Outlook: It’s hard to imagine a player rising and falling more quickly than San Francisco’s $114 Million man, Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick not only failed to live up to expectations under his new deal, but he even lost his starting job during the 2015 season. To make matters worse, he lost his job to another player who had previously flopped as a starter, Blaine Gabbert.

Kaepernick’s role now will almost certainly be as the primary backup despite his skill set arguably being more appropriate for the new 49ers offense under head coach Chip Kelly. While there is always the chance for an injury to Gabbert, Kaepernick should not be considered a draftable fantasy option at this time.

One potential thing to keep an eye on is the 49ers dealing Kaepernick to another team that could be dealing with an injury or extremely subpar play at the position prior to the trade deadline. The team reportedly tried to move him during the off-season and was unable to come to an agreement with a suitor, but that doesn’t mean that other teams won’t become more desperate as the season rolls on.

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Outlook: Andrew Luck had a poor fantasy showing in 2015 due to injuries and an underperforming team. Nonetheless, the team is confident he can lead them to a championship and inked him to the largest deal in the history of one of the wealthiest sports on the globe. But the question remains, can Indy’s face of the franchise return to the top of the quarterback rankings in 2016? In a relative down year, Luck’s 24.8 fantasy points per game paced him alongside Russell Wilson and Carson Palmer as a clear cut top ten performer. Those choosing to support a full rebound from Luck this year, will see an offense that isn’t fit to run the ball 30 times a game and quality options in the passing game. The interior line was reinforced when the team used its first round selection on the best center in the draft, Ryan Kelly. Simply put, the Colts will lean heavily on their quarterback’s arm and legs to put points on the board.

On the outside, T.Y. Hilton leads a receiving corps that is young and emerging as one of the most explosive and dangerous in the league. The largest knock on Luck from a fantasy perspective is simply the influx of other talented quarterbacks to provide elite production. The evolution of the passing game within today’s NFL has narrowed the gap between signal callers in the top three and those just outside of the top ten. The talent, scheme and weapons surrounding him give Luck a much higher ceiling than most fourth round draft picks so expect his ADP to rise slightly throughout the preseason.

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Outlook: Considered by many experts to be one of the biggest “project” quarterbacks in the 2016 draft class, Paxton Lynch found a nice landing spot in Denver, a city where he can grow and eventually be groomed into a starting quarterback role. Lynch does possess the type of raw physical talent that could make him a starting-level quarterback, but he fell in the draft primarily because so many teams viewed him as a player who wouldn’t be able to contribute to an NFL team right away. With that being the case, it would be extremely surprising to see Lynch step onto the field for the Broncos in Week 1 unless there were a string of injuries to the other quarterbacks on the roster.

That being said, if Lynch continues to develop his mechanics and accuracy while keeping his nose in the playbook, there’s still a possibility that he gets onto the field this season. Lynch isn’t a player to draft in redraft leagues and there are even a few better options at the quarterback position for those in rookie drafts, but the talent is there – keep an ear to the noise coming out of Denver throughout the season.

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Outlook: Eli Manning is coming off one of the best statistical seasons of his career, having thrived in offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s system the last two seasons. Manning’s success was a huge factor in McAdoo being named the team’s head coach after Tom Coughlin “resigned” from the position. McAdoo was hired by Coughlin after a successful stint as the Packers quarterback coach and runs an up-tempo gameplan – the Giants played at the second fastest pace in the league in 2015. His Packer version of the west coast based offense using short screens and slants, helped increase Manning’s efficiency across the board. The system also helped the offensive line, decreasing the time required to hold their blocks. Manning finished with over 4,400 passing yards for the second consecutive season and he threw for a career high 35 touchdown passes with only 14 interceptions in 2015. He has never been a great fantasy asset, but his steady production and ability to put together 16-game seasons on a yearly basis has always made him a safe bet to finish as a borderline fantasy QB1. Under McAdoo and with the emergence of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., Manning’s ceiling has been raised and upside remains even at age 35. The team’s o-line issues have been addressed through free agency and the draft during the last two seasons which can only further help the younger Manning. The Giants added another quick and explosive wide receiver, rookie Sterling Shepard, into the mix which is another factor in favor of Manning continuing his recent success. The veteran makes a nice target for those that like to wait and use a QBBC approach in redraft leagues.

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Outlook: Considering the lack of quality depth around him, Marcus Mariota had a good rookie year. The Titans have made it their goal to improve the supporting cast on offense and they’ve certainly made an effort at the running back position. The optimism is being fueled by the offense’s moniker of #ExoticSmashmouth and true battles are being played out at both the running back and wide receiver positions. The offensive line was helped by the No.8 pick in this year’s draft, Jack Conklin. He’s being deployed at right tackle while free agent acquisition Ben Jones is viewed as an upgrade at the Center position. On the outside, Tennessee added the dynamic Rishard Mathews to veteran Kendall Wright and developing Dorial Green-Beckham. The outlook for this trio is promising but somebody will need to step into a playmaking role in order for Mariota to emerge as a worthy fantasy starter. The improvements to the running game should also translate into more scoring drives and potentially less mistakes by the quarterback. As a result, it’s fair to project more consistency and a few more touchdowns out of Mariota’s sophomore campaign. Matt Cassel will take over for Matt Hasselbeck as the grizzled backup QB with diminishing skills. Cassel wasn’t very effective in eight games with Dallas last season and more of the same is to be expected if called upon this year.

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Outlook: McCown is seemingly the anti-RGIII. Quiet and unassuming, the journeyman quarterback entering his 13th season has seen plenty of ups and downs in his career. When healthy last year, McCown was pretty darn effective. He had some tremendous early season games, namely a three-game stretch during Weeks 3, 4 and 5 where he averaged 384 yards and 2 touchdowns a game. The numbers are even more impressive when you consider the receiving talent he was throwing to. Travis Benjamin and Gary Barnidge could very well have been names of servers at the local Applebee’s for anyone outside of Cleveland was concerned, but for a few games in 2015 McCown gave this offense and team a spark they lacked for most of their morbid season. As much of a gamer as McCown is, he just cannot stay healthy and at 37 doesn’t offer anything to Cleveland’s future, and make no mistake, this team is a long way away from being a contender.

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