Shuffle Up: Who is Nick Foles?

Welcome, or welcome back, to another season of NFL Shuffle Ups. We'll start with a modest little preamble, as these things often do.

The assignment of a Shuffle Up is to get a read on rest-of-season value. You can use these lists to judge your roster, consider trades and pickups, or simply to enjoy a good-old-fashioned debate.

[Join FanDuel's $1.25 million, 1-week fantasy league: $25 to enter; top 11,490 teams get paid]

A few rules of thumb:

-- These are NOT weekly ranks. If you want the Week 3 ranking story, click over here.

-- The ranks are, of course, fantasy-driven. There will always be a disconnect between real-life and fake-game value.

-- The ranks consider what's happened to this point, but they're not mere listings of what's already happened. If you want the list of scoring leaders to this point in the season, there are several places you can find them.

-- I'll use dollar figures to tier and rank the players within a position, but the numbers are merely a prop to show the (rough) differences in value. There's no formula here, no base budget I'm working on. I'm just looking for a way to show you that I view Brees and Manning as even, say, but I think they have a level up on Luck and Ryan.

-- Also note that I work on each position independently, and I'm not looking to have the prices make sense in an overall rank. Should you trade Russell Wilson for Jeremy Maclin? There are a slew of factors that go into a decision like that, and it would be silly to try to provide an answer key. Let's stick with apples to apples, oranges to oranges.

-- The quarterbacks and wide receivers will get their Shuffle Up run during the odd-numbered weeks. I'll work on the running backs and tight ends in the even weeks. Kickers and defenses? Come on, you should be streaming them. (And of course, we rank them every week, one game at a time, elsewhere on the site.)

One reason I only rank two positions a week is because I want to do this exercise from scratch each time. I don't look back on old rankings, tweak a few things and move on. I put a lot of time into the assignment. These pieces generate plenty of disagreement, but it won't be for a lack of consideration.

-- Understand that context will determine value in so many cases. Geno Smith could be pretty valuable in a two-quarterback league, but in a one-quarterback pool you might prefer Johnny Manziel's upside (even though he's not starting at the current time). Josh Gordon might be worth the stash in a deep-bench league, but a guy to drop in a thin-bench league. You get the point. To some extent, one size will never fit all. You will need to season to your own tastes and needs.

-- I'm doing these ranks assuming a non-PPR format; there are obvious adjustments to be made if you want to have them fit the PPR world.

-- We're going to disagree on some stuff, you and I. That's why we have a game. If you want another Yahoo view of the big picture, consider Brandon Funston's Big Board. As always, you should listen to every opinion you respect, but make your own final decisions.

-- I reserve the right to tweak this list over the next day or so. Win the debate, win the rank.

Enough words, let's get into it.

Quarterback
$30 Aaron Rodgers
$29 Drew Brees
$29 Peyton Manning
$26 Andrew Luck
$25 Matt Ryan
$24 Nick Foles

No one thinks Foles is the grand prix master of the NFL. But he might have the fastest car.

He can be a difficult watch at times. Mechanics will break down, accuracy will come and go, he's awkward with some of his pocket movement and scrambling. But look at all those fun weapons, the diversity of targets he's working with. Look at the pace of Philly's offense. Look at the creative ways Chip Kelly uses all the different toys. What quarterback wouldn't want to play in this system? What good quarterback - and I'm confident Foles is a good QB, albeit maybe not a great one - wouldn't thrive in this system?

I'm a believer. It feels a little odd that Foles is on zero of my teams, because I would have paid in August, too. Hey, you can't take everyone. But I think he has a very high floor.

$23 Matthew Stafford
$21 Russell Wilson
$21 Cam Newton
$20 Jay Cutler
$18 Colin Kaepernick
$18 Philip Rivers
$18 Tom Brady
$16 Tony Romo
$15 Ben Roethlisberger
$13 Andy Dalton
$11 Carson Palmer
$10 Geno Smith
$10 Ryan Tannehill

I didn't rank Brady very optimistically in the summer, and I basically avoided him in most drafts. It's a deep position, why gamble if you're not sure? But I was caught when the music stopped in the Stopa 10K League (a 1.5-QB format), so now Brady is my concern, too.

If you're convinced Rob Gronkowski is going to tear up the league soon, you should feel fine about Brady. I am not comfortable making that assumption, as you're probably aware of by now.

