Using fantasy points allowed from last
season, Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford has the best schedule
of any fantasy QB.
Quarterbacks consistently score the most points in fantasy leagues
… so it’s important to get the right ones on your roster.
Why did I use the plural “right ones” you might ask?
Because you can’t win with just one quarterback.
Even future Hall of Famer and defending Super Bowl champion quarterback
Tom
Brady can only play a maximum of 15 games over the first 16
weekends which means you will have to use a backup starting at least
once. And as you can see in the chart below, he’ll also face
last year’s No. 1 defense in “fantasy points allowed
to opposing quarterbacks” (at Denver) in Week 10 so playing
the backup a second weekend might be advantageous. Weather and injuries
can also leave you playing your backup.
The chart below, which is based on last season’s fantasy points
allowed to opposing quarterbacks, lays out the 2017 fantasy regular
season schedule from Week 1 through Week 13 and the playoffs from
Week 14-16. It can help you both on draft day and determining your
weekly starting lineups.
There are quite a few lessons we can learn from the information
box. Here are just eight of them:
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has the worst playoff
schedule in the league, playing at Buffalo (ranked 8th), Denver
(1) and at Baltimore (12) over the three-week period from Week 14-16.
His regular season isn’t much better, ranking 30th-best of
32 teams.
After a good Week 1 matchup (Miami), Jameis Winston has a tough
six-game span from Week 2-7, then should blow up. The final eight
teams on his schedule average 26.5, including the best playoff schedule
possible; at Detroit (28), Atlanta (32) and Carolina (24). If you
select Winston early in your draft, I suggest picking Sam Bradford
as your backup. The combined quarterback average using Winston and
Bradford correctly would be 24.5.
Of the elite quarterbacks, Drew Brees has the best regular season
schedule with the 15 teams he faces averaging ranked 20.4 against
opposing QBs. Only Bradford (22.2) and Mike Glennon (21.2), neither
of whom could be called elite, or even second-tier, have better
schedules. Joe Flacco or Ryan Tannehill fit as a backup for Brees
as they’ll face at Oakland (27) or Tennessee (26), respectively
during Brees’ bye weekend. Brees also owns the second-best
playoff schedule.
If you want your quarterback to explode out of the starting gate,
Russell Wilson is your guy. His first five games, before a Week
6 bye are; at Green Bay, San Francisco, at Tennessee, Indianapolis
and at Los Angeles Rams. The combined rank of those five opponents
– 24.4.
Philip Rivers will face seven top-10 pass defenses in his first
11 weeks (10 games plus a bye). Tannehill is a good fit with Rivers.
The combined average of their opponents could be 20.7.
If you select Derek
Carr you better have a big lead heading into Week 11 because
the final three games of his fantasy regular season are: New
England (9) in Mexico City, Denver (1) and the New York Giants
(2). Blake
Bortles, if he’s still the Jaguars starter, matches up well
with Carr because his final three regular season games are:
at Cleveland, at Arizona and Indianapolis. Bradford has a better
final three games as well and has the easiest fantasy schedule
of any quarterback.
Tom Brady’s perfect fit would be Matthew Stafford, who
travels to Green Bay and hosts Cleveland in Week 9 and 10, respectively,
but he might be too “expensive” as he’s close
to a top-10 quarterback. Eli Manning, Tannehill or Tyrod Taylor
are other options with good Week 9-10 matchups.
Alex Smith has a great fantasy playoff schedule Oakland, Los
Angeles Chargers and Miami (all at home), but he won’t really
help you get there with the 26th-best regular season schedule.
