Philip Rivers

Week 4 at Miami Dolphins

Philip Rivers attempted a season-high 46 passes against the Texans. He was 31/46 for 318 yards, two touchdowns, and finished as the Week 3 QB13. Through three games, his target share to Keenan Allen is 37%, Ekeler is second with 17%, and Mike Williams is third with 13%. Hunter Henry was omitted because he did not play in Week 2 or 3 due to a tibial plateau fracture.

Rivers will look to turn in a QB1 performance against the truly awful Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins defense is well below average as shown by our signature schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed metric that has them ranked eighth-worst against quarterbacks. 4for4 rankings expert John Paulsen has Rivers ranked as the QB8. In general, Rivers does not present with the upside to finish as a top 5 quarterback but this is not the case with a matchup against the Dolphins. He is a good streaming option in season-long leagues and a good daily fantasy tournament stack with Keenan Allen.

Week 2 at Detroit Lions

Philip Rivers had a sneaky good start to the fantasy season and led the Chargers to an overtime victory against the Colts. He threw for 333 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and finished as the QB10 in standard-scoring leagues. Rivers continued his trademark style of throwing short passes, as shown by throwing the tenth lowest average depth of target in Week 1 per NFL Next Gen Stats. However, his style was successful against the Colts who ran a zone heavy scheme.

Rivers was able to put up good numbers despite a poor performance from his offensive line, who gave up four sacks and nine hits. The Lions defensive line is better than the Colts and Rivers could find himself under a lot of pressure. This could cause him to lean heavily on Austin Ekeler and Keenan Allen who are reliable short-yardage targets and can act as a release valve. Hunter Henry would also help alleviate pressure but he suffered a tibial plateau fracture and will miss at least 4-6 weeks. In addition to Henry, Rivers might be missing his deep threat target, Mike Williams. Williams is currently questionable and trending towards missing Week 2. Rivers is a mid to low end QB2 this week.

Fantasy Upside
What's not to like here? As ClutchPoints.com noted, Philip Rivers is coming off a terrific 2018 campaign in which he threw for 4,308 yards, 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 68.3% of his passes and registering a passer rating of 105.5 en route to a Pro Bowl appearance. The 37-year-old is entering his 16th NFL season, but doesn't seem to be showing any signs of slowing down after earning Pro Bowl selections in each of the last three years. Since Rivers became a full-time starter for the Bolts back in 2006, he has made eight trips to the Pro Bowl. From a fantasy perspective, Rivers benefits from a strong offensive line, a deep group of sure-handed running backs led by Melvin Gordon, a receiving corps featuring the uber-consistent Keenan Allen and upside in the form of Mike Williams, a potential talent on the rise, and tight end Hunter Henry, who should again be healthy after sitting out last season with a torn ACL.

Fantasy Downside
The downside here is minimal. Are we concerned about a possible Gordon contract holdout? The Chargers won four games without him last year. Are we worried that Henry's return might be slower than hoped? Henry's absence was a non-issue last season. Tyrell Williams' free-agent defection to Oakland? Mike Williams appears to be the answer there.

2019 Bottom Line
Rivers consistently outperforms his fantasy draft position, which makes him a QB2 capable of cracking your starting lineup on any given week. If you're of a mind to jump a little early on one of the more athletic, less-proven QBs, Rivers is the ideal insurance policy.