There were a few rookie quarterbacks that caught the attention of fans and Fantasy Football players in 2020, which included Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, and Justin Herbert. It was Herbert that would perform the best out of the three as he showed his strong arm in his debut season with the Los Angeles Chargers. Burrow played well until he suffered an unfortunate knee injury that cut his rookie season short, and Tagovailoa was limited due to undergoing hip surgery less than a year before he took the field in the NFL.
When it comes to Fantasy Football, Herbert is the most popular choice of the three after his stellar rookie campaign. Despite a serious knee injury from last season, Burrow is still being taken in the QB10-QB15 range in drafts. As for Tagovailoa, the second-year quarterback out of Alabama isn’t being viewed as a top player to select at the quarterback position.
While Burrow, Tagovailoa, and Herbert all enter their second year in the NFL, I’ll be predicting where they could finish for the 2021 campaign.
Joe Burrow
In the first 10 weeks of the 2020 season, Burrow was having a solid rookie season for the Cincinnati Bengals. But in Week 11, Burrow would sustain a torn ACL, a torn MCL, a partially torn PCL, and a partially torn meniscus.
Before going down with an injury, Burrow was QB16 from Weeks 1-11. During the 2021 NFL Draft, the Bengals took Ja’Marr Chase, reuniting him with Burrow, adding him to a wide receiver room that already featured Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd. Even with Burrow’s assortment of weapons, it’s hard to see Burrow come back from a serious knee injury and finish as a top performer in Fantasy Football, especially with the limitations he’ll likely have with his mobility.
Given Burrow’s decline in mobility in 2021, I view him as someone that will be in the QB15-QB20 range, which is lower than most people feel about him.
Tua Tagovailoa
It was an inconsistent rookie season for Tagovailoa as the Miami Dolphins deployed two quarterbacks in 2020. Ryan Fitzpatrick started in the majority of games while Tagovailoa would make spot starts when Brian Flores felt he was ready. What most people don’t seem to remember is that Tagovailoa was less than a year removed from hip surgery, which severely limited him as a rookie.
With no Fitzpatrick and an offseason to get healthy, Tagovailoa could be well worth taking a flier on in later rounds in 2021. Miami added Will Fuller and Jaylen Waddle to their offense this offseason, giving Tagovailoa more vertical weapons to target in the passing game.
If we can get a more mobile version of Tagovailoa in the upcoming season, then he could surprise as a top 15-16 quarterback in Fantasy Football. At the least, I believe Tagovailoa concludes the season as a top 20 quarterback, making him worth his current ADP.
Justin Herbert
No one expected Herbert to have the rookie season he had with the Chargers in 2020. Despite not starting in Week 1, Herbert still managed to finish as QB9 in Fantasy Football last season, placing him ahead of guys like Lamar Jackson and Matthew Stafford.
People are taking notice of Herbert’s quick adjustment to the NFL as he’s being selected as one of the top eight or nine quarterbacks in drafts right now. Given that Los Angeles has revamped their offensive line in the past two years, and the fact he has Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Jared Cook, and Austin Ekeler available for him to target, Herbert can absolutely be a top performer at quarterback again in 2021.
What makes Herbert an enticing player to take is that he does bring some production on the ground as he rushed for 234 yards and five touchdowns last season. In his first year with Brandon Staley as his head coach, Herbert should be in line for a top 10 finish at the quarterback position with the potential to be a top-five quarterback if he can continue producing as a runner.
