2013 Fantasy Football Players to Avoid: Average Joe Flacco

Drafting a quarterback in your fantasy football draft can be tricky, especially if his name isn’t Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady or Drew Brees.

That said, after the Big Three, the next line of quarterbacks could be anyone’s guess, and determining which round to select them is the difficult part. But the fun part is finding that late-round gem, the one quarterback on the verge of a true breakout season.

In 2011, Matthew Stafford had an average draft position (ADP) of 98 and made fantasy owners cringe for passing on him after he recorded 5,000+ passing yards and threw 41 touchdowns last season. This year, Robert Griffin III, whose ADP was 83, took the NFL universe by storm as he finished the fantasy season as the league’s fifth-ranked quarterback (despite missing one game due to injury).

However, as we prepare for the 2013 fantasy football season, one thing is for certain, and that’s avoiding Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco at all costs.

The media raved about Flacco and the new Ravens’ offensive identity in the no-huddle system throughout the preseason. The team was finally expected to transition from a run-heavy approach to a more up-tempo, pass-happy offense under the leadership of Flacco with vertical threat Torrey Smith and possession receiver Anquan Boldin at his disposal. But it seemed like we only saw a glimpse of that early in the season before Flacco seemed to fall flat on his face.

Particularly on the road, Flacco proved that he isn’t quite ready to cross over into the second-tier group of quarterbacks, averaging a meager 10.77 fantasy points per road contest as opposed to 19.76 points at home.

The Ravens mediocre play earned OC Cam Cameron his walking papers midway through the season after leading the offense to a 9-4 record and a rank of just 18 in total offense.

Don’t get me wrong, there are many positives in the Ravens offense that make Flacco an intriguing option. However, until Smith can prove to be a more consistent option in the passing game and the offense finds creative ways to get RB Ray Rice and TE Dennis Pitta more involved, then Flacco won’t be anything more than a low-end QB2 in 2013.