The push-back on yesterday's Jimmy Garoppolo prediction was fantastic and long overdue. I'd made several picks in the previous days without strong disagreement, making me wonder if they were contrarian enough. So Jimmy G. bailed me out, and has given some of you reason to question my logic, which is what this is all about. So thanks to those who weighed in, and keeping pushing back whenever the mood strikes.
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A month ago, the Browns' expected Week 1 starting wideouts were Jarvis Landry, Josh Gordon, and Corey Coleman, with #4 Antonio Callaway waiting in the wings. With Gordon remaining on the pine, Coleman traded to Buffalo, and Callaway busted for drug possession -- his second of the year -- Cleveland's once-impressive receiving corps is on the verge of near-decimation. It's now quite possible that Week 1 will feature starters Landry, Jeff Janis, and Rashard Higgins, with no clear #4 option on the sidelines.
There's still plenty we don't know. Will Gordon return from his reportedly self-imposed exile? Can Callaway's alibi ("the marijuana in my car belonged to someone else") dissuade the NFL from suspending him? Is there still time to add a receiver off the retiree heap? This is a highly tense situation if you've rostered Tyrod Taylor (who needs a reliable #2) or obviously Gordon, and it's a potentially hugely positive situation for Landry, because playing alongside guys like Janis and Higgins would up his usage beyond my lofty expectations.
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As subscribers know, Sam Darnold is my top-ranked rookie QB on the FF4W Top 300 Preseason rankings. Aside from being arguably one of the two most talented quarterbacks among this year's new crop, he also enjoys an intangible advantage not shared by his fellow recent grads -- something that makes him the highest-floor rookie QB. On his radio show yesterday, Dan Patrick summed it up best: Darnold is competing this summer against a starter who knows he's heading toward retirement.
Josh McCown is coming off a career year; perhaps no 39-year-old in all professional sports has been able to make that claim. Yet even if this perennially decent spot-starter wins the Jets' depth chart battle, the old guy and the new guy both know the score: McCown is keeping the seat warm for Darnold. The veteran will be a free agent after this season. The Jets will be lucky to win seven games. The situation is clear on this rebuilding franchisee: When Darnold's ready, he'll start.
The same can't be said for Baker Mayfield, who's battling a still-in-his-prime Tyrod Taylor -- the same Tyrod Taylor who, according to GM John Dorsey last week, could earn a contract extension if he plays well. Taylor isn't keeping the seat warm for Mayfield; he's hidden the seat.
In Buffalo, Josh Allen won't get handed the starting job until he beats out two other pre-prime QBs, A.J. McCarron and Nathan Peterman. Arizona's Josh Rosen has to leapfrog veteran Sam Bradford, who could realistically play out his two-year contract and earn an even bigger payday -- if not in Arizona, then somewhere -- if his health holds up. And Lamar Jackson has to contend with Joe Flacco, whose recent contract extension includes $44 million guaranteed; Baltimore won't kick their long-time quarterback to the curb anytime soon.
So if you're in a two-QB or deep dynasty league and 26-28 quarterbacks are off the board, I suggest targeting Darnold before you consider any other rookie QB. He's the most likely to earn starts this season, and as the result, he's the most likely to help some fantasy teams.
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A month ago, the Browns' expected Week 1 starting wideouts were Jarvis Landry, Josh Gordon, and Corey Coleman, with #4 Antonio Callaway waiting in the wings. With Gordon remaining on the pine, Coleman traded to Buffalo, and Callaway busted for drug possession -- his second of the year -- Cleveland's once-impressive receiving corps is on the verge of near-decimation. It's now quite possible that Week 1 will feature starters Landry, Jeff Janis, and Rashard Higgins, with no clear #4 option on the sidelines.
There's still plenty we don't know. Will Gordon return from his reportedly self-imposed exile? Can Callaway's alibi ("the marijuana in my car belonged to someone else") dissuade the NFL from suspending him? Is there still time to add a receiver off the retiree heap? This is a highly tense situation if you've rostered Tyrod Taylor (who needs a reliable #2) or obviously Gordon, and it's a potentially hugely positive situation for Landry, because playing alongside guys like Janis and Higgins would up his usage beyond my lofty expectations.
--
As subscribers know, Sam Darnold is my top-ranked rookie QB on the FF4W Top 300 Preseason rankings. Aside from being arguably one of the two most talented quarterbacks among this year's new crop, he also enjoys an intangible advantage not shared by his fellow recent grads -- something that makes him the highest-floor rookie QB. On his radio show yesterday, Dan Patrick summed it up best: Darnold is competing this summer against a starter who knows he's heading toward retirement.
Josh McCown is coming off a career year; perhaps no 39-year-old in all professional sports has been able to make that claim. Yet even if this perennially decent spot-starter wins the Jets' depth chart battle, the old guy and the new guy both know the score: McCown is keeping the seat warm for Darnold. The veteran will be a free agent after this season. The Jets will be lucky to win seven games. The situation is clear on this rebuilding franchisee: When Darnold's ready, he'll start.
The same can't be said for Baker Mayfield, who's battling a still-in-his-prime Tyrod Taylor -- the same Tyrod Taylor who, according to GM John Dorsey last week, could earn a contract extension if he plays well. Taylor isn't keeping the seat warm for Mayfield; he's hidden the seat.
In Buffalo, Josh Allen won't get handed the starting job until he beats out two other pre-prime QBs, A.J. McCarron and Nathan Peterman. Arizona's Josh Rosen has to leapfrog veteran Sam Bradford, who could realistically play out his two-year contract and earn an even bigger payday -- if not in Arizona, then somewhere -- if his health holds up. And Lamar Jackson has to contend with Joe Flacco, whose recent contract extension includes $44 million guaranteed; Baltimore won't kick their long-time quarterback to the curb anytime soon.
So if you're in a two-QB or deep dynasty league and 26-28 quarterbacks are off the board, I suggest targeting Darnold before you consider any other rookie QB. He's the most likely to earn starts this season, and as the result, he's the most likely to help some fantasy teams.