Is Quarterback an age sensitive position now? | Yahoo Fantasy Football Forecast
Yahoo Sports' Scott Pianowski and Matt Harmon discuss how the QB position has changed over the years, including the importance of mobility in today's NFL.
Video Transcript
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SCOTT PIANOWSKI: We generally think of quarterback as being the least age sensitive of the four major positions. But look how much the-- and we haven't talked about Herbert yet. Lawrence, of course, entering his third season. We'll see if they ever do anything with Trey Lance in San Francisco. Fields mostly through his legs was a good fantasy player last year.
Two years ago Rodgers wins MVP. Brady could have won MVP. Stafford won the championship with the Rams and had a great season with Cooper Kupp. And it kind of reinforced, oh yeah, these quarterbacks can play forever into their mid 30s, late 30s. Brady's in his 40s. And then the year after it just all these guys in their 30s and late 30s. And then Brady took a step back and everything. And it really-- I thought Rodgers had a really mediocre season and maybe didn't get it enough tax for that, to the point they couldn't even beat the Lions in the final week of the season to make the playoffs.
Is there a point where we have to-- is quarterback in a sensitive position now? Because I feel like for years it wasn't. And even-- I don't want to be too reactionary here, because we were doing the show 12 months ago it would have been like, oh yeah, these old guys are fine. Maybe the old guys aren't fine anymore. Where do you stand on that?
MATT HARMON: I think they are not fine because of the lack of mobility. And I'm not talking about being able to run like 100 times in a year for 600 yards or 700 yards like a guy like Jalen Hurts or Justin Fields or anything like that. But you definitely watch Rodgers right now. Like I think Rodgers can make all of the throws. Like I don't think he's lost arm strength, but I think where he's really lost his fastball is as a runner. Like his ability to create in a pocket. Certainly Brady, like that guy didn't want to take any hits last year.
You know that like-- and Brady was always the guy that would stay in the pocket and like step up, right? Like constantly be blind to pressure. That was not the case in 2022. And Stafford obviously when the ecosystem went to hell, so did like any chance that he was going to pass along with it. I think that's, again, I sort of bringing back to the point I said earlier about these guys, like the pocket statue guys like Brady. If they're not going to bring any juice as a runner, they almost have to be in like flawless situations.
I don't think the Bucs were a flawless situation. They were probably the best of the three I'm about to say, but they certainly had their issues as an ecosystem. The Packers obviously had issues on the offensive line and in the receiver corps. And the Rams had issues everywhere. So like these guys who are-- those three players that you just mentioned there Brady, Rodgers, Stafford, like if everything around them is great, I think that they can be elevated in fantasy along with it.
But if they're not, then they're going to at best I think be QB seven like Kirk Cousins, who we'll talk about later, who didn't have a flawless situation. They had offensive line issues. I think he was the most hit quarterback in the NFL. But yeah, to me if guys are going to be in that latter stage of their career and their mobility not from a rushing standpoint, from a pocket mobility standpoint is going to be severely compromised, then I think you need to have everything right around them. And getting everything right around a quarterback at this point is really difficult.