Jimmy Garoppolo Week 1 Outlook - Rams at Seahawks

By Derek Brown (FantasyPros), Sun, Sep 10th 2023, 12:05pm EDT

The new Raiders quarterback will maintain his role as the ultimate game manager in Sin City so don't expect him to melt faces in fantasy football anytime soon. Because by himself, Jimmy GQ - other than his handsome looks - doesn't have much to offer besides supporting others for fantasy football purposes. He was the QB21 in points per game (15.7) in 2022, which was one point more than his expected points per game output (14.7). Consider it the Kyle Shanahan effect. Garoppolo's 7.9 yards per attempt ranked fourth behind only Tua Tagovailoa, Patrick Mahomes, and 49ers' 7th-round pick, Brock Purdy. Garoppolo's efficiency numbers have been boosted substantially playing in the 49ers' offense, and that has never translated to consistent fantasy success. Jimmy G has never finished higher than fantasy QB14 and has played 16 games once in his entire NFL career. He is also going to need a group of receivers that can create yards after the catch after he led the NFL in YAC passing percentage (59%). But luckily for him, he has avoided the injury bug entering Week 1. And he has an underrated set of pass-catchers to throw to, highlighted by one of the NFL's best WRs in the game, Davante Adams. Still, the matchup on the road versus the Broncos is one that I would try to get away from starting Jimmy G. They own the 8th-lowest implied team total on the slate. When Derek Carr led this offense versus the Broncos last season, he posted one dud (11.5 fantasy points) followed by his second-best outing of the year (20.3 fantasy points). Garoppolo will probably end up somewhere in the middle, but likely play enough to support the Raiders skill players in our fantasy lineups.