Chances are if you own Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor in fantasy football, he will be in your starting lineup on Monday night, when the Bills take on the New England Patriots. Some may scoff at this notion, but considering these key factors may have you reconsider those thoughts.
Messy situation for quarterbacks
Injuries and bye weeks have taken a toll on quarterbacks across the league heading into Week 11's match-ups. Drew Brees, Eli Manning, and Ben Roethlisberger are all on a bye this week. Andrew Luck is out for multiple weeks with a lacerated kidney. Tony Romo will be appearing in his first game since Week 2, but there are plenty of question marks on how effective he may be this week. Ryan Fitzpatrick might start this week, just eight days removed from surgery. Sam Bradford is out after Sunday's injury, leaving Mark Sanchez as the starter against Tampa Bay. Brock Osweiler will make his first career start, replacing the injured Peyton Manning, who just came off one of the worst performances in fantasy football history.
There is a good chance that Taylor may wind up being your starter simply by process of elimination. Consider him a borderline QB1 at New England, and your likely starter if you're an owner of any of the quarterbacks mentioned above.
Earlier success against New England
Yes, I realize that one game against the Patriots is a ridiculously small sample size, but in the Week 2 matchup, Taylor put up a stellar fantasy stat line that included three passing touchdowns and one on the ground. Taylor finished the day with 31 fantasy points despite throwing three interceptions and taking eight sacks. While I will never try to predict how many times a quarterback will be sacked in one game, I can hope that Rex Ryan and Greg Roman will make the adjustments necessary to avoid a repeat of that figure.
Additional notes
- If you are an owner of LeSean McCoy, you already know that you are starting him with confidence.
- Karlos Williams projects as a solid FLEX play in New England. His success has been somewhat dependent on his touchdown streak, but I would still expect him to receive 12-15 touches.
- Start the Bills' defense/special teams at your own risk.
- Sammy Watkins is on my bench this week, which likely means he will catch 16 passes for 250 yards.
Best of luck in this week's match-ups and I look forward to your questions and comments below.