The New England Patriots find themselves in a conundrum of their own doing as they are playing QB musical chairs now with the benching of Mac Jones for Bailey Zappe. Will Zappe be the starting QB for New England moving forward? If so, what is the fantasy football impact of this potential QB change?
Fantasy Impact of Mac Jones Being Benched
Bailey Zappe, QB
In Zappe’s spot starts last season, we saw decent fantasy production from the rookie QB, which made it an interesting decision to go back to Jones when he was fully healthy. However, since that point, the glimpses of Zappe in the starting lineup have not been encouraging.
After completing 70% of his passes for 781 yards, five passing touchdowns, and three interceptions in 2022, Zappe has completed well under 50% of his pass attempts in spot relief of Jones here this season and has not looked the part of a starting NFL QB.
After Jones’ late-game benching in Week 10, Zappe figures to be the starting option for the Patriots in Week 12 against the New York Giants after their bye week. However, the week off could give New England time to hunt around the free agent QB market and potentially bring in someone like Colt McCoy — or even look at Malik Cunningham.
Rhamondre Stevenson, RB
Rhamondre Stevenson was a bit of a fantasy disappointment to begin the season, but he’s been a solid option over the past couple of weeks as New England looks to get the ball out of Jones’ hands and lean on their run game.
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Stevenson got a bit banged up during Week 10’s matchup against the Colts in Germany. Consequently, we may not get much clarity on the severity of the injury as the Patriots head into their bye week.
Regardless of who is at QB though, whether it’s Zappe or a free agent solution, Stevenson’s fantasy outlook remains essentially the same. He’s a volume option for fantasy that shares work with Ezekiel Elliott in the backfield of a poor offense with questionable QB play.
Demario Douglas, WR
Demario Douglas has been the lone bright spot on offense this season for the Patriots as they’ve had a revolving door at WR due to injuries and the shifty playmaker has emerged as a reliable receiving threat.
He’s done this despite poor QB play, which is a good indicator that his fantasy production should be here to stay regardless of who the Patriots deploy at QB in Week 12. The only concern for Douglas’ production moving forward would be if Cunningham gets the nod as the starting QB, which would dramatically lower the floor for Douglas as a receiver.
Cunningham’s rushing ability — and lack of passing refinement — would likely cause the Patriots to lean on the run game even more. Douglas would need to absolutely dominate the target share to remain fantasy-relevant.
As long as it’s Zappe under center, Douglas should remain a solid low-end WR3 that has a low ceiling due to the state of the offense.
Hunter Henry, TE
Hunter Henry has worked his way into the TE streaming conversation again after falling off from a solid start to the year. But he’s simply a touchdown-or-bust option at this point. Jones had the opportunity to find Henry in the back of the end zone in Week 10, but he missed a solid chance to put up six points on the board with an errant throw.
There’s the possibility that Zappe connects with Henry on those types of opportunities more week in and week out moving forward. However, it’s probably best to let Henry sit on your waiver wire unless we see a significant spark from this offense in Week 12 or you’re in an absolute pinch.
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