I'm a Julian Edelman fan, but he is what he is - a slot guy, a possession target. Maybe Aaron Dobson will develop into a reliable deep threat, though Brady hasn't thrown a consistent deep ball for a while. The defense and ground game could carry New England to some easy wins, like last week in Minnesota (when Brady wasn't asked to do much). But New England plays its share of heavy opponents, too.

If you own Brady, now is not the time to move him. You need to wait until public confidence makes a strong rebounds. I'd love to find that window later this year, but for now, I have to wait it out like anyone else.

New York's Smith is one of the more improved and underrated quarterbacks around the league, a remarkable thing when you consider the media market he plays in. The Jets don't have a bunch of toys for him to work with, but Eric Decker is a notable upgrade over any target they had last year. And Smith's willingness to run, especially around the goal, makes up for much of what he lacks in passing volume.

$9 Joe Flacco
$8 Alex Smith
$8 Kirk Cousins
$7 Josh McCown
$7 Jake Locker
$6 EJ Manuel
$4 Eli Manning

So much of quality QB play is avoiding mistakes, something Eli Manning seems incapable of doing these days. After 27 picks last year, he already has four this season. I know, I know - sometimes it's the line's fault, sometimes it's a receiver mistake, sometimes the defense simply makes a terrific play. That all counts on some level. But when you're throwing this many picks, compiling a piddly YPA (6.1 this year), and completing a mediocre percentage of passes, the critics should have a field day.

Manning obviously has two Super Bowl rings, and he was an elite regular-season passer in 2009 and 2011. Other than that, his resume shows a lot of pedestrian performance, play close to average. If you look away from his two best seasons, you never find a QB rating index (100 is average) over 104. His career rating index is 97 - that's lower than league average for his era. I don't like Manning's fit for New York's new offense (I also don't trust OC Ben McAdoo), and I don't think he'll ever be a star again. (And no, it's certainly nothing personal. I'm just in it for the numbers, like you are.)

$3 Ryan Fitzpatrick
$3 Derek Carr
$2 Matt Cassel
$2 Brian Hoyer
$1 Johnny Manziel
$1 Blake Bortles
$1 Shaun Hill
$1 Teddy Bridgewater
$1 Jimmy Clausen
$1 Mark Sanchez
$0 Chad Henne
$0 Austin Davis
$0 Michael Vick
$0 Derek Anderson
$0 Robert Griffin III
$0 Drew Stanton
$0 Kyle Orton
$0 Zach Mettenberger

I broke down every Jacksonville sack allowed in Week 2's loss at Washington (10 that counted, one more erased by penalty), just to see how badly Henne and the offensive line were playing. Verdict: I put two-thirds of the sack exchange on the quarterback, and one-third of the blame on the line.

Henne's pocket awareness was dreadful, and several of the sacks could have been avoided with a quicker decision or smarter navigation. Henne normally isn't that bad - he wouldn't be in the NFL if he were - but I think the OL problems in Jacksonville are getting somewhat overblown. Henne and Toby Gerhart are making the blockers look worse than they really are. (To be fair, Henne did have a sure long touchdown dropped by Allen Hurns, and too many of Jacksonville's plays at Washington were slow in developing, set up to collapse.)

And yes, like you, I can't wait to see Blake Bortles.

If you trust the offensive designer, you're intrigued by what a backup might do. So if Foles or Cutler fall into an injury this season, I suspect there will be some curiosity jostling for Jimmy Clausen or Mark Sanchez. Yes, those QBs were absolute flops on other teams, but look at their loaded environments now.

Clip and save. We'll cross these bridges when we come to them. Both backups looked good in the preseason, for whatever that may mean to you.

Wide Receiver

$35 Calvin Johnson
$34 Demaryius Thomas
$33 Jordy Nelson
$32 Julio Jones
$31 Antonio Brown
$31 Brandon Marshall
$30 Dez Bryant
$30 A.J. Green

If Green were 100 percent healthy, he'd be bumped up a few bucks. On Bryant, I worry about Tony Romo's wonky back - and his ongoing problems throwing the ball deep. It's not too deep a worry, Bryant still has a lofty number. But that's why he's not a little higher.

