Philip Rivers

Fantasy Upside

Philip Rivers has been one of the steadiest fantasy quarterbacks over the past decade, and is always a value pick with a reasonable ADP. Over his last seven years, he’s averaged 4,483 yards and 29.7 touchdowns per season and has been a top-12 quarterback in fantasy points in five of the past seven seasons. Rivers will join a new team this year, but he will play under Head Coach Frank Reich, who coached him for three years with the Chargers. The transition shouldn’t be difficult with his familiarity with the system. He has good weapons in T.Y. Hilton and rookie Michael Pittman and the fourth-best offensive line according to Justin Edwards this year.

Fantasy Downside

Rivers has definitely slipped the past two years, ranking 18th in fantasy points last season and throwing 20 interceptions to 23 touchdowns. He’ll be 39 years old in December and it’s possible he’s just done. He looked like a shell of his old self last season, despite 4,615 yards. Frank Reich was pass-happy in 2018, second only to the Steelers in pass attempts, but plummeted to 25th last year – though the sudden retirement of Andrew Luck certainly contributed. However, the Colts just drafted a running back in the second round of the draft, despite already having a capable starter on the roster and they have an emerging defense. They could very well try to win on the ground and let Rivers play more of a game-manager role in the twilight of his career.

2020 Bottom Line

Even if Rivers is done being a quality starter, his 14th-round ADP in 12-team leagues makes him a pretty low-risk investment for fantasy drafts. He’s in a nice position to succeed in his new location and is worth considering in all league formats as a value QB2 you can plug and play.