Fantasy football: 2019 early quarterback rankings

Since it’s never too early to consider and work on one’s fantasy football positional rankings, here is an early look at quarterback rankings for the 2019 NFL season.

This article is the first in a series in which we will explore early positional rankings for fantasy football. For this series we will focus on redraft rankings — how players should be ranked when considering 2019 only. However, they can easily be recast for dynasty purposes by moving up players who are young with big upside, while moving down players who are aging or beginning to decline in value.

The rankings will be done in tiers, which is an optimal way to prepare for drafts because it assists in making a choice easier when on the clock. If a player is the final one left in a tier, while there might be three players left in a tier at another position, that may help highlight which player one should choose. Let’s jump in.

Tier 1

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

That’s it. Patrick Mahomes is the only player at his position in the first tier, and may turn out to be the best quarterback in the history of fantasy football if he keeps doing what he did last year. Though it’s typically not wise to draft a quarterback in the first few rounds, he may represent a viable exception.

Tier 2

Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans

Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

These players have been representing excellent value in many early drafts, as once Mahomes is off the board owners often turn their attention to other positions. This has resulted in these quarterbacks sliding down into the 7th or 8th round, which is great value. These quarterbacks have the potential to be differentiators to help you win your league, as they should score five to 10 more points weekly than a replacement-level quarterback.

Tier 3

Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns

Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles

Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals

Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks

This tier is where my rankings begin to differ markedly from consensus. I would much rather take upside than floor in fantasy, and I believe upside is the path to championships. You won’t always hit, but when you do, it will pay off. The quarterbacks in this tier also have potential to be league winners. Baker Mayfield and Carson Wentz have new weapons, Jameis Winston has a new offensive-minded head coach and Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson are dual-threat quarterbacks who can add up to 100 fantasy points with their legs.