Barring some sort of court ruling to overturn Monday's decision by a federal appeals court to reinstate Tom Brady's four-game suspension stemming from Deflategate, the quarterback will have to sit out for the first month of the 2016 season.
This means that third-year quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will be under center in games against the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills to open up the season.
Here's a look at how those defenses performed against quarterbacks from a fantasy aspect and whether this means Garoppolo should be considered a QB1 option early in the season.
AT- Arizona Cardinals
Arizona yielded the sixth-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks a season ago. It allowed 25 touchdowns while forcing 25 turnovers in the process. Now factor into the equation the addition of Chandler Jones from these very same Patriots, and the expectation here is that the Cardinals defense will take the next step in 2016. Right out of the gate, Garoppolo would find himself under the proverbial eight-ball right out of the gate.
VS- Miami Dolphins
New England's home opener comes against a Dolphins defense that gave up 31 touchdown passes while intercepting just 13 passes in the process. The loss of Brent Grimes to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is also going to hurt here. While it was with Brady under center, the Patriots did put up 36 points and 437 yards at home against the Dolphins last season. Looking ahead, this seems to be a pretty favorable matchup for the former second-round pick.
VS- Houston Texans
Houston allowed the third-fewest passing yards to quarterbacks a season ago and actually held Brady to just 226 passing yards in their meeting last December. This definitely doesn't bode well with Garoppolo's ability to do much in this one.
VS- Buffalo Bills
Middle of the pack against fantasy quarterbacks a season ago, the Bills' defense was absolutely dominated to the tune of 863 yards and 60 points in two games against Brady and Co. last year. While Garoppolo is obviously not of Brady's ilk, it's more than possible that he could perform at a high fantasy level in what would be the third consecutive home game to close out his stretch replacing the suspended Brady.