Week 8 vs. Denver Broncos
Jacoby Brissett had a fantastic game against the Texans last week, throwing for 326 yards and four touchdowns without an interception in a big Colts victory. Brissett has been tremendously efficient this season, completing 65% of his passes on his way to 14 touchdowns and only three interceptions. He’s been a steady hand for a roster that’s been surprisingly competitive.
This week, Brissett has a tough matchup against a Denver defense that ranks third in the league in aFPA to opposing quarterbacks. If he hits his averages for the season, however – 231 yards and 2.3 touchdowns – he’ll be worth streaming in deep leagues. He’s a fringe starter this week in a tough matchup, or a quality QB2 in leagues that allow you to start two passers.
Week 7 vs. Houston Texans
Jacoby Brissett didn’t do much through the air against the Chiefs before the bye last week – 151 yards and a pick – but he ran in a touchdown and walked away with the win. The Colts are now 3-2 on the season, better than expected after the surprise retirement of Andrew Luck. Brissett has been a big reason for the success, as he’s efficiently averaged two touchdowns and 0.6 interceptions per game. While he only has one game over 300 yards, he’s worth considering as a streaming option in good matchups.
The Texans should be considered a pretty good matchup. They rank 21st in aFPA to opposing quarterbacks this season and have a potent enough offense to keep the Colts throwing to keep up. Brissett has streaming value this week in a good matchup, and this should be one of the more QB-friendly games on the docket this week.
Week 5 at Kansas City Chiefs
Jacoby Brissett had a nice game against the Raiders last week with 265 yards and three touchdowns as the Colts got down early and threw the ball 46 times trying to come back. He also added 19 yards on the ground. After opening the season with two sub-200-yard games, he’s thrown for 575 yards over his last two and he has multiple touchdowns in all four outings. Brissett has been a steady option for streamers and fantasy owners ravaged by injuries.
This week, Brissett faces a Chiefs defense that gave up 291 yards and three touchdowns last week to a hobbled Matthew Stafford. The Chiefs are likely to put up points – they’re averaging a league-high 33.8 points per game this season – forcing the Colts to throw the ball again. If Brissett attempts 46 passes again this week, his numbers from last week should be his floor. He’s an excellent streaming option this week.
Week 4 vs. Oakland Raiders
Jacoby Brissett had a nice game against the Falcons last week, throwing for 310 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a close victory. Brissett has been efficient this season, with seven touchdowns compared to only one interception, and he’s completing 71.7% of his passes. He’s clearly benefitting from an improved supporting cast than the one he had when he led this team two years ago, and the coaching staff appears to be taking advantage of his skill-set.
Brissett is an excellent streaming option this week in what should be a great matchup. The Raiders have allowed the seventh-most aFPA to opposing quarterbacks this season and just got destroyed by the Vikings. Expect an efficient day for Brissett, who provides a high-floor option for quarterback-needy owners. We have him ranked just outside QB1 territory with upside due to the matchup.
Week 3 vs. Atlanta Falcons
Jacoby Brissett only had 146 yards last week against the Titans, but he threw three touchdown passes and ran seven times for 25 yards on the ground. It was his second game in a row with fewer than 200 yards, but also his second game with multiple touchdowns, and he now has five touchdowns and only one interception through two games.
This week, Brissett should have a little easier time after facing two pretty stout defenses to start the season. The Falcons didn’t give up big numbers to Kirk Cousins in Week 1, but that was largely because Dalvin Cook ran all over them early and the Vikings only attempted 10 passes. Cousins was efficient with his attempts, completing 80% of his passes, including a touchdown. The Falcons picked off Carson Wentz twice last week, but allowed 231 yards and a touchdown and got torched by Nelson Agholor. Expect Brissett to be more efficient than Wentz was last week and to put up solid streaming numbers. We have him ranked outside the top-15, but if you’re scrambling from injuries at the position, he’s worth a gamble in what should be a pretty good matchup.
Week 2 at Tennessee Titans
Jacoby Brissett had 190 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Chargers last week and nearly pulled off a surprise victory, as the Colts lost in overtime. Brissett only ran the ball three times for nine yards, but he didn’t throw any interceptions and recovered his lone fumble. If Brissett can take care of the ball and continue to keep the team in competitive games, he may have some long-term value.
This week isn’t the right week to start him, however. The Titans just dominated the Browns defensively, forcing Baker Mayfield into three interceptions and limiting the team to only 13 points. Fantasy owners should think of Brissett as a streaming option for better matchups in the future, and not as a guy worthy of a permanent roster spot in most league formats. In single-quarterback leagues, he should stay on waivers. In two-quarterback leagues, he should be benched this week if possible.
Week 1 at Los Angeles Chargers
Jacoby Brissett is the starter after Andrew Luck’s shocking retirement, and he just signed a contract extension. That has to be considered a vote of confidence from the Colts after he threw only 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions as a starter in 2017. Brissett is on a much better team than he was then, however, and he’s had two full years in the system. The Colts have a pass-happy coaching staff and top-level talent on the offensive line, not to mention quality receiving options. Brissett has a ton of upside.
He has a rough start to the season against a Chargers defense that allowed the eighth-least fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks last year. While they will be without Derwin James, they get back Joey Bosa, who missed nine games in 2018. It may be hard for Brissett to start the season off well against such a formidable opponent. We have him ranked as a low-end QB2 option in large leagues and fantasy owners should look elsewhere if possible.
Fantasy Upside
The upside for Brissett is only there if Andrew Luck is not healthy again. He only had three games last season with 18+ fantasy points. He'd be strictly a 2QB league or streaming option if Luck were to be injured again.
Fantasy Downside
The downside is Brissett won't play a down this season. If he does, the downside is that he was not fantasy relevant in all but three of his games last season.
2018 Bottom Line
Brissett is not a quarterback to consider in drafts this season.
Week 17 vs. Houston Texans
Remember when these two teams were slugging it out for the AFC South crown in recent years? Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The Colts are actually a 5.5-point favorite in this game with a respectable implied team total in Vegas of more than 22 points. The Texans are also dead last in aFPA to QBs. Brissett almost hit 20 points in his last game against Houston, making him a viable streamer candidate for Week 17.
Week 16 at Baltimore Ravens
The Colts have the lowest implied team total in Vegas for Week 16 in this Saturday game against the Ravens on the road at 13.5 points. It's more than two full points lower than the next worst team. Plus, the Colts have averaged a brutal 12.6 points per game during their five-game losing streak. During that stretch, Jacoby Brissett has averaged less than 12 fantasy points per game, and now he faces a vicious Ravens defense. Stay away, even in two-quarterback leagues.
