Fantasy Football: Top 3 rookie quarterbacks for 2020 season
By Drew DeLuca
With the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine upon us, we offer a sneak peek at the cream of this year’s quarterbacks crop through a fantasy football lens.
Seasoned fantasy football owners in traditional 1-QB leagues tend to wait until the middle to late rounds to select a quarterback. However, those in 2-QB or SuperFLEX leagues more closely model the approach of real NFL franchises, who collectively select multiple quarterbacks in the first round each year.
Owners in dynasty leagues of these varieties pay far closer attention to quarterbacks in the weeks leading up to the NFL Draft. All eyes are rightfully fixed on future franchise players these days, but the ability to score with late-round stashes is what separates the men from the boys in dynasty leagues.
Therefore, before we highlight the top options in the 2020 NFL Draft, we’ll identify a few under-the-radar prospects that we’re tracking during the Combine and pro day season: Colorado’s Steven Montez, Iowa’s Nate Stanley and Florida International’s James Morgan. None are highly-polished, Week 1 starters, but all three have prototypical size and enough arm strength to offer upside in offenses suited to their strengths.
Meanwhile, Washington State’s Anthony Gordon lacks the mobility and escapability most teams want in a quarterback. However, after improving his stock at the Senior Bowl, he’s moved up a tier and is now a great bet to be drafted before any of the three listed above, especially after throwing for over 5,000 yards and completing over 70 percent of his passes while playing in a Power 5 conference.
A few other quarterbacks have the potential to hear their names called on Day Two. The most recognizable name in this next tier of quarterbacks is Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts: a proven winner with Big XII, SEC, and National Championships on his résumé. Hurts has the necessary athleticism to succeed in the NFL, but his numerous critics question his accuracy and touch while worrying about his ability to properly progress through his reads.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s Jake Fromm is considered a top-five quarterback prospect by those who praise his intangibles. Those less impressed with the alpha Bulldog question his vision, mobility, and arm strength.
Just outside the top three are Utah State’s Jordan Love and Washington’s Jacob Eason. Both are physical specimens with strong arms who flash the potential to become NFL starters, and both have outside shots at hearing their names called in the latter half of the first round.
Love can make plays with his feet, but subpar vision and frequent lapses in his decision-making are concerns for many scouts and draft experts. Meanwhile, Eason needs to improve his post-snap reads and go through his progressions more quickly. Eason, in particular, has turned heads with his ability to make plays in the downfield passing game.
This brings us to the top three targets in dynasty SuperFLEX and 2-QB fantasy football leagues, all of whom will be likely taken in the top half of the first round of this year’s NFL Draft. While fantasy football experts and armchair enthusiasts engage in heated debates over the top three running backs and wide receivers in this year’s NFL Draft, the consensus among quarterbacks is nearly universal.