Outlook: A devastating rash of injuries both to himself and his supporting cast went a long way to making 2015 a season to forget for Flacco and the Ravens offense. Before tearing his ACL, Flacco was downright mediocre for the first ten games of the season. His 2,791 passing yards was pretty good, but a gruesome 14-12 touchdown to interception ratio rendered him basically useless as a fantasy asset.

So what awaits Joe and his fantasy prospects in year two of the Marc Tressman offense? Probably more mediocrity. Despite being paid a ridiculously high amount because of some clutch play in some tight spots, Flacco has never put up the kind of numbers that push his team, or yours, into the next level. In his eight years as a starter, Flacco has failed to put up 30 touchdowns or 4,000 yards passing in a season, stats that are basic thresholds for QB1 status. Even is his best season, 2014, he only finished as the overall QB14. Historically this Ravens team was built on defense and the ground game, things that eroded these past few years, coinciding with the struggles of the team. Flacco has now had to balance the rehab of a serious injury with the continued development of the offensive scheme. Never an effective volume thrower, I’m not sure the throw-first Tressman offense is the best possible fit. While Joe’s supporting cast has improved, it relies on twilight vets like Steve Smith and Justin Forsett a little too much for my liking. Sure, Mike Wallace was brought in during the offseason, and 2015 first-rounder Breshad Perriman should be ready to play his first NFL snaps this year, but nothing about his situation in 2016 makes me believe Flacco can be anything more than a low end QB2 with little upside.

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Outlook: One of the least relevant fantasy football battles comes to us from the great state of Ohio. Unless you think the Cleveland Cavalier magic will rub off on the 2016 Browns, the winner of the quarterback battle in Cleveland shouldn’t make a lick of difference to fantasy owners. Griffin III, the former Washington Redskin savior was banished by his former team last year after he apparently forgot how to play any facet of the quarterback position. Snatched up by an equally desperate Browns team, Griffin enters the off-season program atop the depth chart. Whether he stays there remains to be seen. OTA reports from May and June have been less than glowing, and with veteran McCown ready to take over, Griffin has a mighty short leash going into training camp.

Griffin, while offering tremendous physical gifts, lacks something between the ears to be great again. A hallow shell of his former self, it will take an absolute miracle from new head coach Hue Jackson to coax production out of Griffin again. Cleveland’s quarterback of the future is wandering around a college campus right now, so from a fantasy perspective, do yourself a favor and look away from this train wreck.

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Outlook: It’s tough to read new 49ers head coach Chip Kelly, but it appears as if Blaine Gabbert has secured himself the starting quarterback role in San Francisco, thus giving himself an interesting fantasy situation for the 2016 season. Gabbert, a former top-10 NFL Draft pick, was once the laughing stock of the league, but saw a career resurrection in San Francisco this past season. While his 20.8 fantasy points per game certainly didn’t light the world on fire, what Gabbert did was provide some stability at the most important position on the football field - something which previous starter Colin Kaepernick certainly was not doing. While it’s hard to get behind him as a starter even in deeper 14 or 16 team leagues, Gabbert does provide some upside for those looking for a deep QB2.

It was only a season ago that then-Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford was the darling of fantasy experts who enjoy the "wait on a quarterback" draft strategy. While the shine might be worn off on the Chip Kelly offensive scheme, there’s still a real chance that Kelly could rekindle the flames of what was once a promising young NFL career. Bradford was disappointing, but still finished as the No. 22 fantasy quarterback in what ended up being Kelly’s final season in Philadelphia. It’s hard to imagine that the move to the Kelly system won’t at least be an improvement. The 49ers receivers left quite a bit desired in 2015 and they didn’t do much to address the problem during the off season. Still, Gabbert is at least worth consideration as a bye week replacement.