Note: The "3-gm" column represents Weeks 14-16
2017 Quarterback
Schedule - Fantasy Points Allowed
Player
Team
Wk 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
3-gm
15-gm
S. Bradford
MIN
25
6
21
28
11
31
12
30
bye
18
22
28
32
24
14
31
23.0
23.0
M. Glennon
CHI
32
21
6
31
7
12
24
25
bye
31
28
10
20
14
28
30
24.0
21.2
D. Brees
NO
7
9
24
29
bye
28
31
11
21
8
18
22
24
32
11
32
25.0
20.4
C. Newton
CAR
20
8
25
9
28
10
11
21
32
29
bye
16
25
7
31
21
19.6
19.5
J. Winston
TB
29
11
7
2
9
13
8
24
25
16
bye
32
31
28
32
24
28.0
19.3
J. McCown
NYJ
8
27
29
5
30
9
29
32
8
21
bye
24
15
1
25
19
15.0
18.8
T. Taylor
BUF
16
24
1
32
14
bye
21
27
16
25
19
15
9
23
29
9
20.3
18.6
M. Ryan
ATL
11
31
28
8
bye
29
9
16
24
17
4
21
7
25
21
25
23.6
18.4
J. Flacco
BAL
14
30
5
6
27
11
7
29
26
bye
31
3
28
6
30
23
19.6
18.4
T. Brady
NE
15
25
3
24
21
16
32
19
bye
1
27
29
8
29
6
8
14.3
17.5
R. Wilson
SEA
31
20
26
23
22
bye
2
3
18
13
31
20
10
5
22
17
14.6
17.5
R. Tannehill
MIA
21
19
16
25
26
32
16
12
27
24
bye
9
1
9
8
15
10.6
17.3
T. Simian
DEN
19
17
8
27
bye
2
19
15
10
9
14
27
29
16
23
18
19.0
16.8
A. Rodgers
GB
4
32
14
11
17
7
25
bye
28
11
12
6
21
30
24
7
20.3
16.6
M. Stafford
DET
13
2
32
7
24
25
bye
6
31
30
11
7
12
21
11
14
15.3
16.4
B. Roethlisberger
PIT
30
7
11
12
5
15
14
28
bye
23
26
31
14
12
9
3
8.0
16.1
E. Manning
NYG
17
28
10
21
19
1
4
bye
22
20
15
18
27
17
10
13
13.3
16.1
C. Palmer
ARI
28
23
17
20
10
21
22
bye
20
4
3
5
22
26
18
2
15.3
16.0
D. Prescott
DAL
2
1
13
22
31
bye
20
18
15
32
10
19
18
2
27
4
11.0
15.6
B. Bortles
JAX
3
26
12
16
6
22
23
bye
14
19
30
13
23
4
3
20
9.0
15.6
M. Mariota
TEN
27
5
4
3
29
23
30
bye
12
14
6
23
3
13
20
22
18.3
15.6
D. Watson
HOU
5
14
9
26
15
30
bye
4
23
22
13
12
26
20
5
6
10.3
15.3
A. Dalton
CIN
12
3
31
30
8
bye
6
23
5
26
1
30
6
11
7
28
15.3
15.1
C. Kessler
CLE
6
12
23
14
16
3
26
7
bye
28
5
14
19
31
12
11
18.0
15.1
C. Wentz
PHI
18
15
2
19
13
24
18
20
1
bye
17
11
4
22
2
27
17.0
14.2
A. Smith
KC
9
10
19
18
3
6
27
1
17
bye
2
8
16
27
19
29
25.0
14.0
K. Cousins
WAS
10
22
27
15
bye
20
10
17
4
7
25
2
17
19
13
1
11.0
13.9
P. Rivers
LAC
1
29
15
10
2
27
1
9
bye
5
8
17
30
18
15
16
16.3
13.5
D. Carr
OAK
26
16
18
1
12
19
15
8
29
bye
9
1
2
15
17
10
14.0
13.2
A. Luck
IND
22
13
30
4
20
26
5
14
3
6
bye
26
5
8
1
12
7.0
13.0
B. Hoyer
SF
24
4
22
13
23
18
17
10
13
2
bye
4
11
3
26
5
11.3
13.0
J. Goff
LAR
23
18
20
17
4
5
13
bye
2
3
7
25
13
10
4
26
13.3
12.6
Steve Schwarz served as the fantasy sports editor of The Sports Network and is the 2014 FSWA Football Writer of the Year.
