Jimmy Garoppolo

Week 2 vs. Miami
Jimmy Garoppolo was 24-33 for 264 yards with 1 TD, no interceptions, in a 23-21 victory over the Cardinals in Week 1, adding 12 rushing yards on 4 carries. Garoppolo comes into a Week 2 matchup against the Dolphins after a solid Week 1 win after boasting a 95.1% passer rating and 66.7% completion percentage in the preseason. The Patriots team total is hovering around 24.5. In the place of Tom Brady, Garoppolo will need to continue to play efficiently as a home favorite, but will not be asked to do thing outside his capabilities. He is is a low-end QB2 against the Dolphins, who rank in the bottom half of the league in QB aFPA.

Fantasy Upside
Patriots second-string quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will get an opportunity start for the first four games of the season with Tom Brady’s suspension. He is a player who has leaned heavily on check-down plays in the past and has no shortage of elite weapons to throw to such as Rob Gronkowski, Dion Lewis, and Julian Edelman. The Patriots will ask Garoppolo to play a high-percentage game and get the ball into the hands of his playmakers. This may be more than enough to make him a streamer option to start the season.

Fantasy Downside
Garoppolo has been up and down in the preseason since he entered the league and really has no meaningful experience as a starter. He will start Week 1 on the road against the Arizona Cardinals and then gets Miami at home in Week 2, a team that was sixth in the NFL in sacks last season. He also gets both the Houston and Buffalo defenses before Brady’s return in Week 5. Though we don’t expect the Patriots to completely turn into a run-heavy team to protect their quarterback inefficiencies, it is possible Garoppolo will be asked to much less as far as taking chances.

2016 Bottom Line
Garoppolo has thrown a below average 6.9 yards per attempt in his preseason action competing just 76.2 percent of his passes. He could be a viable streamer if you are desperate, but you could do better from a matchups perspective in the first few weeks of the season.

Week 17 vs Bills
With the Patriots having already cliched the #1 seed and home field advantage, it's possible we'll see some of the second round pick this weekend. It's impossible to predict how much he'll play, and the Bills are allowing the 2nd least aFPA to opposing QBs. Garoppolo should not be viewed as a sneaky start, in Week 17.