Despite the fact that both these players are locks to be the starters for their respective teams, both Joe Flacco and Philip Rivers are currently unknown fantasy quarterbacks, and may not be an every-week starter.
Flacco, coming off a Super Bowl win and a huge six-year, $120.6 million contract extension, is looking to not only lead the Baltimore Ravens back to the playoffs but improve on his personal stats.
Rivers has a much different set of goals, and is looking to even get the San Diego Chargers to the playoffs, after the team has missed the playoffs in the past three seasons.
Rivers has had success in the past, leading the Chargers to the playoffs every season between 2006 and 2009. Since that stretch, Rivers has been unable to get the Chargers’ offense going.
Team goals aside, both Rivers and Flacco have always been mid-range fantasy quarterbacks, and fantasy owners are left to decide which would make a better starter, or maybe even a backup.
Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
Although Flacco will now be known as a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, he is going to have to put up the same numbers as last year with a much thinner roster. His receiving corps was greatly depleted when Anquan Boldin was traded to the San Francisco 49ers for virtually nothing, leaving Flacco to only throw to Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones, who aren’t capable of doing much besides running deep routes.
The running game that the Ravens often fell back on also took a big hit when fullback Vonta Leach was released, leaving Ray Rice to fend for himself in the backfield, presumably putting more pressure on Flacco to throw more often. Flacco’s fantasy value has never been all that high, given his low volume of pass attempts. Flacco has always had a pretty high completion percentage, completing 60 percent of his passes on his career, but has never completed more than 317 passes in a season.
It will certainly be interesting to see how Flacco handles the pressure of being a Super Bowl MVP quarterback, but he won’t be putting up career numbers with no Boldin or Leach, who caught a combined 86 passes last season. Fox Sports’ first fantasy mock draft had Flacco going in the tenth round, the 17th quarterback taken. In a 12-team league, that would put Flacco as nothing more than a fantasy backup, which is exactly what he should be. However, given the fact Flacco has never missed a game, it makes him very reliable if you have another quarterback with injury history.
Projected Stats (16): 3,500 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, 10 interceptions
Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
Although Rivers has historically been a better statistical quarterback than Flacco, he hasn’t been nearly as successful. Rivers has been on the hot seat lately, after leading the Chargers to a disappointing 8-8 record in 2011 and a 7-9 record last season. Health has never been a question for Rivers, who has started in all 16 games in his seven seasons as San Diego’s starter, but his accuracy has always been a concern, throwing 15 interceptions last season, and 20 the year before that.
Rivers does throw the ball considerably more than Flacco, given the almost complete lack of a running game in San Diego the past few seasons, and former head coach Norv Turner’s offense, which centered on Rivers. The receivers on San Diego’s roster are all fairly average, with the No. 1 option constantly in flux.
Rivers’s favorite target, tight end Antonio Gates, hasn’t played a full season since 2009, and he only caught 49 passes last season, way down from the 64 balls he caught in 2011 when he played in two less games. If Gates can return to his days as the best tight end in football, Rivers’s numbers will go up. However, CBS’s Dave Richard is only ranking Rivers as the No. 18 quarterback, making him a backup like Flacco.
Projected stats (16 games): 3,800 yards, 25 touchdowns, 16 interceptions
In Comparison
Neither Flacco nor Rivers should be your first option at quarterback, but if you’re looking for a backup in the 10th or 11th rounds, Rivers is the better option. While turnovers are always a concern, if you’re just looking for a spot start or your starter is out for two or three weeks with an injury, Rivers is far more likely to put up double-digit fantasy points during any given game than Flacco.