I’ve been playing fantasy football for at least a decade, but I am only entering my third year of playing in dynasty leagues. Dynasty players know that it is a completely different world. If you are thin at a certain position, it can haunt your team for a couple of years, or it can cost you more than you want to pay on the trade market. This is especially true when it comes to the quarterback position.
For my first ever dynasty squad, I drafted Andrew Luck and Alex Smith and I was pretty excited for next half decade that we were going to spend together. As we know, neither of these panned out like I had planned. Last season, I got Tom Brady and Joe Flacco for super cheap and already had Jacoby Brissett as a handcuff and now I’m left with Tom Brady and on the market for one of these rookie QBs. One could argue that quarterback may not be the most important position in fantasy football, but it can be the most detrimental to your fantasy team because the volume of talent is more limited than other positions. So here is how I view this rookie class.
If You Need A QB for 2020
Joe Burrow is the only answer. After the Bengals let go of Andy Dalton, Joe Burrow is locked and loaded to be the week 1 starter in Cincinnati. He is presumably surrounded by A.J. Green, Tyler Boyd, and Tee Higgins. Auden Tate is also not a terrible WR4 to have. The Bengals had a good draft, it’s going to be hard to find someone to argue that, but they didn’t draft an offensive lineman until the 6th round. There were simply more holes to fill than they had draft picks. It’s still confusing that there was a lack of urgency in finding line protection in this draft. One thing that I loved watching from Burrow at LSU was his ability to maneuver the pocket and escape trouble. It was especially evident in the National Championship against a balanced Clemson defense. I think that Burrow is a fine fantasy producer right away.
If you’re fine for 2020, but should address QB soon
Joe Burrow also obviously fits into this category as well, but I love Tua Tagovailoa. He is so damn talented and the I love what the Dolphins have going on in the upcoming years. 2020 is going to be a struggle and the Dolphins are clearly going to be really careful with Tua. Especially without them being able to work closely with him because of everything going on.
The injury history is a concern, but I believe that he has the highest upside out of all of the QBs drafted. His arm is a damn fine specimen. Tua is also a great decision maker in the pocket and makes great throws. He obviously had the best talent around him in college and there isn’t a vast history of successful Alabama quarterback but I believe that Tua has it all and I’ll take on the risk of his injury history.
Justin Herbert is not a bad consolation prize if you can’t get Burrow or Tagovailoa. Herbert isn’t afraid to throw into traffic and they are good throws too. He’s very decisive. I’m just not terribly excited about the future of the team around him. Keenan Allen, Austin Ekeler, and Hunter Henry are fine but I personally think Anthony Lynn and the front office suck. That’s half of the battle.
Flyers for the Future
Jordan Love to Green Bay is actually something that I can get behind. It was a terrible draft pick for Green Bay from a competing in 2020 stand point, but Jordan learning under Aaron Rodgers for the next 2-3 years is good for his dynasty stock and makes him dirt cheap in rookie drafts. Even though Love struggled his senior season for a gutted Utah State offense, he did well at the combine.
Jalen Hurts to the Eagles is another situation where a team used a premium draft slot, but ignored immediate need. But this should be a good landing spot for Hurts who won’t be needed right away. The Eagles clearly aren’t sold Carson Wentz carrying the franchise and that’s probably because of his lengthy injury history since entering the league. Jalen definitely needs time to process the game at the next level. He’s a one read guy and that won’t fly in the NFL.
Indianapolis was also a great spot for Jacob Eason to learn under Philip Rivers. The draft cost was cheap and the upside is there. Eason has a big arm to go along with his limited experience so the time on the side lines is necessary. I’d probably draft Eason over Hurts in dynasty formats.
