Jacoby Brissett, TY Hilton Fantasy Outlook After Andrew Luck Retirement

Andrew Luck retiring from the NFL at 29 years old, as he did in a press conference Saturday night, seems like a fantasy.

But that part is real, and now fantasy owners have to re-evaluate what the Indianapolis Colts offense will provide in 2019-20 with Jacoby Brissett under center as the starter.

Luck, picked No. 1 overall by the Colts in 2012, has been out of commission since straining his calf during offseason training. That injury developed into a more serious high-ankle sprain, Colts general manager Chris Ballard disclosed to reporters on Aug. 13. As a result, Brissett has been taking first-team reps.

Brissett is familiar with Indianapolis prior to this season, too. The 26-year-old played all of 2017 in Luck's place while he dealt with a shoulder injury. Brissett posted 3,098 yards, 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions that season. T.Y. Hilton led all receivers on the team at 966 yards and four touchdowns.

As the full-time starter in 2017, according to NFL.com, Brissett's 205.92 fantasy points ranked 20th among quarterbacks. Hilton was the 27th highest-scoring receiver at 175.60 points.

Entering this season, prior to Luck's announcement, ESPN categorized Hilton as a "fringe WR1" projected to score 163.2 fantasy points. Given the 29-year-old's familiarity with Brissett, there's reason to believe that evaluation can still hold.

In November 2017, ESPN's Louis Riddick—a former NFL front office executive—tweeted, "The more I watch Jacoby Brissett, the more I think the #Colts are lucky as &$@! the #Patriots traded him to them. He will be a star."

Riddick quoted that tweet up Saturday night with, "So it begins....," which came after he praised Brissett during the Colts' Week 2 preseason matchup with the Cleveland Browns:

While Riddick believes Brissett is capable of playing at a high level and winning football games for the Colts, the safest way to use him in fantasy remains as a streamer for favorable matchups, according to CBS' Fantasy Football Today.

Indianapolis opens the 2019 regular season at the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 8.