What a time to be alive! 2020 has brought us pandemics, protests, rioting, looting and working from home in your underwear. You can cut the country’s social tension with that frosting spatula you’ve been using to itch your back. But whether you’re black, white, brown or cartoon, there’s one force with the power to unite us all:Â 2020 fantasy football rankings! Who’s with me? *crickets* Alright, maybe I got a little overexcited. It’s been awhile since I’ve had any human contact. Forget about six feet, I’m not allow to get within 300 feet of my girlfriend, Kerryon. But enough about the sad life of a donkey in love, here’s my top 10 quarterbacks for 2020 fantasy football:
Tier 1
1. Patrick Mahomes – It’s easy to forget that Mahomes was far from 100% last year, even before he missed two games with the knee injury. Would Mahomes have thrown 200 touchdowns last year (as I predicted) had he not been injured for a good chunk of the season? Most likely. A lot of fantasy football “experts” will tell you not to draft a top quarterback. Well I’m more of a fantasy football incompetent than expert, and I’m here to tell you, keep an open mind regarding top quarterbacks. We all know how many fantasy teams were carried to the glory hole by Mahomes and Jackson over the past two seasons. Late round QB advocates will point to the fact that those two were drafted after pick 100 in most leagues which is why they were so valuable, and those pundits aren’t wrong. But their seasons would’ve been incredibly valuable even if you’d drafted them in the 3rd round and they still would’ve carried plenty of teams to fantasy titles. These tier 1 QBs will fall to the 3rd round in tons of “sharp” leagues, be sure keep an open mind.Â
2020 Projection:Â 4,400 passing yards, 40 passing touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 205 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns in 15 games.
4pt Pass TD Pts: 355  / 23.6 ppg | 6pt pass TD Pts: 435 / 29 ppg
2. Lamar Jackson – Some of us went to bat for Lamar Jackson early last summer while the angry mob was busy shaming his arm:
Those people fading Lamar Jackson all off-season with start changing their tune soon enough, wait for it. https://t.co/VWuSudbsju
— DonkeyTeeth (@DonkeyTeeth87) July 30, 2019
Have to keep those receipts, people. Don’t look back at where I ranked Baker Mayfield last year though. Anyway, can LJax repeat his legendary 2020 season? It’d be silly not to expect at least a little regression, but even taking 15% off the top he can be a league winner. Jackson will run wild for years to come.
2020 Projection:Â 2,915 passing yards, 32 passing touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 1,000 rushing yards, 5 rushing touchdowns in 14 games.
4pt Pass TD Pts: 359  / 25.6 ppg | 6pt pass TD Pts: 423 / 30.2 ppg
Tier 2
3. Kyler Murray – I owned one of Jackson, Murray or Mahomes in every league last year. Public perception seems to be that Murray was a bit of a bust, but he was actually the #8 fantasy QB in his rookie 2019 season. He was often running for his life behind a poor offensive line—his 48 sacks taken tied for the top mark in the league—and while their O-line will likely be subpar onceagain this year, at least they spent a 3rd round draft pick on OT Josh Jones who should slide in at right tackle. With DeAndre Hopkins now at his beck and call, plus explosive speed that approaches Lamar Jackson territory, expect a Deshaun Watson 2018 type season this year with upside for more.Â
2020 Projection:Â 4,000 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, 9 interceptions, 600 rushing yards, 4 rushing touchdowns in 15 games.
4pt Pass TD Pts: 334  / 22.3 ppg | 6pt pass TD Pts: 388 / 25.9 ppg
4. Russell Wilson – At 31 years old, Wilson is approaching the age where you expect running QBs to slow down and donkey’s to lose their hair. But Russ has a great head of hair and doesn’t appear to have lost a step. There’s little reason to believe he won’t post 300+ rushing yards yet again while playing his standard 16 games. Wilson has also thrown an impressive 30+ touchdowns in three consecutive seasons and now has the freak, D.K. Metcalf, ready to take a leap forward in his second season. Â
2020 Projection:4,000 passing yards, 32 passing touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 350 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns in 16 games.
