With the NFL Draft behind us, we now look ahead to the fantasy football season. This section of the year is when we begin researching players and deciding who are the “must haves” for our roster. Today, we will break down the quarterback and tight end positions. Selecting the right quarterback at the right time can make all the difference in winning your league and just showing up to play. Also, correctly identifying the tight end you need will help you have a positional advantage all year round. So with all that said, let’s start breaking down the quarterbacks and tight ends I’m targeting this year.
- Introduction to Best Ball Leagues
- Dynasty Trade Value Chart
- Dynasty Rookie Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
Must-Have Fantasy Quarterbacks & Tight Ends
Lamar Jackson is always near the top of the board, but why is he a must-have? Well, let’s break down the offseason. Outside of the messy dispute over his contract, the Baltimore Ravens hired Todd Monken as an offensive coordinator. Next, they signed Odell Beckham Jr.and Nelson Agholor while drafting Zay Flowers. The sneakiest of moves comes later in the draft with signing Andrew Vorhees, who was only available in the seventh due to injury, and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu.
What does all this say to us?
That the Ravens want to move from the run-heavy offense of the past to more passing opportunities for Lamar. To create even more upside on the passing attempts, they added playmakers to the offense (remember Rashod Bateman is coming back from injury, too) to help support Lamar. The Ravens also helped with some line depth to protect Lamar and keep him healthy, and as always, he has the mismatch machine that is Mark Andrews.
Yes, Lamar comes with some injury risk; however, with the offensive philosophy change, the talented QB should keep his Konami Code title while having more chances to rack up fantasy points in the passing game.
My final point is Lamar Jackson > Justin Fields. We are looking at the same player style when discussing these two names, yet they sit fifth and sixth overall in FantasyPros consensus rankings. However, from an organizational standpoint, I believe in Baltimore over Chicago to put their franchise in the best position to win. We keep looking for “The Next Jalen Hurts” but what if we already have him in the former MVP this year?
Trevor Lawrence took a big step forward under Doug Pederson last season. He doubled his touchdowns and cut his interceptions down. Remember, he also increased his completion rate to 66.3 percent (59.6 the year before). That’s only some of the stats that Trevor improved upon last season.
Lawrence had four games last year with three or more touchdowns. He also had six games with 275 passing yards or more and rushed for over 20 yards in seven games last season. Now this year, he gets to add Calvin Ridley to a pretty talented wide-receiver core while still facing off against the AFC South six times in 2023. So sign me up for as much Trevor Lawrence as my fantasy football wallet will allow me.
It’s a high-risk-high-reward type of situation with Trey Lance. You won’t see a ton of stats in this section because he has yet to be able to play. At this rate, we are all aware of Brock Purdy and the elbow injury that sidelined him in the playoffs. We know Sam Darnold is also in San Francisco. However, I ask you the following questions:
Does Sam Darnold possess the same upside as Trey Lance? Deep down in your heart, do you believe Brock Purdy possesses immense upside, or is he the second coming of Jimmy Garoppolo? Can anyone provide the mobility that Trey Lance can provide? Does Trey Lance have a plethora of draft capital invested into his draft selection?
If the answers are: no, more like Jimmy Garoppolo, no and yes; then you are a Trey Lance believer for 2023. With the weapons that he has at his disposal in San Fran, if Lance starts this season, he could be a fantasy winner for your team with his lower ADP.
Heading into the NFL draft, rumors began to swirl about adding tight end depth to the Philadelphia Eagles. Unfortunately, Dallas Goedert is around the age they did the same thing with Zach Ertz. Also, the Eagles saw a world without Dallas last year, which wasn’t pretty. The draft has come and gone. Not only did the Eagles avoid drafting a tight end, but they also didn’t draft a notable wide receiver. That leaves this potent offense with three significant weapons in the passing game, which gives Dallas Goedert room to shine.
Goedert is incredibly consistent. He has scored between three and five touchdowns in each of his five NFL seasons. He also has 45-58 catches in the past four years. Unfortunately, the tight end position is a wasteland after the top of the market. If I am not drafting Travis Kelce, the tight end I want is Dallas Goedert (ADP 69 in PPR leagues).
As we said earlier, If I don’t draft Travis Kelce, I want to draft Dallas Goedert. If I can’t get my hands on either player for my roster, I will wait and draft Juwan Johnson.
Johnson has no competition at his position, with Adam Trautman heading to Denver and Foster Moreau needing the season to battle illness (Prayers for Moreau!). Johnson also receives an upgrade at the quarterback position with Derek Carr. We know how Carr has connected with tight ends in the past. Combining that with the positive regression in snap percentage that is bound to happen with the lack of tight ends in New Orleans, we get what is crucial for the bottom-of-the-barrel TE options – opportunity. After recording 508 yards with seven touchdowns on 42 receptions, expect a similar stat line from Johnson this season. With his ADP as low as it sits, you can’t ask for a better projection from this spot.
Nailing the quarterback and tight end positions can help you reach optimal team production. Make sure to leave your drafts with the players listed in this article! If you need more help in fantasy, read more of the great work here on FantasyPros and follow me on @jpep20.
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