Late Saturday evening, news broke that the quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts, Andrew Luck, would be retiring. This news came less than two weeks until the season starts on September 5.
Now, not only are the players and coaches in Indianapolis scrambling, so are fantasy football owners. Especially owners who have already drafted.
Some fantasy owners are in a bit of panic because the quarterback pool continues to dwindle. One of the hardest positions to draft for fantasy owners this season was already quarterback, but with Luck’s retirement, it has only gotten worse. Last season, Luck had amazing numbers, falling behind only Patrick Mahomes from Kansas City. Though he had been riddled with injuries in seasons past, he seemed healthy last season as he brought the Colts to a 10-6 record, which is impressive because only one of the ten wins came before Week 7.
Luck was showing why he is one of the best.
Luck’s retirement means Jacoby Brissett will be taking over. Brissett played most of 2017 and only managed four wins (one against the Cleveland Browns). This is not reminiscent of Alex Smith leaving Kansas City Chiefs in the capable hands of Patrick Mahomes. Not only are fantasy owners not getting a good option as a replacement, but there is also even more uncertainty with who to draft. Aaron Rodgers hasn’t played well in recent seasons, Drew Brees is splitting snaps with Taysom Hill, Ben Roethlisberger is without Antonio Brown, Dak Prescott is (currently) without Ezekiel Elliott and Patrick Mahomes is entering perhaps the most dangerous season of his career … but with the potential of a sophomore slump.
Another reason fantasy owners should be worried is because the fantasy stocks have plummeted on T.Y. Hilton, Devin Funchess, Eric Ebron and Jack Doyle. The star wide receivers and tight ends have lost a lot of fantasy value. A receiver is only as good as the person throwing him the ball.
Case and point, Antonio Brown was the No. 1 receiver going into the 2018 draft, but going into 2019, he is ranked eighth. He didn’t drop because of his performance. He had 15 touchdowns last season, the most in the league. The issue resides in the fact that Roethlisberger isn’t the one throwing to him. It’s Derek Carr. Funchess was limited in his role in Carolina last season and the move to Indianapolis was supposed to boost his career. Ebron was a quiet threat in the tight end position last year pulling in solid performances even with Hilton on the field.
In fact, if there was any receiver from this squad still worth getting it would be Hilton, but not in the round fantasy owners are used to getting him in. His star power is enough that Brissett will likely still target him often. The throws will not often be good, but even with a bad throw, Hilton is a great receiver. He remains a mid-round wide receiver pick, likely to be a borderline bench option for fantasy owners most of the season.
Luck’s health was always a worry when drafting a Colt; however, fantasy owners usually got at least a couple of good games and by then, the stars of the season had emerged and should be picked up on the waiver wire. Luck’s retirement has pretty much left the entire Indianapolis Colts’ squad unable to draft. Owners are now picking from 31 teams.
