As we all cling to the hope that there will be a full NFL Season in 2020; we prepare for our Redraft leagues and look at the 2020 Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings. With training camps underway now is an opportune time to dive into the 2020 Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings. But before we do so, let’s get re-acquainted with the tiered rankings logic.
Elite (Tier 1)
Fairly self-explanatory. These quarterbacks have the ability to carry your fantasy football team(s) regardless of format.
Supers (Tier 2)
Like the ELITE QBs they can carry your team but have a lower floor and aren’t quite as consistent due to scheme, age, or (lack of) talent around them.
Next Level Players (Tier 3)
This level of Quarterback can carry your fantasy football team a few weeks per season.
Promising (Tier 4)
You’ve seen flashes of the three previous tiers; but there will be a couple head-scratchers along the way.
Status Quo (Tier 5)
You as a fantasy owner know what you’re getting, albeit nothing special.
Complement (Tier 6)
This set of quarterbacks has a fairly low fantasy floor for any number of reasons and hover around their weekly projections.
Wait & See (Tier 7)
It’s exactly what it sounds like… just want to see more before taking the plunge.
2020 Fantasy Football Redraft Quarterback Rankings | |||
Elite (Tier 1) | |||
1 | Lamar Jackson | Baltimore Ravens | Regression be damned! I expect Lamar to continue to WOW us all not only with his legs but his arm as his young receiving corps continues to develop. I for one will ride this wave while he's young and healthy. |
2 | Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs | Elite arm talent, with a 4 x 1 relay team at the skill positions, and the best offensive mind in the game pushing the buttons. Fin. |
3 | Russell Wilson | Seattle Seahawks | I believe in MAGIC despite the run-heavy offense. |
4 | Dak Prescott | Dallas Cowboys | I've issues with new HC Mike McCarthy but CeeDee Lamb/Blake Jarwin > Randall Cobb/Jason Witten, a cake QB fantasy football strength of schedule and Dak trying to secure the bag has me bullish. |
5 | Kyler Murray | Arizona Cardinals | I may not have him ranked high enough... Gonna be fireworks in the desert! |
Supers (Tier 2) | |||
6 | Deshaun Watson | Houston Texans | It pains me not to rank Watson among the Elites but Brandin Cooks <<< Nuk, Will Fuller's availability questions, and B.O.B. is #unfit. |
7 | Matt Ryan | Atlanta Falcons | If you're keeping count it's about time for ICE to have another BIG year. Furthermore, encouraged by what should be a more experienced (thus improved) offensive line. |
8 | Drew Brees | New Orleans Saints | He may be a year older but Brees' 20.8 fantasy points per game (11 games) ranked 8th among all QBs in 2019. The addition of Manny Sanders and a healthy Alvin Kamara should yield yet another Top 10 fantasy performance from the future Hall of Famer. |
9 | Josh Allen | Buffalo Bills | If Josh Allen demonstrates a modicum of improvement as a passer, he'll be a QB1 even with an unfavorable schedule. His athleticism and rushing TD totals buoy his weekly fantasy floor substantially. |
10 | Carson Wentz | Philadelphia Eagles | I'd be more bullish if not for Wentz's checkered injury history. However, he acquitted himself quite well in fantasy last season despite many factors working against him. An improvement at the skill-positions on offense makes him worth the risk. |
Next Level Players (Tier 3) | |||
11 | Tom Brady | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Brady was a QB1 in 2019 despite what appeared to be a broken offense in New England. New home, new (improved) weapons and new motivation is certain to yield yet another QB1 performance that probably will outpace this ranking. My only concern is the pass protection. |
12 | Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay Packers | The coaches and front office have done everything in their power to relegate Rodgers to a game-managing, bridge of a quarterback, but I cannot in good conscience rank him outside of the Top 12 particularly with what should be delectable fantasy playoff matchups. |
13 | Matthew Stafford | Detroit Lions | One of the most under-appreciated talents in the game. Stafford's 21.45 fantasy points per game (8 games) was 4th best in the league last season. The Lions have quietly put a talented group of backs and receivers around the gunslinger and improved the turnstyle of an offensive line in Detroit. If not for my skepticism of offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, Stafford would be ranked in the "Supers" tier. But it would come as no surprise if he finishes as a Top 10 QB. |
