Fantasy Football Rankings 2021: Top 8 rookie quarterbacks for dynasty leagues
By Drew DeLuca
Dynasty Fantasy Football rookie quarterback rankings: Tier 3
6. Mac Jones – Alabama
Few players improved their draft stock as much as Mac Jones during the 2020 college football season. The quarterback of the National Champions threw 41 touchdowns and only four interceptions while completing an astonishing 77.4 percent of his passes and amassing an NCAA-best 4,500 passing yards during his junior season.
Jones had unequivocally one of the best groups of talent around him last season, which could be a blessing or a curse, depending on the analyst: one one hand, Jones showed he can light it up when surrounded with NFL caliber talent. On the other, the gap between the players around him and those on the other side of the ball was quite substantial, and won’t be nearly as large at the next level.
When 2020 Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith was asked who was the better quarterback, Smith surprisingly answered the question without diplomacy or hesitation:
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/1365436819521687554?s=20
Jones could be a very productive pocket passer in the NFL, but he lacks mobility, and is a liability in space when plays break down. He’ll likely slide down several draft boards in an era in which dual-threat quarterbacks are more valuable than ever; therefore, while his fantasy floor is fairly high, his ceiling is a bit limited.
5. Kyle Trask – Florida
The 6-5, 239-pounder finished right behind Mac Jones in the Heisman Trophy voting, but finds himself one spot higher in our rankings, at least in February. Trask, a hard worker, unseated Feleipe Franks as the starter in Gainesville in 2019 before completing nearly 69 percent of his passes in 2020, throwing for 4,283 yards in the process.
Trask led the NCAA with 43 touchdown passes last season and tossed only eight interceptions in 2020. He lacks mobility, but appears to be a bit quicker on his feet than Jones, both in the pocket and outside of it.
Like Jones, Trask projects as a quality NFL starter with a skill set that’s far from transcendent; he’ll need to be in the right situation in the right scheme. We keep flip-flopping these two Heisman finalists in our rankings, and see both as potential first rounders in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft: Jones may be more NFL-ready, but Trask offers slightly more upside, given proper tutelage.