One of the most difficult tasks during your fantasy football draft
is trying to decide between two players you essentially see as having
identical value. The purpose of this article is to not only identify
pairs of players that are considered of equal value in 2018, but
also take a look at the process of solving those dilemmas. With
that in mind, here are two quarterbacks whose values look to be
nearly, if not totally identical.
You've decided it's time for a quarterback
at the end of the 8th round. Which QB do you choose?
If you took a dozen fantasy football enthusiasts and asked them
which of in these two quarterbacks they’d take in a redraft
league, you would likely get six votes for each guy. I know - I
tried. So, who has the upper hand?
With apologies to Marquise Goodwin, who I think is a very good young
receiver, the better receiving corps is aligned with Cousins. Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, and Kyle Rudolph represent the best pass catchers Cousins has ever played with. Cousins also gets to travel to Green
Bay in September (when the weather is pleasant) and doesn’t
go to Chicago until Week 17 when most fantasy seasons have already
concluded. Finally, Cousins is the better scrambler and ran for
nearly 15 yards a game last season with 4 rushing TDs. Garoppolo
was credited with 11 yards on 15 carries in six games.
First 4 games for Cousins: SF, @GB, BUF, @LAR
So, what does Jimmy have going for him that Cousins doesn’t?
For starters, the last two defenses that Garoppolo faced in 2017
were the Rams and Jaguars - two of the best units in the league.
He combined for 534 yards and 5 TDs in those games. Cousins, meanwhile,
struggled against elite defenses last season as two of his worst
outings were against the same Rams (18-27, 179-1-0) and the crosstown
Chargers (15-27, 151-1-1). Garoppolo also plays for an offensive
minded coach (Kyle Shanahan) while Minnesota thinks defense first
with a defensive guru (Mike Zimmer) manning the helm. Last, but
not least, Garoppolo isn’t playing for a brand new team this
season as he spent the second half of last season in San Francisco.
First 4 games for Garoppolo: @MIN, DET, @KC, @LAC
The Verdict: Cousins is more proven, but he wasn’t
brought to Minnesota to engage in shootouts. Garoppolo, meanwhile,
plays for the man who turned Matt
Ryan into a fantasy stud in 2016. I think we’ve just seen the
tip of his iceberg when it comes to Garoppolo’s fantasy football
worth. Give me Jimmy G. and his upside. His strengths appear to
be more pronounced.
