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Ask the Experts

Which backup quarterback will help fantasy teams?

Looking at Levis, Minshew

ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp through the Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: Which backup quarterback will help fantasy teams the rest of the way?

JASON WOOD

Andy Dalton is the answer, although Bryce Young isn't currently hurt so that's probably not what you're looking for with the question. Scouring the depth charts, based on the current injury landscape, I'm going to throw a dark horse out there and say Will Levis. Yes, Levis has been inactive in favor of Malik Willis all year. Yes, Willis almost certainly gets the first shot at replacing Ryan Tannehill. But as we saw this weekend, Willis has absolutely no pocket awareness and takes sacks at a historic rate. That's unsustainable, and I could see the Titans turning things over to Levis to see if they were justified in picking him in the second round. We know he's an above-average athlete with mobility and a strong arm, and seemingly fits well into the Titans offensive structure.

Wood is Senior Editor at Footballguys.com and has been with the company since its start in 2000. For more than 20 years, Footballguys has provided rankings, projections, and analysis to help fantasy managers dominate their leagues.

SCOTT PIANOWSKI

I still think Gardner Minshew can be a quality quarterback for the Colts -- not the upside of Anthony Richardson, but reliable enough to keep players like Michael Pittman afloat. Of the newer starters, it's hard to find someone to believe in. I will say I thought Tyrod Taylor was competent in the near-miss against Buffalo, and at least he showed a little chemistry with some of that struggling receiver room. Taylor is also likely to run for 20-30 yards against Washington. It's a tricky time in the quarterback streets.

Pianowski has been with Yahoo Sports since 2008, covering a variety of sports. On the rare occasions when the computer is turned off, he enjoys word games, poker, music, film, game theory, and a variety of condiments. He lives in suburban Detroit. Pianowski was inducted into the FSWA Hall of Fame in 2021.

IAN ALLAN

I shouldn’t admit this in print, but I might have to use Tyrod Taylor this week. I’m in a league where my only quarterback is on a bye, and I’m not carrying a backup. With things being picked over pretty good, I think Taylor is my best option. He’ll run some, and I’m not sure he’s much different than Daniel Jones. With the Giants playing that leaky Washington defense, I think Taylor is going to be my guy. (It’s either him or Aidan O’Connell, who looked surprisingly decent in the preseason.)

Allan is the senior writer for Fantasy Football Index magazine. He is a member of the FSGA’s Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame. He is an avid runner, swimmer and cyclist.

SCOTT SACHS

To be transparent, I didn't expect to answer any Ask the Experts question this season with a response of "Gardner Minshew", yet here we are. Minshew chucked it up 55 times for over 300 yards with 1 TD and 3 interceptions for around 23 fantasy points last week. The Colts face some challenging defenses in the near term, so it may force them into more passing situations as they may be trailing in most games. Indy has some offensive talent to be sure, they're in a weak to average division, plus Richardson is now out for the year. My 2nd choice is Cleveland's PJ Walker. The former XFL star is the Browns starter for now, has talent around him including a top-tier defense, and now Watson looks very iffy for at least a few more weeks.

With 2 perfect seasons and multiple league championships to his credit, Scott Sachs runs Perfect Season Fantasy Football, featuring LIVE Talk & Text Advice. He is a 3-time Winner of the Fantasy Index Experts Auction League, as well as a previous Winner of the Fantasy Index Experts Poll.

KEN HOLIZNA

The lineup of the pathetic list of backup quarterbacks is a troubling indictment on the inflated salaries of so-called franchise quarterbacks and other select positions. There is just is not enough money to go around to pay competent backups. So I am not excited for any of the veterans. I really hope the Titans give Will Levis a chance to see if he is the quarterback of the future in Tennessee. Levis has all the tools and intangibles to be a prototypical NFL QB. It makes the most sense for the Titans to play Levis since Tannehill is in the last year of his contract and Willis has not proven to be the future in Tennessee. So much so that they traded up in the second round this year to draft him. Out of the crop of crap backups that is available, I would take a shot at Levis if I were looking for a possible upside play.

Holizna is a 29-year fantasy football enthusiast and founder of Faith-Family-Fantasy Football in 2019, a family-friendly, faith-based, G-rated fantasy football platform. Rankings contributor to the 2023 Fantasy Index magazine. Find him on Twitter @holihandicapper

DAVID DOREY

I am going to go grab Brian Hoyer from the Raiders. He is a veteran and throws to Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers and even plays the Bears this week. Jimmy Garoppolo injured his back and was brought to a hospital. It seems unlikely that the fragile Garoppolo bounces back quickly and even if he does, his history says he'll just get injured again.

Dorey co-founded The Huddle.com in 1997. He's ranked every player and projected every game for the last 23 years and is the author of Fantasy Football: The Next Level. David has appeared on numerous radio, television, newspaper and magazines over the last two decades.

ANDY RICHARDSON

There are two things I think about. Will he run some, and can we already say for certain he's not very good? If there's neither a rushing component or some kind of hidden talent upside awaiting, I'm not interested. So I'll pass on P.J. Walker, as a for instance, and I'll probably steer clear of Brian Hoyer, too. Tyson Bagent is a complete unknown, so I'll admit to being intrigued. Malik Willis has the rushing upside, but there's considerable question whether he can throw the ball at all. So I guess Bagent and Aidan O'Connell are the guys I'm interested in for the hidden upside. If I just need a warm body to start, as I do this week in fact, I guess it's Gardner Minshew.

Richardson has been a contributing writer and editor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and www.fantasyindex.com since 2002. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual experts draft and auction leagues since their inception. He previews all the NFL games on Saturdays and writes a wrap-up column on Mondays during the NFL season.

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