RG3’s 2014 Fantasy Rankings are Preposterous
Byron Lambert, Rosterwatch.com

For our own personal fantasy interests- we love seeing that RG3 has a 2014 FantasyPros.com pre-draft ranking of QB #10, and an average draft position of QB #9 according to Myfantasyleague.com. It’s a scenario that presents tremendous potential value in fantasy drafts, and will certainly be an integral part of our strategy.

RG3 had an Aaron Rodgers like fantasy scoring profile as a rookie. Of course, last season he had the comeback from the knee injury and all the Shanahan-gins that came with it. Griffin still averaged over 18 fantasy points/game.

This offseason the Redskins brought in the “Quarterback Coddler” in new head coach Jay Gruden. They’ve also added a super-sonic missile to the offensive arsenal in wide receiver DeSean Jackson. If Griffin does indeed have a chip on his shoulder- and a healthy knee- following last season, there could easily be a return to his rookie numbers.

Looking at the modest side of things, Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson both coming off of career years- if you just take a conservative approach and process their career averages- those two receivers alone account for nearly a double-digit Griffin fantasy floor on any given week. We know the number of designed runs called this year should be less under Gruden, but just using Griffin’s rushing numbers from last year with a huge brace on his knee as he drug his leg around the field- that’s three more points/game. Throw in just a couple of rushing touchdowns this season- and you have a quarterback with an almost guaranteed 15 point weekly floor- making him a safe and consistent weekly play which is the first thing we are looking for in a top-shelf fantasy QB

None of this even accounts for the development of stud tight end Jordan Reed, or the addition of crafty slot receiver Andre Caldwell, or the expanded role of Roy Helu in Gruden’s west-coast style attack. Nor, are we calculating the massive upside that a dynamic weapon like RG3 presents in any given game. We know it exists, we’ve seen it- and it’s Aaron-Rodgers like. Upside, is our second consideration when selecting a fantasy quarterback.

We believe Griffin is going to get salty as hell this year, which is awfully alluring at QB9 or QB10. Of the players currently ranked ahead of him, we’d argue for RG3 over Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, Nick Foles, and Matt Stafford.