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In fantasy football, owners often are quick to look for the boom or bust player. We’ve all been lured in by a player with potential of a high floor and a ceiling that is through the roof. When it works, it is great for your fantasy team. When it fails, we all feel like we should have known better. He may not be as flashy as Cordarrelle Patterson, or have the boom/bust potential of a Tavon Austin, but Kanas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith has quietly turned himself into a solid fantasy football player.
This season, Smith finished 15th in quarterback scoring (standard scoring), only four points behind Tom Brady, despite playing one less game. Smith scored well ahead of Robert Griffin III and Joe Flacco. He had a higher points per game average than Matt Ryan and Jay Cutler, and finished with 0.12 points per game less than Russell Wilson. Yet, he was only owned in 67 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Smith finished 2013 with 3,313 yards, 23 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. He also rushed for 431 yards, sixth most among quarterbacks. He had seven games where he scored over 20 fantasy points, and nine games with at least two touchdowns. The Chiefs’ defense may get all the attention, but Smith does have playmakers. Jamaal Charles is arguably the best non quarterback in the league, Dwayne Bowe showed this weekend that he has the skills to be a prime time receiver and Dexter McCluster made the Pro Bowl (as a special teamer, but the talent is there as a member of the offense).
But Smith can’t play under pressure right? This past weekend when the Chiefs traveled to take on the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC wild card round, Smith went 30-46 for 378 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and 57 yards rushing. He also did that without the services of Charles, who was lost early into the first quarter.
In shallow, one quarterback leagues, there are still a few quarterbacks that I would target ahead of Smith. I don’t love him as my starter, but I love him as a backup or bye week filler. In two quarterback leagues, Smith is a rock solid QB2. He may not have the flash of many big name quarterbacks, but he does have a few very good playmakers at his disposal in an offense that is suited to his strengths. He did very well in his first season under a new coach and a new system, and with the sting of an early playoff loss biting at him all summer, I wouldn’t be surprised if Smith works hard this offseason and returns to have another very quiet, yet solid 2014. He at least deserves your consideration when drafting your team.
As always, I welcome your comments. If you think I’m wrong, I’m willing to listen. Just back it up with some solid facts and solid evidence. Thanks for reading and good luck this season.
Dustin Manko is an author at www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustinManko, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to network on Google.
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