Fantasy Draft Strategy: Ryan Fitzpatrick resigns with the Jets
After an awkward five-month mating ritual, the New York Jets and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick were able to come to terms on a one-year, $12-million deal for 2016. In terms of fantasy football and upcoming draft value, Fitz finished the 2015 season ranked QB-11 with 31 touchdowns and nearly 4,000 passing yards. He averaged 17.8 fantasy points per game for owners last season.
While, Fitz may not be among the elite quarterbacks, Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker as his top two targets does have fantasy football appeal.
Here's the FOX Fantasy Department's quick takes on Fitzpatrick's fantasy value in 2016 ...
Fowler's Take
I'm often fascinated by how fantasy football players perform the final four-to-five weeks of the season. I want to know if they show up come fantasy football playoff season. Tom Brady was great for me in 2015, but stunk up the joint during the fantasy football playoffs. Fitz was pretty consistent throughout the season with nine games of 250-or-more passing yards and only three games with two-or-more interceptions. He averaged 312 passing yards per game with nine touchdowns and only one interception Weeks 13-16 last year! Add to that, a dash of Matt Forte's pass catching ability in 2016 and Fitzpatrick should boost his passing stats via the catch and run. He's a great quarterback to target in super-FLEX and two-quarterback formats.
Halpin's Take
Fitzpatrick played well last season, throwing 31 touchdowns and leading the Jets to a 10-6 record. However, there are warts here. Fitz ranked 23rd with a passer rating of 88.0, was 15th with 3,905 yards, and threw 15 interceptions. He can be OK as a fantasy QB2, but you can envision a reasonable scenario in which he gets benched in favor of Geno Smith. It's not like teams have ever gotten too attached to Fitz, right? This signing is more exciting in real life than it is for fantasy purposes.
Foster's Take
Ryan Fitzpatrick has always been a risk-taking, journeyman quarterback who has flirted with fantasy relevance. Last year, however, he finally made the leap into borderline QB1 territory. With Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker on the outside, some of Fitzpatrick's questionable decisions turned into great ones thanks to their size, particularly down in the red zone.
Now with the addition of another great receiver in running back Matt Forte, Fitzpatrick has more upside than ever and could realistically break the 4,000 yard and 30 touchdown mark. I'm ranking him as my QB16 and 115th overall, but I wouldn't be terribly upset if he ended up as my starting quarterback on draft day.