$29 Randall Cobb
$27 Keenan Allen
$26 Alshon Jeffery
$25 Percy Harvin
$25 Cordarrelle Patterson
$24 Vincent Jackson
$22 Michael Floyd
$22 Mike Wallace
$21 Roddy White
$21 Julian Edelman
$20 Jeremy Maclin
$19 Michael Crabtree
$17 Emmanuel Sanders
$17 Kelvin Benjamin
$17 Andre Johnson
$17 Larry Fitzgerald
$17 Pierre Garcon

Allen hasn't done much yet, but look at the schedule and the opponents (Arizona, Seattle). It's an excused absence. I'm all for Antonio Gates (a walk-in Hall of Famer), but 34-year-old tight ends will regress at some point in-season. Allen can run the entire route tree and he has a terrific connection with Rivers, too - good times aren't far off. I urge you to stay the course with Allen if you have him, and explore a trade for him if you don't.

Cam Newton never had a strong connection with Steve Smith, but he's already singing the praises of Benjamin, his rookie wideout. I wasn't sold on Benjamin as a clear No. 1 target in the summer, but I've done a 180. His body control is elite, and he's capable of making contested catches (witness his ridiculous touchdown grab in Week 1, coming despite a defensive pass interference penalty). In short, he's one of those players who's open even when he's not open. Newton and the Panthers passing game are going to be fine.

$16 Brandin Cooks
$15 Golden Tate
$14 Sammy Watkins
$13 DeSean Jackson
$13 Eric Decker
$12 Torrey Smith
$11 Marques Colston
$11 Victor Cruz
$11 T.Y. Hilton
$11 Wes Welker
$11 Terrance Williams
$11 Brian Quick
$10 Steve Smith Sr
$10 Mike Evans
$10 Reggie Wayne
$10 DeAndre Hopkins

It's lovely to have Welker back with the Broncos, but keep in mind he's 33 and coming off a host of concussions over the last calendar year. I don't consider him as a good bet to play a full season, and I'd like to see one solid game on the field before I view him as a weekly play, even in leagues that use three or more wideouts. Until that show-me game, I'm going to rank Welker conservatively on a weekly basis.

I can't remember a talented wideout who shied away from contact more than DeSean Jackson . . . Quick has to deal with the spotty Rams quarterbacks (not to mention the whims of OC Brian Schottenheimer), but at least he's separated himself from yearly disappointments like Kenny Britt and Tavon Austin . . . Baltimore's Smith Sr. has more left in the tank than I think anyone expected, but again, look at the birth certificate. He's 35, amigos. Meanwhile, Torrey Smith is 10 years younger, three inches taller, and coming off a snappy 1128-yard season. He didn't forget how to play football over two weeks. The Torrey pricetag is tumbling down (surely lower than I've marked it), take advantage.

$9 Andrew Hawkins
$9 Markus Wheaton
$8 Greg Jennings
$8 Kendall Wright
$8 James Jones
$7 Anquan Boldin
$7 Justin Hunter
$6 Dwayne Bowe
$6 Rueben Randle
$5 Davante Adams
$4 Allen Hurns
$4 Hakeem Nicks
$4 Mohamed Sanu
$3 Riley Cooper
$3 Marqise Lee
$3 Doug Baldwin
$3 Robert Woods
$3 Aaron Dobson
$3 Cecil Shorts III
$3 Harry Douglas

The Packers can definitely support a third wideout (especially with their tight ends off to slow starts), and Adams is the guy to get over Boykin . . . Jones has scored in two straight weeks, and at least the Raiders are letting Carr thrown the ball. Being the only show in town has a nifty value . . . Randle might forever be a better athlete than football player. He hasn't responded well to coaching, or hasn't been coached very well, since he turned pro . . . Jake Locker's messy Week 2 was in truth one awful half and one reasonable half. I'm not giving up on Hunter's breakthrough potential yet.

$2 Jordan Matthews
$2 Malcom Floyd
$2 Jermaine Kearse
$2 Jarrett Boykin
$2 Jeremy Kerley
$2 John Brown
$2 Marvin Jones
$2 Allen Robinson
$2 Kenny Stills
$2 Kenny Britt
$1 Andre Caldwell
$1 Andre Roberts
$1 Nate Washington
$1 Brian Hartline
$1 Jerricho Cotchery
$1 Miles Austin
$1 Donnie Avery
$1 Devin Hester
$1 Josh Gordon
$0 Donte Moncrief