veteran. The front half of New York’s schedule is challenging with Washington, Kansas City, Denver, and two matchups against Philadelphia all taking place within the first eight weeks of the campaign. If the Giants are out of playoff positioning by the end of that stretch, then the team could very well sit the veteran down in favor of the rookie.
