Fantasy Football Week 8 Quarterback Who Should I Start? Jaxson Dart, Aaron Rodgers, and More
Comparing Jaxson Dart to five quarterbacks who he has been matched up with often on the FantasySP Who Should I Start? tool.
Jaxson Dart has been a revelation in his short time starting, both for the New York Giants and fantasy owners. In real football, the Giants surely think they found their quarterback of the future, and head coach Brian Daboll might see a path toward keeping his job after it looked like he could be the next coach fired.
Dart's sudden ascension has fantasy owners taking note, and that has Dart showing up all over our FantasySP start/sit tool. While it looks like he could become a weekly regular, owners are still a little skeptical with the rookie facing a good team.
Let's look at Dart and five quarterbacks who he has been compared to often on the start/sit tool. We'll do a head-to-head quick-hit exercise to determine the best starter in each situation. Most stats are from NFL.com.
Use FantasySP's Who Should I Start? tool to compare players and help make your toughest lineup decisions each week.
Jaxson Dart, New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles
Dart has started for the past four weeks, and in that time, he is QB4. He has run for 50 yards and/or a touchdown in all four games, in the position he is more because of his legs than his arm. Dart has had a few good outings throwing the ball too, though, including combining for 478 passing yards on 8.2 per attempt the past two weeks.
The Eagles have allowed the ninth-fewest yards per pass attempt, and they're just a little better than average in fantasy points per game allowed to quarterbacks. Generally, that's the profile of a team that I would recommend not going after with fantasy players.
One of those past two games in which Dart excelled was against Philadelphia, though, and I'm having trouble finding a real reason to doubt the rookie QB. He has been a successful fantasy player every time out, so I feel OK about recommending him for lineups again this week.
Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts vs. Tennessee Titans
The only reason for concern here is that Indianapolis might beat Tennessee so bad that Jones doesn't have to do anything to put up big numbers. That's what happened when they played in Week 3, as Jones had 228 yards and a touchdown on 9.1 yards per attempt and the Colts won 41-20. Jones finished as QB11 that week, fine but unspectacular. More of the same could be coming.
Tennessee has allowed the ninth-most yards per pass attempt but the seventh-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. The reason for the better fantasy performance is a lack of volume: the Titans have faced the 11th-fewest pass attempts, and five of the 10 teams in front of them have already had their bye.
Teams are beating up on Tennessee and not throwing the ball much; Jones already had it happen once against this team. While they're poor on defense, the Titans are bad enough overall that quarterbacks don't do great fantasy work.
Advice: Start Jaxson Dart over Daniel Jones because Dart will likely be trying to put up numbers all game.
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Love is better by efficiency numbers than by volume. He is averaging the fourth-most yards per pass attempt of anyone with at least 100 pass attempts, but Love has thrown the 24th-most passes; the only time he threw it more than 31 times was a 40-40 overtime tie against the Cowboys.
Pittsburgh presents a nice matchup, as they have allowed the 11th-most yards per pass attempt and the fourth-most fantasy points per game to QBs. Volume has been a big part of the story on the fantasy side of things, as four of six quarterbacks went over 250 yards against the Steelers.
Advice: Start Jaxson Dart over Jordan Love. Dart will build more volume and run the ball more, setting up for a better fantasy performance.
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New Orleans Saints
Mayfield's season has been mostly in line with his past two years in Tampa Bay, but he had a strangely ineffective game against an injured and struggling Lions defense last week. Odds are he will get back on track, although Mayfield is dealing with plenty of injuries around him to running backs, wide receivers, and offensive linemen.
The Saints have given up the 10th-most yards per pass attempt and 11th-most fantasy points per game to QBs. They're not one of the top teams to go after, but New Orleans still offers a top-10 matchup and plenty of fantasy intrigue. They are also vulnerable to the QB run, giving up at least 28 yards in four of seven games.
Advice: Start Baker Mayfield over Jaxson Dart. Mayfield has been a consistent fantasy performer the past few seasons, and things are in his favor in this one, even with guys around him down injured.
Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers
Rodgers faces his old team in this one, and he has a much tougher matchup than if he were on the other side of things. Green Bay has allowed the fewest yards per pass attempt, though they are in the middle in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks because they face a ton of volume.
Rodgers has looked good, averaging 211.7 yards per game on 7.4 per attempt with 14 touchdowns and five interceptions. He ranks as QB15, and putting in his weekly average for his bye would move him up to QB10. Rodgers won't sustain a big fantasy performance because he never runs the ball, leaving him with a lower floor and ceiling.
Advice: Start Jaxson Dart over Aaron Rodgers. Dart has a better matchup and more fantasy upside.
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears @ Baltimore Ravens
Williams looks much better than he did as a rookie, averaging a full yard more per pass attempt (jumping from 6.3 to 7.3, which is a hair above average). His numbers are fine, averaging 225.2 passing yards per game and 17.7 rushing yards; Williams looks like a very average quarterback most of the time.
Baltimore is dealing with a ton of injuries, including missing Lamar Jackson in this one. That doesn't affect the defense directly, but the Ravens have been inept on offense with Jackson out, and that leaves the D in compromising field position. Baltimore has allowed the 14th-most yards per pass attempt but the second-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, a product of allowing 14 touchdowns with just one interception in six games.
Advice: This is a tough one; it's close to a 50/50 call. I'll give the slight advantage to the Chicago QB because he has a better matchup and say to start Caleb Williams over Jaxson Dart.
