First off, what is an Absurdity Check. This is where I take a look at one of Jeff Krisko’s sit/start articles and offer a different point of view. Then we try to figure out if he is being absurd or if I am. Sometimes I’ll agree, but still offer a different option. Other times, Jeff will be horribly, horribly wrong and I will try to save you from his terrible advice. This week my co-worker, Jeff Krisko, suggested that starting Tyrod Taylor is the smart fantasy football play. While I would like to agree with Jeff, I just don’t see it. Personally, I would start Jared Goff.
On paper, Tyrod Taylor seems like a solid starting option. He is playing a Tampa Bay Bucs defense that has given up the 10th most fantasy points to quarterbacks in standard scoring leagues. The problem is, a lot of Taylor’s value comes from his legs. Tampa Bay has given up the 9th fewest yards to rushing quarterbacks this season.
And Taylor himself is a concern. In five games this season, he has only thrown for over 200 yards twice. He has only thrown for multiple touchdowns twice this season. Basically, there is a 40% chance that Taylor will give you low-end QB1 numbers. Frankly, taking those kind of odds is absurd.
But the most important reason of all on why you should not start Tyrod Taylor is that Jeff kind of told you not to. He said that Taylor is always bad when he starts him and good when he doesn’t. If he is telling you to start TyGod, that means he is going to be bad! Why would you start a bad player?
If you are ready to start a good player, then you are ready to start Jared Goff. It is easy to be down on Goff after his last two performances. But it would have been unreasonable to expect any better. He was playing Seattle and Jacksonville defenses that give up the least amount of points to quarterbacks.
The things I don’t like about the Tyrod Taylor match-up are exactly the things I like about starting Jared Goff. He is playing against an Arizona Cardinals team that has given up the 5th most fantasy points to quarterbacks in standard scoring leagues. He has only failed to throw for 200+ yards once this season, and that was against the best pass defense in football. So he should have plenty of opportunities to produce.
So if you want to roll the dice on this being the first time Jeff has ever been right about Tyrod Taylor, go ahead. But if you want to win your quarterback match-up, you should probably just start Jared Goff.
