NFL quarterback trades will have minimal fantasy football impact
From a fantasy football perspective, the two major quarterback trades made this off-eason will have a minimal impact in 2021.
Three big names have been traded in the NFL already. None have a massive fantasy football impact.
In the cases of Jared Goff, Carson Wentz and Matthew Stafford, none have been elite fantasy starters. They pale in comparison to someone like Deshaun Watson, who finished No. 5 in fantasy football rankings of quarterbacks, and yet the Houston Texans won four games.
Watson, a Tier 1 quarterback — anybody expected to score more than 21 fantasy points consistently — will have a major impact on fantasy football and the NFL if/when his demand to be traded is completed.
None of the three quarterbacks dealt to new teams this offseason are Tier 1 quarterbacks. The best of the bunch was Wentz in 2019 when he was statistically one of the better Tier 2 quarterbacks — good enough to start in fantasy, but expected to score below 21 points — in fantasy football.
Carson Wentz goes to the Colts after trade from Eagles
Wentz replaces newly retired Philip Rivers as the Colts’ starting quarterback. Ironically, Rivers was statistically better than Wentz last season, which meant he was more valuable from a fantasy football perspective.
Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford swap teams in blockbuster
The last two seasons have been a mixed blessing for quarterbacks Goff and Stafford.
Goff got the Los Angeles Rams to the 2020 playoffs, but they lost in the NFC Divisional round to the Green Bay Packers. Stafford continued to set franchise records as Detroit’s best quarterback, but once again the Lions failed to make the playoffs.
In 2019, Goff finished three slots behind Wentz as a Tier 2 quarterback. Stafford played in only eight games in ’19, but had the fourth-best points-per-game average among quarterbacks.
Here’s some advice for the fantasy football draft this summer, don’t invest a draft pick on Wentz, Goff and Stafford before the fourth round of the draft. Get productive Tier 1 players before selecting one of these Tier 2 quarterbacks.