2019 Rankings: Updated Top 32 Quarterbacks for Fantasy Football

With the shocking news of Andrew Luck‘s retirement from the NFL, now is a perfect time to update my quarterback rankings for the 2019 fantasy football season. Check out my original rankings for more in-depth writeups for each quarterback on the list.

For notes on the risers and fallers at the quarterback position, scroll past the rankings to the bottom of the page.

 

Rank	Player	Change	Tier
1	Patrick Mahomes	0	1
2	Aaron Rodgers	0	2
3	Deshaun Watson	1	2
4	Matt Ryan	1	2
5	Baker Mayfield	1	3
6	Russell Wilson	1	3
7	Kyler Murray	2	3
8	Carson Wentz	2	3
9	Cam Newton	-1	3
10	Ben Roethlisberger	1	3
11	Drew Brees	1	4
12	Jared Goff	1	4
13	Lamar Jackson	1	4
14	Mitchell Trubisky	1	4
15	Jameis Winston	1	4
16	Dak Prescott	1	4
17	Josh Allen	1	4
18	Kirk Cousins	1	5
19	Tom Brady	1	5
20	Philip Rivers	1	5
21	Jimmy Garoppolo	1	6
22	Matthew Stafford	1	6
23	Sam Darnold	1	6
24	Derek Carr	2	6
25	Andy Dalton	2	6
26	Nick Foles	3	6
27	Jacoby Brissett	N/A	6
28	Joe Flacco	2	7
29	Marcus Mariota	-4	7
30	Eli Manning	1	7
31	Josh Rosen	1	7
32	Case Keenum	N/A	7

 

Notes

 

• Virtually everyone moves up after the Andrew Luck retirement, as he was my third-ranked quarterback at the beginning of the offseason. Luck is already on the Reserve/Retired list, meaning there is virtually no chance that he changes his mind about retirement this season, and is droppable in all redraft leagues as a result. In dynasty leagues with deep rosters, there may be some merit to holding Luck on your bench in case he changes his mind. But Luck seems to have given this a great deal of thought, so don’t hold him if you have a better asset you could roster in his place.
• Luck’s replacement is Jacoby Brissett, the 26-year-old former third-round pick of the New England Patriots. Brissett is one of the best backups in the league, so I’m fairly optimistic about the Colts offense as a whole remaining competitive. I’m staying cautious with Brissett as a fantasy option, however, slotting him in as the 27th best fantasy quarterback heading into the season. Brissett started 15 games in 2017 for the injured Luck and finished as the QB20 overall. His 12.87 fantasy points per game were very uninspiring, ranking him as the QB24 in 2017. While Brissett’s starts were without the current coaching staff led by Frank Reich, Luck actually had very similar fantasy seasons before and after Reich. Reich will really have to work his magic to make Brissett a quarterback worth starting in one quarterback leagues, but I’ll raise him in my ranks if I like what I see early. However, I’m worried that Brissett will be taking on more of a game-manager role early in the season.
• Cam Newton drops one spot in the rankings, though I actually bumped two quarterbacks ahead of him in Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz. This is all health-related after Newton suffered a foot injury in the Carolina Panthers’ Week 3 preseason game. Though he is progressing well, it is enough of a concern to bump him down in the tier. Newton depends on his running ability to be an elite fantasy quarterback, as he hasn’t topped 4,000 yards passing since his rookie year. Newton has struggled to stay healthy in his career and will enter 2019 already hobbled.
• I’m not concerned with the perceived struggles of Kyler Murray in the preseason. He is and always has been a high-risk, high-reward pick. Murray offers tantalizing upside, and if he falters there will be streaming depth on the waiver wire in most leagues. Watching Murray in Week 1 of the regular season will be must-see television.
• Marcus Mariota drops four spots in my rankings, as his starting job is reportedly unsafe with Ryan Tannehill playing well in preseason. I didn’t like Mariota’s prospects this year anyway, and between injuries and Tannehill’s presence, the odds of Mariota getting a full season of starts is looking less realistic by the day.
• Case Keenum joins the list as my last-ranked starter by default. Keenum looked like the definition of a game manager in the preseason, and his starting role could be short-lived with Dwayne Haskins waiting in the wings.
• The decision to start Josh Rosen or Ryan Fitzpatrick remains up in the air, which makes me wonder if the Dolphins are leaning toward Rosen. They’ve been rumored to be shopping veteran players through trades, so this has the look of a lost year in Miami. Fitzpatrick likely has more fantasy value when starting, but I expect Rosen will see more starts by the end of the year. Neither are exciting options in 2019.