Week 6 was a great week to play pretty much any quarterback. Prior to Monday night’s game, 14 quarterbacks had at least 15 points, including no-name fantasy guys such as Thaddeus Lewis, Brandon Weeden and Mike Glennon.
Off of a week like that, it’s hard to find some quarterbacks to avoid entirely, but they’re out there in Week 7.
Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams
Bradford had fallen out of favor with most fantasy owners after a very slow start, but should be a hot pickup this week coming off a 21-point game against the Houston Texans. With Drew Brees on bye in Week 7, Bradford may be a desired spot starter, but he should be avoided against the Carolina Panthers.
Carolina is allowing the second fewest points to opposing quarterbacks, only allowing four passing touchdowns in five games. Prior to the game against Houston, Bradford had only broken 300 passing yards once against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2, and had two games with only one touchdown. If he can string a few quality games together, Bradford could become a better option but he should be avoided against Carolina’s strong defense.
Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers
Kaepernick obviously has struggled this season, but if you drafted him, he’s likely your No. 1 quarterback unless you were fortunate enough to pick up Philip Rivers in free agency. The dual-threat quarterback had one of his better games of the season against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, scoring 16 points against a solid defense. Prior to that, Kaepernick had two single-digit games, and in Week 5 against the Texans he only had 10 points.
Facing the Tennessee Titans, Kaepernick should visit the bench this week, in favor of someone like Nick Foles who should be available in most leagues at this point. Tennessee has only allowed six passing touchdowns and no rushing touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks, and have forced six interceptions in six games. In Week 2, Kaepernick threw three interceptions, and he’s had three games of less than a 50 percent completion percentage. Kaepernick owners should look elsewhere this week.
Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins
This one may seem pretty obvious, considering Griffin only had 10 points in Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys, but Chicago’s defense hasn’t been great against the pass, making him an intriguing start this week. Griffin was off to a quality fantasy start to the season, putting up 19 and 25 points in the first two games, respectively, but since then he has slipped. Redskins fans have optimism for the offense after Week 6, since offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan drew up some more designed runs for Griffin than in the past.
But the Bears have only given up one rushing touchdown to opposing quarterbacks, and Washington will likely be playing catch-up to Jay Cutler. In six games, Chicago has scored over 30 points three times, including 40 against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3. Griffin is much better when the Redskins are controlling the clock using the ground game, and that won’t be the case in this one, especially with how bad their defense has been.