Fantasy Sports Today: Drafting QB in Round 1? Not So Fast!
For many years now, if you ask fantasy football analysts to give you a tip for your fantasy draft day, they would tell you to wait on your quarterback. That long-standing tradition may be tested this upcoming season as early fantasy draft ADP results show that fantasy owners are drafting Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes in the first round of drafts. The knock against drafting quarterbacks early is that you can find quarterback production later on in the draft, your early-round picks should be a skill position player that you can trust. While that may be true for most seasons, Jackson was exceptional in 2019. Ravens SI reporter Todd Karpovich breaks down Jackson's year here:
Jackson had one of the most successful regular seasons by any quarterback in NFL history. He completed 265 of 401 passes for 3,127 yards and an NFL-high 36 touchdowns, which was also a franchise record. Jackson finished with 1,206 yards rushing — sixth-best in the league and the most by a quarterback in NFL single-season history.
He didn't even mention the seven rushing TDs he scored as well!
That kind of individual production can lead to a fantasy championship. Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes' numbers went down last season, but he missed time with an injury. That said, we are talking about a quarterback that has thrown 76 touchdown passes in two seasons, not to mention all the weapons he has on offense. To fantasy owners who want to draft Jackson or Mahomes in Round 1, I would say to take your shot. If you play in a league where quarterbacks are highly valued, go for it. If that's not how your fantasy league drafts, you should continue to wait. There will be plenty of quarterbacks who can give you production late on while you build up the core of your team.
Jackson and Mahomes post big numbers; I get it. A balanced approach to roster building wins more times than not. Remember Jackson was a value pick last year, I'm sure we can find another this fantasy draft season. Let someone else reach for a QB and let's wait for a good value to fall to us in our leagues this season.
MORE FROM SI FANTASY
