Fantasy Football: Derek Carr Retires

Fantasy Football: Derek Carr Retires

Happy Saturday. I highly doubt this is the first thing that people had on their bingo card today, but as fantasy football managers, we can only deal with the cards we’re dealt. In case you missed it, Derek Carr announced his retirement, so let’s dive into all of the fantasy football angles for how you should act accordingly.

Tyler Shough is the guy, and that’s no longer arguable. If you want to check out the profile I did on the former Louisville quarterback, you can see that here.

Let’s just be real about it. Jake Haener is barely NFL backup level talent, and Spencer Rattler has a ten-cent head and is never going to become franchise quarterback material. I think we saw plenty from Rattler last year to know that’s never going to be an actual thing. This is Shough’s job.

Call me crazy… but I actually think Shough might even be an upgrade over what Carr would have given the Saints this past year. Carr is clearly a shell of himself and probably made a great call to retire. The injuries have piled up, and he was starting to become a checkdown monster. Shough is 6-foot-5, with real arm talent. I don’t care what anybody says. He was the best quarterback at the Senior Bowl, and it really wasn’t close.

If you’re in a league where fantasy managers are looking to sell guys like Rashid Shaheed and or Chris Olave after this news on a discount, take this as an opportunity to buy them. There’s a chance this offense is sneaky appealing in fantasy for a number of reasons beyond what I already mentioned.

Unlike Max Pacioretty, Derek Carr Has Class

A: Shough is ready to play. He’s going to be 26 in September. This isn’t a typical rookie taking over. There’s a decent chance he puts up real numbers beyond what a typical rookie does.

B: Kellen Moore is taking over. A former quarterback who finally gets to run the ship the way he wants to. Last year, he was forced to run the hell out of the ball in Philadelphia based on the personnel. You already know he’s dying to sling that puppy around this year. By the way, the Saints don’t even have a real running back. Even their running back is really a receiving back.

It sure looks like it’s going to be a high passing volume attack. In superflex leagues, Shough might have some real value, at least in the short term. The targets are also buys for me based on the fact that it doesn’t seem like anyone wants them. Let’s not forget about the fact that this is the NFC South. A division that plays less defense than anyone, where shootouts are going to be on the table. New Orleans isn’t exactly going to be a team that can sit on leads and run the clock out if you catch my drift.

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