XFL Week 2 - Quarterback Risers and Fallers

We previously looked at target and opportunity risers and fallers, based on the first two weeks of XFL data. Now, it's time to evaluate the quarterbacks, for better or worse.

There are few known commodities, even among seasoned NFL fans, at the quarterback position in this league. Relative unknowns like Phillip Walker and Jordan Ta'amu are leading the way so far. If you are playing fantasy XFL of any sort, be it season-long or DFS, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the contributors.

In this column, I'll be taking a look at some risers and fallers in fantasy football points regarding the quarterback position and the fantasy tallies they earned in Week 1 and Week 2 to see how those varied. Let's get to it!

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Week 1-2 Quarterbacks: Overall View

Although not the biggest sample size, eight games are enough to start building an image of this new XFL. We have watched 16 different quarterbacks complete a total of 289 passes (18 per player/game) for a combined 3,149 yards (196.8 per) and 23 passing touchdowns against 17 interceptions (1.35 TD:INT ratio). Adding wood to the fire, all quarterbacks combined have rushed for 262 yards and three touchdowns on the ground with none of them repeating such scoring feat yeat.

Here is how those 16 quarterbacks have performed in Week 1 (horizontal axis) and Week 2 (vertical axis). Those sitting on each axis line mean that they generated no points in that given week or that they didn't play at all.

click image for full-screen view

With the exception of Charles Kanoff, Jalan McClendon, Nick Fitzgerald, and Tyree Jackson, all the other 12 quarterbacks have completed at least a pass through Week 2. Those four, though, have accrued at least 0.1 PPR points each due to their work on the ground rushing the ball. In fact, Kanoff has more PPR points on the season (9.1) than eight quarterbacks thanks to his 21 yards and a touchdown rushing.

Let's take a look at the real risers and fallers from Week 1 to Week 2 next.

Week 1-2 Quarterbacks: Risers and Fallers

I have calculated the difference in PPR points from Week 1 to Week 2 (positive numbers favor Week 2), and here is how things looked after this last weekend's slate of games was over.

In order to give everyone a chance, I have included zero-point earners in either of the weeks in the chart above, so every quarterback appeared on it. That is why Landry Jones and Josh Johnson appear as the clear winners, given they didn't play a snap in Week 1.

RISER - Jordan Ta'amu, STL (+10.5, from 20.1 PPR to 30.6)

I can't pass on Ta'amu as the clearest riser after Week 2 games, as he's the one with the biggest improvement while having played in Week 1. The BattleHawk improved his PPR tally of the season opener by half, getting to more than 30 fantasy points against the Houston Roughnecks. Although Ta'amu rushed for fewer yards this past weekend (32 to 77 in Week 1) he was able to get a touchdown on the ground and also completed more passes (26 to 20) for more yards (284 compared to 209 in Week 1). All in all, he's the second-best quarterback on the season by PPR/G only behind Phillip Walker.

RISER - Landry Jones, DAL (+18.5, from 0 PPR to 18.5)

Dallas handed the reins to Jones and he never looked back. In his first game with the Renegades, Jones attempted as many as 40 passes (tied for the second-highest number of attempts on the season leaguewide) and completed 28 of them for 305 yards (season-high among all XFL quarterbacks) and a touchdown against two interceptions. He also added 13 yards on the ground on his four attempts. Not the cleanest of performances given the two picks, although he did more than enough to make up for that couple of mistakes.

RISER - Josh Johnson, LA (+18.3, from 0 PPR to 18.3)

Same as Jones, Johnson's first game playing for the Wildcats finished with a great performance by the quarterback. Johnson threw the ball 34 times and completed half of his passes, finishing with 17 connections. Those amounted to 201 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions to his name. Not a bright day on the ground, though, as Johnson could only rush the ball for three yards on his four logged attempts.

FALLER - Matt McGloin, NY (-17.7, from 17.5 PPR to -0.2)

You read that right. Our pal McGloin was so bad playing for New York that in just 19 attempts (completing eight of those passes) he threw for 44 yards... but two interceptions and no touchdowns. With a putrid negative fantasy points tally, it was time for New York to sit Matt and bring in Marquise Williams to finish the game. He didn't have a monster game himself, but at least his 3.6 PPR fell on the positive side of fantasy scores...

FALLER - Brandon Silvers, SEA (-10.1, from 18.7 PPR to 8.6)

Silvers had a great debut with Seattle half a month ago, but his second outing was far from the level he showed back then in Week 1. This time, Silvers could only complete six of the 18 passes he attempted for 91 yards. That made the Dragons QB one of two passers (the other one being McGloin) to attempt double-digit passes and fall short of reaching 100 yards through the air. Silvers threw an interception that he cleaned a bit with a touchdown, but that was it.

FALLER - Philip Nelson, DAL (-7.4, from 7.4 PPR to 0)

With Landry Jones now recovered and showing high-quality flashes, Nelson's days in the spotlight might be over. While Nelson was the starter quarterback for Dallas in Week 1 as Jones was injured (knee injury sustained in training camps), he was benched this past weekend in favor of Jones and he might have waved goodbye to his starting role going forward.

You might argue that this isn't a fair pick, but writing Phillip Walker's name in the fallers column wouldn't have been fair either. Sure, he dropped from 30.5 PPR to 22.5 this past week but come on, he's the clear no. 1 passer of the XFL and even with that 10-point drop he's still the league-leading QB in fantasy points averaging 26.5 per game. Not a faller to my eyes.

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