Quarterbacks win Super Bowls? Too bad they don’t win Fantasy leagues.
It’s the time of year again where men and women alike get in front of their laptops with hearts full of pure hope, just for it to be replaced by rage and anguish because their first-round pick just tore his ACL and is out for the season. Fantasy Football, baby.
Everyone is curious about which player is the next Lamar Jackson or Tyreek Hill, coming out of nowhere and single-handedly winning them their league. Everyone is also scared about who’s going to take someone too early and end up busting their team. Well, here you go.
Sleepers:
JK Dobbins, Running Back, Baltimore Ravens: I know, I know, he’s a rookie who isn’t even a starter on his team. Well, that is exactly why he’s a sleeper.
Head coach John Harbaugh has had nothing but great things to say about the Ohio State product and has already said Dobbins has secured himself some playing time.
The only thing slowing Dobbins down is the slow running back himself, Mark Ingram. Let’s be honest, Dobbins is going to pass Ingram up as the lead back in about the same amount of time it’d take Dobbins to pass up him in a foot race.
Baker Mayfield, Quarterback, Cleveland Browns: Before you crucify me for this one, listen to what has to be said first.
Last season the former first-round pick’s biggest struggle was not anything he was doing. It was the fact his head coach had zero clue on how to call plays during the game, and what did the Browns do this off-season? They went and hired them a coach who was an offensive coordinator for one of the most dominant offenses in the league last year in the Minnesota Vikings.
Do you know what else Mayfield has now? An offensive line to block for him. The Browns went and signed the top offensive tackle on the free agent market this past free agency period and spent their first-round pick on a left tackle.
So Mayfield has not only a capable play-caller, but also an offensive line to keep him from laying on his back all game? What more could the former Heisman Trophy winner need?
Oh wait, he has the most weapons of any quarterback in the league in All-Pro running backs, that’s right plural, Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., along with pro-bowlers wide receiver Jarvis Landry and tight end Austin Hooper.
The best part about all of this is he never gets taken early. So if you still don’t trust me after all you’ve read, you can take him in the later rounds as your “back up.” But trust me, he won’t be sitting on your bench for long.
Now that you know the sleepers, let me hit you with the avoid at all costs:
Jimmy Garoppolo, Quarterback, San Francisco 49ers: If we’re being honest, not much needs to be said about this other than the 49ers win the Super Bowl if Jimmy G makes that deep throw over the middle. Don’t be blinded by San Francisco’s high powered offense. This team is not carried by its quarterback and they never will be so long as this man is under center.
Any running back that is a part of a team that has two or more capable running backs: Denver, Tampa Bay, Miami, Indianapolis, Washington, Chicago, Detroit, both Los Angeles teams and San Francisco.
If there is one thing I can leave you with, it’s this; draft bell-cow running backs early unless you pick after six.
If you find yourself in this situation, go the best receiver available. Super high on Deandre Hopkins. The All-Pro receiver is now in Arizona with second-year quarterback and head coach in Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury. This leads me to believe that they’ll lean on him a little too much as a safety net.
Reach me on Twitter @AstonBryce or by email baston@the-telescope.com if you want to eat me alive for these takes, or if you want any more help.