Drew Brees Fantasy Fallout: Five Potential Fill-Ins For Injured Quarterback

Our condolences to those of you who have Drew Brees on your fantasy football rosters.

The New Orleans Saints quarterback is expected to miss roughly six weeks with a thumb injury, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. Brees suffered the injury Sunday afternoon in the first quarter of New Orleans’ game against the Los Angeles Rams.

Considering Brees is owned in 97.1 percent of ESPN fantasy football leagues, his injury surely has many scrambling to find a fill-in. However, we’re talking about one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, as well as one of the more perennially productive fantasy signal-callers, so finding a replacement won’t be easy.

That said, there are a few potentially available quarterbacks who could get the job done, provided you don’t already own a starting-caliber backup.

Here are five potential fill-ins for Brees:

Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills (30 percent rostered)
The jury still is out on Allen’s real-life football value. But for fantasy purposes, the sophomore quarterback definitely deserves a spot on your roster. Allen has combined to throw for 507 passing yards to go along with two touchdown passes and two picks through two weeks. He also has fumbled twice and carried the ball 17 times for 59 yards. He’s flawed and undeniably mistake-prone, but volume and dual-threat ability make Allen an intriguing option.

Teddy Bridgewater, QB, New Orleans Saints (0.2 percent rostered)
The veteran won’t blow you away with his talent, and there’s no denying the Saints are a lesser team with him on the field. But Bridgewater knows this offense and has enough playmakers around him to put up solid fantasy numbers. He completed 17 of 30 passes for 165 yards after taking over for Brees on Sunday.

Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, San Francisco 49ers (24.3 percent rostered)
Like Allen, we still have no idea how good Garoppolo is. But if Sunday’s performance against the lowly Cincinnati Bengals — 297 passing yards, three TDs and an interception — offers any indication, the Niners quarterback finally might have put last season’s ACL tear behind him. If Garoppolo fulfills his enormous potential and continues developing a strong rapport with his receivers and tight ends, he could be a legitimate QB1 by midseason, if not sooner.

Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions (26.1 percent rostered)
You know the deal here. Essentially a junkyard version of Philip Rivers, Stafford is as capable of winning a game for you as he is losing it. Pick him up and hope he and the Lions get hot for a few weeks before inevitably cratering in winter.

Jameis Winston, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (42.9 percent rostered)
Is this the year Winston finally turns the corner? Probably not. This guy is an interception machine, and he probably never will be a franchise quarterback. Still, there’s a chance head coach Bruce Arians taps into Winston’s massive potential and gets something useful out of the fifth-year QB. Furthermore, the Bucs absolutely stink, meaning Winston should get opportunities to rack up points in garbage time. He’s an uninspiring option, but an option nevertheless.