by ASA, Inc.
Friday, Aug 06, 2021It’s widely known that when handicapping the NFL pre-season, QB rotations are extremely important. Is there a big drop off after the starter plays a series or two (or not at all) or does the back up and even 3rd stringer have some experience? Answering those questions can go a long way in being successful at handicapping the NFL before the regular season begins. There are obviously many other factors that come into play but QB rotations are at or near the top of the list. Here are a few of our our best & worst QB rotations as we get ready to hit the pre-season with a full slate starting on Thursday, August 12th.
ASA’s BEST NFL QB ROTATIONS
SAN FRANCISCO – The Niners rotation looks very solid for the pre-season. We like the fact that rookie Lance is pushing Garoppolo and from all reports Jimmy has responded nicely. Below those two there is some experience as well including former 1st rounder Josh Rosen. (Jimmy Garoppolo, Trey Lance, Nate Sudfeld, Josh Rosen).
CHICAGO – Now the Bears don’t have any top tier QB’s as of now, but their depth for the meaningless games in August is very good. Dalton & Foles are veterans who’ve combined to attempt almost 7,000 career passe attempts while Fields is a huge talent as a rookie. (Andy Dalton, Justin Fields, Nick Foles).
DENVER – Similar to Chicago, no great QB’s here but a very solid rotation for pre-season purposes. On top of that, Lock & Bridgewater are battling for the starting job so we should get their best effort each time out. Rypien isn’t a bad 3rd string option as he actually started and won a game for the Broncos last year. (Drew Lock, Teddy Bridgewater, Brett Rypien).
LAS VEGAS – Solid at all 3 QB spots. Derek Carr had one of his best seasons last year and his back up Mariota might be the top 2nd stringer in the league. After that Peterman is at least a decent 3rd option with a few NFL starts under his belt. (Derek Carr, Marcus Mariota, Nathan Peterman).
ASA’s WORST NFL QB ROTATIONS
GREEN BAY – Well we know the starter is here and we’d be surprised if he got many snaps in the pre-season. The Packers know what he can do and they now have the offensive system down in his 3rd year with head coach LaFleur. So that leaves Love & Benkert to pick up the majority of the snaps. Word is Love has improved but still has a ways to go which is why GB had no intentions on trading Rodgers and Benkert has never played in a NFL game. (Aaron Rodgers, Jordan Love, Kurt Benkert).
TENNESSEE – Similar to GB, Tannehill is the proven starter and won’t need many reps in NFLX. After that the Titans are left with Matt Barkley who has a terrible career completion percentage and has thrown twice as many interceptions (22) as TD’s (11) and Woodside who has 3 career pass attempts. (Ryan Tannehill, Matt Barkley, Logan Woodside).
MINNESOTA – This one is pretty simple. After Kirk Cousins the Vikings are stuck with 3 players who have never taken a snap in the NFL. Not much more needs to be said. (Kirk Cousins, Kellen Mond, Nate Stanley, Jake Browning).
NY JETS – We like the potential of projected starter Zach Wilson, but the 1st year player from BYU has never taken a snap in the league. He’s not the only inexperience signal caller on this team as 3 of their 4 QB’s have never played in an NFL game. Their 4th, Josh Johnson, was out of the league for 4 years before coming back to play a few games with Washington in 2018. He hasn’t played since then. (Zach Wilson, James Morgan, Mike White, Josh Johnson).
