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Fantasy Football 2020: Rankings for Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Top QBs
May 16, 2020
Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes do not reside at the top of fantasy football rankings, but they will be as coveted as Christian McCaffrey and others come the second or third round.
Because of the value elite running backs carry, those dynamic young quarterbacks likely will not land in the first round, but it is imaginable one or both will be chosen at the back of the second round.
Both signal-callers are in line for massive numbers in 2020, with Jackson expected to do work once again in both aspects of the offense and Mahomes projected to light up opposing secondaries.
If you are willing to wait for a quarterback or miss out on Jackson and Mahomes, there is value to be found further down the draft, but few players are in line to be as dynamic as the top two at the position.
Quarterback Rankings
1. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore
2. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City
3. Dak Prescott, Dallas
4. Russell Wilson, Seattle
5. Deshaun Watson, Houston
6. Kyler Murray, Arizona
7. Drew Brees, New Orleans
8. Matt Ryan, Atlanta
9. Josh Allen, Buffalo
10. Tom Brady, Tampa Bay
11. Carson Wentz, Philadelphia
12. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay
13. Matthew Stafford, Detroit
14. Baker Mayfield, Cleveland
15. Daniel Jones, New York Giants
16. Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee
17. Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams
18. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota
19. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh
20. Drew Lock, Denver
Lamar Jackson
Jackson comes into 2020 with a slight edge over Mahomes because he had more total yards and touchdowns than the Super Bowl champion in 2019.
The Most Valuable Player totaled 4,333 total yards and was responsible for 43 touchdowns, 36 through the air and seven on the ground. Jackson's legs should once again be an important factor in the Baltimore Ravens offense, but he may not record as many yards with J.K. Dobbins added to Mark Ingram in the backfield.
If Dobbins and Ingram play well off each other, Jackson could receive more time to drop back in the pocket.
Jackson has Mark Andrews, Marquise Brown and Willie Snead returning as his top three targets, and the Ravens added more depth through the draft in Devin Duvernay and James Proche.
Since he has many weapons at his disposal, Jackson has a comparable offense to the Kansas City Chiefs, who also possess a two-back tandem, dominant tight end and speedy wide receivers. Although the margins will be tight between Jackson and Mahomes all season, the third-year man from Louisville holds the slight edge because of his legs.
In 12-team leagues, Jackson could be considered in the second round as a complement to a premier running back. While it may be unlikely, there is a chance one owner lands McCaffrey and Jackson.
Most second-round decisions would be between Jackson and one of the top wide receivers or tight ends, like George Kittle, Mike Evans and Kenny Golladay.
If you select Jackson second, it may be worth looking at Andrews in the third round. The two combined for 852 yards and 10 scores in 2019.
Patrick Mahomes
The argument to take Mahomes as the first quarterback is supported by the presence of a healthy Tyreek Hill and the addition of Clyde Edwards-Helaire via the draft.
Mahomes has the speed of Hill and Demarcus Robinson, the physical abilities of Kelce and Sammy Watkins and a pass-catching back to work with. The abundance of offensive talent could lead to a second 5,000-yard season for Mahomes, who eclipsed that mark during his 50-touchdown campaign of 2018.
In two fewer appearances in 2019, Mahomes produced 4,031 passing yards and 26 scores.
Since he has Damien Williams and Edwards-Helaire in the backfield and plays in a pass-first system, Mahomes will not put up higher rushing numbers than Jackson. He has not rushed for more than 272 yards in his three seasons and has four ground scores, but that is one of the few flaws, if you even want to call it that, in his game.
If Jackson is chosen before him, Mahomes should land with a team soon after, as some owners could fear missing out on him if they do not act in the second round.
Similar to his AFC counterpart, Mahomes could be stacked with a teammate or two in the early rounds, as Hill, Kelce and Edwards-Helaire could all be selected in the top 40.
While stacking is more ideal in daily fantasy, Kansas City's situation could work for season-long fantasy games since the Chiefs score at such a high clip.
Dak Prescott
Dak Prescott is the one quarterback who may have more fantasy value than Jackson or Mahomes throughout the 2020 campaign.
The Dallas signal-caller is coming off a career-best 4,092-yard season and has a pair of 1,000-yard wide receivers returning. The Cowboys also added CeeDee Lamb to Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup, giving them one of the deepest wide receiver corps in the NFL.
The collaboration with new head coach Mike McCarthy should also help Prescott improve on his totals from a year ago. During McCarthy's time with the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers recorded seven 4,000-yard seasons and threw at least 30 touchdowns on six occasions.
Prescott will not be selected as high as Jackson and Mahomes, but the talent around him and an offensive-minded head coach could warrant a late third- or early fourth-round pick in a 12-team league.
If you do not land one of the top three signal-callers, it would be wise to load up on running backs and wide receivers before finding a quarterback later in the draft.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.