14 | Jared Goff | Los Angeles Rams | https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js |
15 | Cam Newton | New England Patriots | I've always maintained that Cam Newton would need to make adjustments to his style of play to maintain his excellence later in his career. Frankly, he did not and his body broke down. But I'm rooting for a Newton renaissance in 2020. If healthy, he's a force and has league winning upside considering where he'll be available in your drafts. |
16 | Ben Roethlisberger | Pittsburgh Steelers | Big Ben says he's pain free. Still he's not getting any younger. The strength of schedule or lack thereof is tantalizing. This could go either way and that's precisely why he's ranked 16th. |
Promising (Tier 4) | |||
17 | Teddy Bridgewater | Carolina Panthers | I love the Teddy2Gloves and Joe Brady combination. I believe the play-caller philosophy and quarterback skill-set will mesh beautifully. This ranking is on the convservative side, however, if you're streaming a pair of QBs this season, or in a Super-Flex league, I encourage you to make Bridgewater part of that battery. He is a high end QB2 at a minimum in my opinion. |
18 | Daniel Jones | New York Giants | Scheme change and a truncated offseason isn't ideal; and make no mistake 2020 will be the Saquon Barkley show but Daniel Jones flashed last season and I expect him to take a step forward from a fantasy perspective as the unquestioned starter. Especially, if a taltented group of skilled position players can stay healthy given a favorable QB strength of schedule and his ability to use his legs. |
19 | Joe Burrow | Cincinnati Bengals | The 1st overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft makes an appearance. This offense has the personnel to feature a spread attack not unlike the 2019-2020 LSU Tigers but I do not anticipate Zac Taylor making wholesale changes to his scheme especially during a non-traditional offseason. This depresses Burrow's redraft value in 2020. He'll be good. If/when the offense is built around him, he'll be great. |
20 | Baker Mayfield | Cleveland Browns | I'm not down on Mayfield because I was never as high as most. But, yet again, we have a young signal-caller having to navigate a new system. A system that relies more heavily on the run game. I love what Cleveland has done this offseason, revamping their offensive line on top of a an already talented group of ball carriers and pass catchers. Mayfield is going to have some impressive performances in 2020, but he's going to be regulated to game manager in a fair share of contests as well. It'll come down to how efficient Baker can be. |
Status Quo (Tier 5) | |||
21 | Ryan Tannehill | Tennessee Titans | Tannehill was an astute signing and revelation for the Titans in 2019. Once given his opportunity, he ran with it and parlayed it into a long term deal as the Titans' starting quarterback. Tannehill was super efficient over the course of 12 games. So much so that I'm not sure he will be able to duplicate or substantially build on last year's per game performance. Last season Tannehill was playing with house money; now he will face the weight of legitimate expectations (once again) after a relatively improbable run to the AFC Championship game. Still, Tannehill should not be ignored. The offense revolves around Derrick Henry without question but Tannehill's dual-threat ability and an emerging A.J. Brown should solidify a solid weekly fantasy floor. |
22 | Derek Carr | Las Vegas Raiders | I want to be excited about Derek Carr's fantasy prospects in 2020... Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden made it a point to solidify the offensive line previously and prioritized adding perimeter weapons during the 2020 NFL Draft. On paper the Raiders offesne looks to be substantially improved and has the makings of an explosive core. So why am I hedging? It's primarily due to the fact that the influx of offensive weaponry is incredibly young and inexperienced. It's hard enough for young players to transition to the NFL but without a full offseason it will take additional time for Carr and his new weapons to gel. |
23 | Jimmy Garoppolo | San Francisco 49ers | Of the 13, 16-game starters in 2019 only Josh Allen (461) threw fewer passes than Garoppolo (476). In fact, 3 of 6, 15-game starters attemtped more passes and even Kyle Allen (12 starts) attempted more throws than Jimmy G. My point is, the reigning NFC Champs are a run-first offense. There may be a QB1 in Garoppolo but I'm not convinced we'll see him in 2020 even with the most favorable schedule for a QB in the league on paper. |