4pt Pass TD Pts: 321  / 20.1 ppg | 6pt pass TD Pts: 385 / 24.1 ppg
Tier 3
5. Deshaun Watson – How will Hopkins’ departure affect Watson in 2020? Remember when Pippen sat out that half season due to injury/contract dispute? The Last Dance reminded me just how much MJ and the Bulls struggled during that period. Unfortunately Nuk won’t be returning to save the day halfway thru the season unless Bill O’Brien decides to give away all the Texans drafts picks for the rest of the decade. Actually that’d be one of BOB’s better trades. Anyway, point is this isn’t great for Watson, but he still has his legs and we might see a little uptick in his running with the star receiver gone. Don’t let him fall too far at your draft.
2020 Projection:Â 3,750 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 470 rushing yards, 5 rushing touchdowns in 15 games.
4pt Pass TD Pts: 307  / 20.5 ppg | 6pt pass TD Pts: 357 / 23.8 ppg
6. Josh Allen – Call him Rodney because Allen don’t get no respect. His #6 fantasy QB season in 2019 was bolstered by his 9 rushing touchdowns which can’t be relied on moving forward, although he did tally 8 rushing scores in only 11 2018 rookie starts. But beware, incoming bruiser rookie RB Zack Moss is a real threat to that goal line workload. Allen did mature in year two with improved accuracy and a decreased interception rate. The big reason for optimism is the acquisition of stud receiver Stefon Diggs, finally giving Allen a top pass catcher to work with. While the rushing touchdowns will likely come down to earth, he’ll still be running plenty and we should see a nice spike in passing touchdowns. Buy the big man up.
2020 Projection:Â 3,500 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 550 rushing yards, 5 rushing touchdowns in 15 games.
4pt Pass TD Pts: 309  / 20.6 ppg | 6pt pass TD Pts: 359 / 23.9 ppg
7. Dak Prescott – It was a monster breakout 2019 season for Dak, but is it repeatable? It’s possible, but my gut tells me we just saw a career year from the Cowboys’ playcaller who put up loads of yards based heavily on game flow. I’m concerned the lackluster final six game regular season stretch, along with the two mediocre playoff games, is the Prescott we see moving forward. I’m not at all interested in taking him as the #4 QB off the board, where he’s currently going.Â
2020 Projection:Â 4,200 passing yards, 26 passing touchdowns, 9 interceptions, 300 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns in 16 games.
4pt Pass TD Pts: 302  / 18.9 ppg | 6pt pass TD Pts: 354 / 23.1 ppg
Tier 4
8. Tom Brady – So Tom Brady now has two elite wide receivers in their prime, his Gronk-blanket back and a warm home environment for his old bones. I have a difficult time imagining the GOAT not putting up QB1 numbers this year. In his first ever season apart from Belichick, expect a hyper-focused and overly-motivated TB12 down in Tampa. With a current ADP of 137, I’m all over the old man.
2020 Projection: 4,500 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns, 9 interceptions, 30 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns in 16 games,
4pt Pass TD Pts: 297  / 18.6 ppg | 6pt pass TD Pts: 357 / 22.3 ppg
9. Aaron Rodgers – Davante Adams missed four games in 2019 with his turf toe which put a little dent in Rodgers’ discount double checks. And Rodgers still finished as the #9 fantasy quarterback last year. The days of elite QB1 Rodgers are likely behind us, but he’s a safe bet for a top 10 QB season, and with a current ADP of 135, the price is right.
2020 Projection:Â 4,200 passing yards, 28 passing touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 180 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown in 16 games.
4pt Pass TD Pts: 294  / 18.4 ppg | 6pt pass TD Pts: 350 / 21.9 ppg
10. Baker Mayfield – When I think of Mayfield’s 2019 season, all I’ll remember is the commercial where he’s picking up the grungy looking sock off the stadium floor:
What do you think the owner used that sock for? Nevermind. If you look close you’ll notice a bit of a belly on Baker in the commercial. Seems like he didn’t take his training seriously last offseason, but I expect that changed this year as Mayfield rededicates himself and sets out to prove the doubters wrong. He’s at his best when he has a chip on his shoulder. Pair that with a healthy Odell Beckham Jr. and we should see the season everyone expected in 2019. If Mayfield can cut down on the interceptions, there’s still elite QB1 upside here and he’s being taken near pick 160.
2020 Projection:Â 4,000 passing yards, 28 passing touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 140 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown in 16 games.
4pt Pass TD Pts: 280  / 17.5 ppg | 6pt pass TD Pts: 338 / 21.1 ppg
