Six quarterbacks to acquire over the next month
- Eli Manning figures to be a good buy-low target with top receiver Hakeem Nicks injured
- Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger just might have the easiest remaining schedule of any quarterback
- Matthew Stafford of the Lions doesn't seem to be utilizing star wideout Calvin Johnson enough
NFL coaches are fond of saying how they like to break down the regular season into four four-game segments. At the end of each quarter, they not only like to be at least .500, but also to have a fair gauge on what players are going to carry the team's momentum into the next part of the season.
Using that same logic, we can take a look into the next quarter of the fantasy season. Most leagues have a trade deadline around midseason, which means a good goal for the next four weeks is to set your team up with as many assets as possible.
QBs to acquire over the next month: Matt Ryan, Tony Romo, Eli Manning, Christian Ponder, Andrew Luck and Ben Roethlisberger.
While the Ryan owner probably isn't going to give him up all that easy, it may not take a fortune to wrestle any of the other signal-callers away from their current owners. One of the reasons Manning is in this group is because his stock doesn't figure to increase for however long Hakeem Nicks may be out. However, it is about time we realize the Giants are very deep at a number of positions, so the loss of Nicks isn't going to cripple this offense like it might on other teams. (We have already seen the likes of Ramses Barden and Domenik Hixon fill in nicely over the past two weeks in his absence.)
Manning may not command the same kind of respect in fantasy circles that Rodgers, Brady and Drew Brees do, but that doesn't mean he isn't going to match them point-for-point in most weeks. Ponder has a pretty nice schedule going forward, a deep threat (albeit inconsistent one) in Jerome Simpson, a red-zone beast in Kyle Rudolph and an all-purpose weapon in Percy Harvin.
Luck is another pretty easy recommendation when you combine his talent and upcoming schedule. The fact that he has already served his bye week is just icing on the cake. Roethlisberger might just have the easiest remaining schedule of any quarterback. With no semblance of a running game in Pittsburgh and a talented cast of receivers, the likelihood that he posts huge numbers on a regular basis is fairly high.
QBs to consider dealing away over the next month: Matthew Stafford, Philip Rivers (probably as soon as next week), Robert Griffin III and Ryan Fitzpatrick.
This list includes two top-10 quarterbacks entering this season and two top-10 quarterbacks after four weeks, so an explanation is warranted. Stafford's first quarter is bothersome for the simple fact that he seems to be forcing the ball to Nate Burleson and Brandon Pettigrew. As ineffective as Pettigrew is after the catch, there is no rational explanation why he has only eight fewer targets than Calvin Johnson. Furthermore, there is no good reason why a volume runner like Mikel Leshoure is commanding so much respect from the coaching staff when he is one of the few non-explosive players on the field. (Unsurprisingly, the same thing could be said about Cedric Benson and Green Bay.) The reason I mention Leshoure is simply because with no breakaway threat in the running game – opponents actually had to fear Kevin Smith – defending the pass becomes that much easier.
Doug Orth writes for FFToday.com, a USA TODAY Sports Media Group affiliate. You can read his entire column each Thursday at FFToday.com.