Fantasy Experts Give Aaron Rodgers No Respect
If you look at various Fantasy rankings of NFL quarterbacks heading into the 2023 season, you might think that former Cal star and current Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is over the hill and headed for the junk yard.
ESPN.com puts Rogers as its No. 14 in its Fantasy quarterback rankings, behind Justin Fields and Daniel Jones to name two.
The Fantasy experts at CBS Sports have Rodgers even lower, putting him 15th among quarterbacks, behind Anthony Richardson and Fields, among others.
Yahoo and Sports Illustrated have the least respect for Rodgers’ Fantasy potential, both placing him at No. 16 in their quarterback rankings, behind Richardson, Fields and Jones.
This certainly does not seem like the appraisal of a four-time MVP who won two of those MVPs as recently as 2020 and 2021. And when you consider how many touchdown passes Rodgers has thrown and his low number of interceptions the past three seasons – both of which are factors in Fantasy quarterback scoring – it makes less sense.
Jared Goff, the other former Cal quarterback who is a starter in the NFL, will not fare well in 2023 in the estimations of Fantasy experts either, and that might seem a little odd considering his exceptional performances over the second half of the 2022 season. SI.com, ESPN.com and CBS Sports all rank Goff 19th among quarterbacks, and Yahoo has him at 17, one slot behind Rodgers.
The problem with these two quarterbacks – as Fantasy players well know – is that they offer nothing in the rushing game, which is a prominent factor in quarterback scoring.
When you understand the scoring system of most Fantasy leagues, the status of Rodgers and Goff makes a little more sense.
Here is a typical scoring system for quarterbacks in Fantasy leagues (although some vary slightly):
Passing Yards: 1 point per 25 yards
Passing Touchdowns: 4 points
Interceptions: -2 points
Rushing Yards: 1 point per 10 yards
Rushing Touchdowns: 6 points
Fumbles Lost: -2 points
Rodgers’ touchdown-to-interception ratio gives him a lot of Fantasy points, but he rushed for just 97 yards in 2022 and scored just one rushing touchdown. Compare that to Jalen Hurts, who rushed for 760 yards and 13 touchdowns, or Justin Fields, who ran for 1,143 yard and eight touchdowns, and you can see where Rodgers falls short in the Fantasy world. Even Joe Burrow, who is not known for his running, rushed for 257 yards and five TDs, which why he remains attractive to Fantasy players.
Goff had good passing numbers in 2022, but he had just 73 yards rushing and no rushing touchdowns.
So if you’re a quarterback who can’t run and doesn’t score touchdowns you are not much use in the Fantasy world.
The point allocation for wide receivers is a little more straightforward, but even though former Cal star Keenan Allen has been selected for the Pro Bowl five of the past six years, he is not among the top 10 receivers in any of the Fantasy rankings.
SI.com and ESPN.com rank Allen 15th among wide receivers; CBS Sports has him at No. 16, and Yahoo has Allen all the way down to 18th. Young players such as Garrett Wilson, Jaylen Waddle and Amon-Ra St. Brown are ranked ahead of him.
Here is the typical Fantasy scoring for receivers:
Receptions: 1 point (only if using PPR scoring)
Receiving Yards: 1 point per 10 yards
Receiving Touchdowns: 6 points
2-Point Conversions: 2 points
Fumbles Lost: -2 points
I would take Allen early if I were drafting in a Fantasy league. He had more than 1,000 receiving yards in four of the past six seasons, and fell short last year primarily because he missed seven games with an injury. Allen’s receiving touchdowns have not ranked among the league leaders in recent years, but he’s not bad in that department with 52 career touchdown catches.
By the way, wideout Marvin Jones Jr., who was Allen's teammate at Cal and is now back with the Detroit Lions, is not even included in fantasy sites' rankings of wide receivers.
Of course, this is just a fantasy.
Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by Vincent Carchietta, USA TODAY Sports
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