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Outlook: For what seems like the one hundredth time in his career, Sam Bradford is faced with the prospect of learning a new offense during the off-season. Brought over in a trade by Chip Kelly, Bradford didn’t really thrive despite Kelly’s quarterback friendly system, but will now work under head coach Doug Pederson and offensive coordinator Frank Reich in a system that should fit his skill set better. Pederson is expected to mirror the offensive system employed by his mentor Andy Reid, which is a variation of a West Coast offense built on the short passing game. Bradford is a fairly accurate quarterback and has impressed the staff during OTAs and the preseason according to published camp reports. He will of course need to hold off rookie Carson Wentz, who the team drafted No. 2 overall, but according to all reports out of Eagles headquarters the team would like Wentz to have a redshirt season in 2016. Of course if Bradford struggles, which isn’t all that hard to imagine based on a career of underachieving, or if the Eagles fall hopelessly out of the playoff picture, it is likely Wentz would see the field. Bradford finished last season with 3,725 passing yards and 19 touchdowns with 14 interceptions in 14 starts. While there is a chance that those numbers will improve in 2016, Bradford’s upside isn’t exciting enough to even warrant drafting him as a backup, especially if you would need to scour the waiver wire at some point if he were to be benched.

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Outlook: The Patriots spent a second round pick on Jimmy Garoppolo from Eastern Illinois in 2014 and that pick may pay dividends during Brady’s suspension if he can keep them afloat during the first month of the season. Unfortunately for him, the team opens the season facing some of the league’s better defenses - Arizona, Miami, Houston and Buffalo. Garoppolo has no significant regular season experience but will be spending his third offseason with the team and will likely split reps with Brady during training camp, so he should be prepared. He also gets the same benefit of the weapons that Tom Brady will be supported by which should help him overcome his inexperience. The offensive philosophy shouldn’t change much, if at all, and Garoppolo has the athleticism and quick release to be successful in that system. If you draft Brady, adding Garoppolo in later rounds wouldn’t be a terrible idea, although you may want to also add another capable backup and play the matchups.

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Outlook: New look, new location, new quarterback. The Los Angeles Rams are looking to forget the disastrous 2015 season which led to them opting to move up to the No. 1 overall draft pick this season. The franchise knew it needed a facelift and they decided to select quarterback Jared Goff. Head coach Jeff Fisher has repeatedly stated that he won’t rush Goff into the starting role and he has a history of letting younger talent sit while more experienced players are on the field. The reality is that Goff is the only quarterback on this roster who is at all interesting for fantasy purposes. We’ve seen what Nick Foles and Case Keenum have to offer and it’s not much. There’s a real chance that Keenum begins the season as the starter, but as the Rams offense inevitably struggles, the fans will begin to demand that Goff gets a chance. Realistically, Goff should only be on fantasy radars in extremely deep two quarterback leagues or dynasty formats. It could be a few more seasons before the Rams finally make a real attempt to address their awful pass catching options and there’s no reason to bank on some sort of dramatic improvement happening this season.

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Outlook: Considered by many experts to be one of the biggest “project” quarterbacks in the 2016 draft class, Paxton Lynch found a nice landing spot in Denver, a city where he can grow and eventually be groomed into a starting quarterback role. Lynch does possess the type of raw physical talent that could make him a starting-level quarterback, but he fell in the draft primarily because so many teams viewed him as a player who wouldn’t be able to contribute to an NFL team right away. With that being the case, it would be extremely surprising to see Lynch step onto the field for the Broncos in Week 1 unless there were a string of injuries to the other quarterbacks on the roster.

That being said, if Lynch continues to develop his mechanics and accuracy while keeping his nose in the playbook, there’s still a possibility that he gets onto the field this season. Lynch isn’t a player to draft in redraft leagues and there are even a few better options at the quarterback position for those in rookie drafts, but the talent is there – keep an ear to the noise coming out of Denver throughout the season.

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Outlook: Tony Romo’s weak collarbone made him a fantasy bust last season when he missed 12 games after breaking the bone two different times. In the two games where he left with injury his fantasy owners were left with poor results as he failed to reach 200 yards or throw a touchdown in either game. The Cowboys’ offensive skill players suffered as a result. The team has once again failed to add a competent backup, so the Cowboys will need to pray the best offensive line in the game and a strong running game will help keep Romo on the field instead of on the sidelines in street clothes. After spending the fourth overall pick in the draft on Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliot, the coaching staff is likely preparing to return to the 2014 run-heavy game plan which led to a playoff appearance for the Cowboys. Fantasy owners must keep in mind that although Romo was very efficient and productive during that season, the team finished 31st in pass attempts capping Romo’s upside. He did throw for 34 scores that season, but was held to only 3,705 yards in 15 games, finishing as only a fringe fantasy QB1. At nearly 37 years of age, it’s hard to imagine Romo becoming less brittle than he’s been, making him an option on draft day only if he drops into double digit rounds.

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