24 | Kirk Cousins | Minnesota Vikings | Cousins averaged 574 pass attempts per season in his first four seasons as a full time starter from 2015 to 2018. The 2018 season was Cousins' first year in Minnesota and he tied his career high in pass attempts (606). During that span Cousins' led teams were .500 on average. However, playing more of a complementary role in 2019 under Gary Kubiak's scheme led to a career low 444 pass attempts (15 games) and a 10-win record. The perpetually streaky Cousins finished as QB18 last season which reflects what I imagine would be his ceiling in 2020 assuming Dalvin Cook remains the focal point of the offense; despite a favorable fantasy QB schedule. |
Complement (Tier 6) | |||
25 | Drew Lock | Denver Broncos | There is a buzz around the toolsy Lock and admittedly it has me intrigued. Especially, when you consider the continued development of Courtland Sutton and Noah Fant and the additions of Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler but I am leery of this truncated offseason. New offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur should certainly be an upgrade to Rich Scangarello but the 2nd year QB has to start over and his young supporting cast doesn't get the benefit of a full offseason. |
26 | Gardner Minshew | Jacksonville Jaguars | Minshew was a waiver wire darling among the quarterbacks in fantasy last season and he's been given the keys to the franchise (at least until Trevor Lawrenece or Justin Fields is in town). He exceeded everyone's expectations over 14 starts prompting, at least in part, the abrupt end of Nick Foles' tenure in Jacksonville. His playmaking ability took opposing defenses and fantasy owners by surprise but he won't be sneaking up on anyone this year. Surely, you've tired of hearing about new schemes, and play-callers in a compressed offseason; but once again another young quarterback finds himself in this predicament. Furthermore, OC Jay Gruden is known for his glacial offensive pace which limits Minshew's upside. There should be copious amounts of garbage time for Minshew to take advantage of but I think 2020 is Leonard Fournette season in Duval. |
27 | Philip Rivers | Indianapolis Colts | A future Hall of Famer in my opinion, I believe Rivers can still be good in spots but I don't think he can carry a team offensively week-in, week-out anymore. He's got a solid group of weapons and a very good oline so one might think a Top 12 finish isn't out of the question but I just don't believe it's in the cards. Too many turnover worthy throws in his game and the Colts are built to run the football and play defense... What Indy needs from Rivers is his availability and the ability to get the offense out of a bad play pre-snap. I think Rivers has a better "reality" season compared to his would be fantasy output. |
Wait & See (Tier 7) | |||
28 | Tyrod Taylor/Justin Herbert | Los Angeles Chargers | You can certainly make a case for Tyrod Taylor being substantially higher in these rankings consdering the Los Angeles Chargers' weapons and his dual-threat skill-set; not to mention a favorable fantasy schedule. In fact, you could probably make a legitimate, albeit less compelling arguement that Justin Herbert should be ranked higher IF he were a full-time starter. Therein lies the rub, Taylor could play well and still get the hook, because, you know... the Chargers tend to find ways to lose. There are several scenarios and permutations of what could happen prior to and during the season at the QB position in L.A. but it's a situation I'd rather monitor than invest a draft pick in. UPDATE: Given Herbert's learning curve transitiong to a pro-style offense Tyrod Taylor belongs at the top of the Complement Tier (6). |
29 | Ryan Fitzpatrick/Tua Tagovailoa | Miami Dolphins | I expect the Miami Dolphins to be even more competitive than they were last year (2nd half of the season) but not so much so that Tua isn't eventually tabbed as the starter at some point during the 2020 NFL Season. "Fitzmagic" has a tendency to come and go so I wouldn't count on a repeat of last year which amounted to stream worthiness. |
30 | Sam Darnold | New York Jets | I saw improvement. I know there are mitigating factors beyond his control. Conventional wisdom suggets he'll be even better in Year 3.... But... I can't do it... If I'm wrong. I'm wrong. |
31 | Dwayne Haskins | Washington | I'm encouraged by what appears to be professional maturation in terms of preparation. Haskins has the right-arm for this thing, he just needs experience, coaching and a better supporting cast. I don't anticipate a convergence this year. |
32 | Mitch Trubisky/Nick Foles | Chicago Bears | If Nick Foles is named the starter prior to Week 1 I will re-visit this. Otherwise, I'm out. |
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