It’s spooky SZN and there are PLENTY of dynasty quarterbacks who left us scratching our heads saying “WTF happened!?” when we look at our scary dynasty rosters 😱😱😱
I’m not even going to bother detailing the obvious studs who have left many promising dynasty and redraft teams in shambles. CMC, Saquon, Michael “Slants” Thomas, Dak, have all gone down with major injuries. And we’re only at the halfway point of the season!!! Let’s take a look at some of this year’s rookie and younger dynasty quarterbacks who we all thought were primed for breakouts, but instead invoke a WTF!!! when we look back at our draft boards.
Dynasty Quarterbacks
Quarterbacks seem to be one of the most difficult positions at which to predict success in both the “real” NFL as well as fantasy. SuperFlex and 2 QB leagues are becoming more and more popular, so the focus on and analysis of QBs is becoming more important by the day. My personal opinion is that QBs are wildly overvalued in these formats. I won’t completely ignore them in drafts, but I more or less let guys fall to me and don’t panic when the perceived “studs” are all gone by round 3-4. Guys like Tannehill, Brady, Wentz, even Russ could be had later on in drafts and are outperforming their ADPs.
Lamar Jackson
Perfect example right off the bat. Drafted as either the QB 1 or 2 in every single league, Lamar currently sits as the QB 12 in points per game (pp/g). After a historic fantasy season in 2019, Jackson was sure to repeat as THE dominant QB 1 right?….Whoopsy… I think this was the worry of many Jackson “haters”. That the league would figure him out. It certainly seems as if they have done that to a certain extent, as Jackson’s schedule has not been particularly difficult against QBs. He is flip flopping one good game, then one bad and has only rushed for 100+ yards once so far. Something he did five times in 2019. I’m not a lover or hater of Jackson. I think if you had him rostered as a rookie, he’s an easy hold. Or, you could shop him for a haul after a big game. But moving forward, you won’t catch me giving up a haul or reaching for him in 1 QB or even SuperFlex leagues. Unfortunately for football and fantasy football fans, I don’t think we see Jackson ever reach the heights of 2019 again, putting him at the top of our list of WTF dynasty quarterbacks.
Daniel Jones
Daniel Jones was being drafted as QB 14 (YIKES!) coming into the year. He flashed in 2019, albeit only against the weak passing defenses of the Buccaneers, Lions, Jets, and Football Team. But Danny Dimes has some wheels on him, that is undeniable. Many figured he could perform like a Josh Allen-lite type player. So far, that return on investment can only be described as abysmal. Jones is only averaging about 13 fantasy points per game, anchored by his most recent 21 point performance (of which almost half of those points came on this run) against the bad Eagles defense 🙄 Hey Superflex QB slaves, how’s that working out for you plugging Jones in as your 2nd QB every week? I really wanted to believe in Jones myself, but he didn’t find his way onto any of my rosters as other owners believed a bit more strongly and took him ahead of where I would ever even consider drafting him. Thank you to the other owners!!! I don’t want much to do with Jones at this point. Depleted weapons and a young head coach who hasn’t shown much outside of being a football guy aren’t a good recipe for a QB who was admittedly a project coming out of college. I’d maybe ride out the rest of the season, hope for a couple smash performances, and take what you can get. Even in Superflex I’d probably sell for a 2nd + an upside WR/RB/TE. And that’s probably selling high.
Baker Mayfield
BAKE! Where for art thou Bake!?!?? The sexiest pick and QB darling of your 2019 drafts, Baker has started off sluggish this year. Although, we knew that new head coach Kevin Stefanski wanted to establish the Browns as a run first offense. Expectations were tempered heading into 2020 for most owners. Were those expectations that he would only be the pp/g QB 26 – GASP! – heading into week 8!?!?? NOPE. Hopefully Baker is beginning to cook though, coming off of a 30 point fantasy performance in Week 7 against the Bengals. If you can weather his week 13 + 14 matchups against the Titans and Ravens, check out the rest of Baker’s schedule: Raiders, Texans, Eagles, Jaguars, GIants, Jets (Steelers in week 17, but hopefully you’re not in a league that plays week 17 championships…YUCK). That is straight up YUMMY. Now, Mayfield is a bit banged up dealing with some sore ribs, so hopefully his new offensive line can keep him clean. If so, I think Baker returns to his magical form that had so many of us fall in love with him during his 2018 rookie year. I’d be trying to acquire Mayfield in all formats for a strong 2nd half run.
Dwayne Haskins
Steve, why in the BLUE HELL are you wasting words on Dwayne Haskins!?!?? Well reader, let me tell you.
Because there are Haskins truthers out there, believe it or not, that’s why! I am mostly highlighting Haskins because we are primarily talking about dynasty, and Haskins is still young with first round draft capital. He isn’t just going to disappear from the league. Does he need a change of scenery already only half way through his second year? Probably, yes. Is that incredibly troubling? Also, very much yes. I also wanted to highlight a total BONEHEAD trade that I made for Haskins. A combination of hearing a brief, positive opinion about Haskins on a Podcast, then watching a brief clip of Justin Herbert on Hard Knocks getting intercepted by Melvin Ingram, and some liquid courage…led me to trading away Justin Herbert for Haskins straight up in a SuperFlex dynasty league. NOT GREAT BOB! Just goes to show, nobody is right all the time but also don’t let one bad trade get into your head. Have some patience and don’t drink and trade! Especially not for one of our WTF dynasty quarterbacks!
Honorable Mention
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Boy oh boy, we do not deserve Fitzmagic. Look at this selfless dude. Having one of the best seasons of his career, posting up as the pp/g QB 13, and WHAMO…benched for Tua (I get it).
Ryan Fitzpatrick is just the best and what makes watching football and playing fantasy football fun. Maybe we’ll get and blessed and he is traded to the Cowboys or Jaguars…
”He’s throwing against time. He’s throwing against the future, against age…and, even when you think about his career, against ending. And tonight, I think he might be able to use that aching old arm one more time…to push the sun back up in the sky…and give us one more day of fall.”
Follow me on Twitter @dynastysanta for lots of spicy fantasy football takes, tweets from the John, and random thoughts about life that happen to pop into my head. Click here to view my past articles. Get all the dynasty advice, rankings, and articles that you need by subscribing to Dynasty Football Digest. Looking for the best IDP takes to help win your league? Look no further than the IDP Guys, just click here to dominate your league.
