It would be of little comfort to the 4-9 Washington Commanders and their quarterback Sam Howell to learn that Howell is an extremely high-ranked fantasy football quarterback by some metrics. In the sometimes skewed universe of fantasy football, it turns out that Howell is, indeed, somewhat distinguished.
More on the particulars in a bit, but what brings up Howell and his place in fantasy football is that year after year, fantasy football owners see their leagues decided by some stellar late-round draft pick or an insightful mid-season pickup. Like Virginia sports betting, often the devil is in the details.
As the fantasy football world sprints to the finish line and to the fantasy playoffs, BetVirginia.com utilized FantasyData.com to look at the 2023 quarterbacks and how they rank in a standard point-per-reception league, and compared the quarterbacks’ performances to their respective average draft position (ADP).
In establishing a ranked order for quarterbacks, BetVirginia.com determined the difference between where a QB was drafted, on average, and where he sits at the moment based on 2023 statistics. As it turns out, Commanders’ QB Howell had the second greatest rank difference among NFL quarterbacks. So as the Commanders playoff chances become dire, the fanbase can at least hold out hope they may have found a gunslinger for the future.
Top 2023 Fantasy Football League Winners: Quarterback
Howell Among Top Fantasy QBs
Here’s what that means: Howell was drafted , on average, at No. 27 among all quarterbacks. However, his current fantasy rank is 5th among all quarterbacks (he’s averaging 18.2 fantasy points per game). The difference between where Howell was drafted, meaning 27th, and where he ranks in terms of fantasy performance (5th), gives him a “rank difference” of +22 spots.
The only quarterback who has a greater plus-difference in ranking (draft position vis-à -vis fantasy performance) is Houston’s C.J. Stroud, who was drafted, on average, at No. 28 among quarterbacks, and currently has a fantasy rank of 4th, for a ranking difference of +24 spots.
What helped propel Howell’s ranking in fantasy performance is that the Commanders have been behind in so many games, the quarterback has been forced to throw that ball an inordinate amount. Howell has thrown 40 or passes in eight games (50 passes in two of them). He has passed for 3,635 yards, 19 TDs and 15 interceptions, putting him fourth in total fantasy points, but with the asterisk that the Commanders are just having their bye this coming weekend.
Howell’s average fantasy points per game is also fairly good (19.3), which is seventh and tied with three other quarterbacks.
After Stroud and Howell, the No. 3 quarterback in “rank difference” is San Francisco’s Brock Purdy (+16 spots) followed by Green Bay’s Jordan Love (+15 spots), and Dallas’ Dak Prescott (+6 spots).
Stick with BetVirginia.com for more on the Commanders, such as: Commanders Rank Among Worst NFL Teams in December.
