Fantasy Football Week 8: Quarterback rankings for 2-QB leagues

Don’t let the hot and cold nature of fantasy get you down. Our quarterback rankings for 2-QB leagues cut out all the garbage. Fantasy Football Week 8 is here.

The NFL Trade Deadline is next week, right after Fantasy Football Week 8. Normally, this day passes without much more than a whimper. This isn’t the MLB or NBA deadline. Teams are hesitant to expect too much impact from a midseason acquisition. Nevertheless, 2019 has already seen a number of moves. Do any of the new faces in new places impact our quarterbacks in fantasy football? We’ll give that a soft “sort of.”

Mohamed Sanu is now a Patriot. This helps Tom Brady but not enough to change his normal weekly ranking. The 49ers added Emmanuel Sanders. This could greatly help Jimmy Garoppolo, but Jimmy G had been so shaky as a fantasy asset thus far, we still can’t trust him beyond specific matchups.

Jalen Ramsey, Marcus Peters, Quandre Diggs and Gareon Conley got dealt on the defensive side of the ball. Those are the moves we’ve seen thus far. So who’s the best quarterback play in Fantasy Football Week 8? We’ve got your exclusive rankings right here.

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate Fantasy Football Week 8 in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Fantasy Football Week 8 – The Top 12

Russell Wilson (Dan’s Ranking: 1, Todd’s Ranking: 1), Matthew Stafford (Dan: 2, Todd: 3), Deshaun Watson (Dan: 4, Todd: 2), Aaron Rodgers (Dan: 3, Todd: 4), Jared Goff (TIE – Dan: 5, Todd: 7), Tom Brady (TIE – Dan: 6, Todd: 6), Josh Allen (Dan: 9, Todd: 5), Jacoby Brissett (TIE – Dan: 7, Todd: 10), Kirk Cousins (Dan: 8, Todd: 9), Matt Ryan (If he plays – Dan: 11, Todd: 8), Kyler Murray (Dan: 10, Todd: 11), Ryan Tannehill (Dan: 12, Todd: 12)

13. Jameis Winston (Dan: 13, Todd: 14)

Dan Salem: His fantasy numbers are there, even if he’s not getting his team wins. I’m not high on Tennessee’s defense, so Winston is a great start this week.
Todd Salem: Off a bye week, the Bucs get a tough defensive assignment. Winston usually manages to be a better fantasy player than real-life quarterback. He needs to keep pace with Ryan Tannehill on the other side, who gets the sweet Tampa defense. I’d rather have Tannehill, but Winston is a two-QB starter this week for sure.

14. TIE – Philip Rivers (Dan: 14, Todd: 17)

Dan Salem: Despite consistently coming up short, Rivers has been very consistent in fantasy. Nothing flashy, but he’s always good for 15+ points.
Todd Salem: A tough defense lowers Rivers’ ceiling, but his floor remains high.

14. TIE – Teddy Bridgewater (Dan: 16, Todd: 15)

Dan Salem: I love the matchup for Bridgewater. Arizona is not shutting anyone down. All that holds him back is a run-first mentality by New Orleans.
Todd Salem: This feels like the last start for Bridgewater before Drew Brees returns. Ted Football has been really solid in Brees’ absence and gets a tasty matchup before the team’s bye.

14. TIE – Gardner Minshew (Dan: 18, Todd: 13)

Dan Salem: The Jets defense can slow down an offense like Jacksonville, which worries me about Minshew. He’s got upside, but it’s a risky play.
Todd Salem: If Matt Ryan ends up inactive, Minshew slips into the top 12. He got back on track in Week 7. If we give Aaron Rodgers, Jared Goff, and others a pass for one terrible week, Minshew should get that same treatment.

17. TIE – Derek Carr (Dan: 15, Todd: 18)

Dan Salem: Houston has been giving up a ton of points, which should benefit Carr this week. He’s been kind of hot and cold, but I expect him to turn hot.
Todd Salem: Can Carr participate in a shootout? He’s actually limited the mistakes but has yet to even reach 300 yards passing in a game. I think he finally gets there in this one.

17. TIE – Sam Darnold (Dan: 17, Todd: 16)

Dan Salem: Forget last week, because it was an anomaly. Darnold has proven himself resilient and will likely bounce back and prove his doubters wrong.
Todd Salem: Okay, I know. Hear me out. We knew Week 7 was going to be a wash before the Jets schedule really lightened up. It just so happened that Week 7 went much, much worse for Darnold than a nothing week. But he faced the best defense in the game and now gets a run of easy defenses all the way through Week 14. The only reason not to begin to use him in earnest this week is if you believe Week 7 would have some kind of lasting impact on his confidence. I don’t buy that.

19. Carson Wentz (Dan: 19, Todd: 19)

Dan Salem: I hate the matchup for Wentz, even if Buffalo stunk it up versus Miami for three quarters.
Todd Salem: Wentz would be in the same boat as Rivers if not for proving his floor is actually not high at all. He put up a real stinker last game thanks to multiple fumbles and three turnovers.

20. Andy Dalton (Dan: 20, Todd: 20)

Dan Salem: Which Rams defense will show up? I’m banking on one somewhere in the middle, which gives Dalton some solid upside.
Todd Salem: Despite the Bengals’ struggles, Dalton actually falls into the one-bad-week category. Otherwise, he’s been a steady fantasy performer.

21. Mitchell Trubisky (Dan: 21, Todd: 21)

Dan Salem: We are now into the territory where someone has to be next. Trubisky is not ideal, but at least he gets a weaker Los Angeles defense.
Todd Salem: Welcome back, Mitch. In seven weeks, through bye and injury, he’s had just two good games. We will see if Week 7 was the start of something.

22. TIE – Baker Mayfield (Dan: 22, Todd: 2)4

Dan Salem: Mayfield could surprise us and shine versus New England, but it’s unlikely. He has a higher ceiling, which pushes him up my list.
Todd Salem: At spot 24, what are we going for? Mason Rudolph is probably a safer bet to get 10-12 points against Miami. But Mayfield still holds that cache. He is coming of a bye during which everyone continued writing him off. Facing the top defense in the game would surely lower expectations. This isn’t even a case anymore of ‘if you own him, you’re going to start him regardless.’ He’s been dropped in standard leagues and is one of the riskiest plays this week even in two-QB leagues.

22. TIE – Daniel Jones (Dan: 23, Todd: 23)

Dan Salem: If not for all those turnovers, Jones would be a better fantasy player. He’s a rookie and they aren’t going away.
Todd Salem: Daniel Jones has had one good game. He is obviously still just a rookie even though it’s felt like we’ve been through three years of stories on him already. He needs to cut down on the turnovers to be a consistent fantasy option.

22. TIE – Jimmy Garoppolo (Dan: 24, Todd: 22)

Dan Salem: Defense and running the football. That is the San Francisco 49ers, which totally hurts Garoppolo in fantasy.
Todd Salem: Because of the weather, we couldn’t expect much out of Garoppolo last week. He actually hasn’t been that good anyway, though. Sanders may help once he learns the offense, but don’t go crazy assuming this pushes Garoppolo into guaranteed starter territory.