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FanDuel advice: Quarterbacks in Divisional weekend
We’ve got a whole host of big names this weekend.
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
A week ago, there were some big-name quarterbacks playing. Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, you know the names. But at the same time, the NFL's Wild Card weekend featured appearances by Brian Hoyer, and AJ McCarron, and Teddy Bridgewater. The week was a real case of haves and have-nots.
No such luck with this week's slate of playoff games. The weekend features four No. 1 overall picks at quarterback, six first-rounders, nine Super Bowl titles and a whole bunch of commercials.
In short, last week you might have been able to blow right past McCarron and Bridgewater and focus on some other names. This week? You pretty much have to consider everyone.
I’m ranking every player at each fantasy position for FanDuel each week of the playoffs. That takes salary into account, so you might be fine with slightly reduced performance if it comes at a seriously discounted rate. Rationales to follow. Just keep it in mind as you pick your Divisional Round FanDuel roster:
Quarterbacks
| Rank | Quarterback | Team | Opp. | Salary |
| 1 | Carson Palmer | ARI | GB | $8,900 |
| 2 | Tom Brady | NE | KC | $8,600 |
| 3 | Cam Newton | CAR | SEA | $8,700 |
| 4 | Russell Wilson | SEA | @CAR | $8,400 |
| 5 | Alex Smith | KC | @NE | $7,200 |
| 6 | Aaron Rodgers | GB | @ARI | $8,300 |
| 7 | Peyton Manning | DEN | PIT | $7,000 |
| 8 | Ben Roethlisberger | PIT | @DEN | $8,100 |
| 9 | Landry Jones | PIT | @DEN | $6,300 |
- If you told me there was a quarterback this weekend who threw for 450 yards, three scores, no picks, I could literally believe it for just about any of the big-name starters. It's that sort of big-name week. But if you said he threw for 140 yards and two picks and had a fumble, this is the sort of week where I could literally believe it for at least six and maybe seven of the starters. Tom Brady, I'd be skeptical. Carson Palmer? I just don't see how he could struggle that much. Sometimes it's as much about avoiding the floor as finding the ceiling.
- I don't really know what to do with Alex Smith. He hasn't thrown for more than 200 yards in a game since November, and only topped 300 once all season. He's either not going to have Jeremy Maclin or will have a severely compromised version thereof. But still, he's quarterbacking a team on an 11-game winning streak, and seems to have much less downside risk than the guys below him. I probably won't be using him in any FanDuel plays, but I still don't think he's bottom-of-the-barrel.
- In general for these scenarios, I only rank the starting quarterbacks, kickers, etc. But the question marks around Ben Roethlisberger make me want to incorporate Landry Jones as well. I mean, you aren't using either one, but Jones has a shot at some playing time.
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