Fantasy Football 2017: 5 Quarterbacks busts to beware

2. Andy Dalton

I’ve never been high on Andy Dalton, but Cincinnati seems to be trending in the wrong direction. With Pittsburgh always competing for a division title and Baltimore improved, Cincy seems to be the third fiddle in the division. Dalton is really nothing more than a bye week quarterback fantasy option at best.

Dalton is another example of a mediocre quarterback who is suffering without an elite offensive coordinator. From 2011-13 the Bengals offense was run by Jay Gruden who now runs the show in Washington D.C.

During that time, Dalton threw 80 touchdowns over that three-year period. In the three years since Gruden left town, Dalton has thrown just 62 touchdowns. There’s frankly no explanation for why Dalton has regressed from his first three years in the NFL besides the coaching change.

Dalton, 29, threw for just 18 touchdowns in 2016. He did have 4,206 yards but the team was never able to punch it in the end zone. Part of that reason was Tyler Eifert never being healthy.

While Eifert is coming back, Cincy suffered big-time defections along the offensive line. Both Kevin Zeitler and Andrew Whitworth departed via free agency. The Bengals line was shaky as it is after they gave up 41 sacks (25th in NFL) a year ago. Now this line got a whole lot worse. Those losses in free agency may cause the Bengals to go even more conservative in 2017.

The Bengals coaching staff seems less willing to let Dalton take chances when it matters most. Jeremy Hill scored nine touchdowns last season and carried the rock 222 times. That doesn’t even include contributions from Giovani Bernard. The Bengals didn’t draft running back Joe Mixon in the second round not to use him. Cincinnati seems like they may be planning to run the ball a lot more.

Dalton’s interceptions have dropped significantly since 2013 but The Bengals aren’t putting up nearly the same fight they used to. Dalton is a guy you should probably avoid, to say the least.