2015 Fantasy Football: Rookie Quarterbacks
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Bryce Petty, Jets – Petty has the size, arm, and athleticism to be an NFL QB, but like Mariota he will be transitioning from a spread scheme to an NFL offense. He has the talent to be an NFL QB and he ended up in a good spot with the Jets who don’t have much talent at the QB position. The Jets will give Geno Smith another chance and then Ryan Fitzpatrick after Geno fails, but if the Jets are out of contention late in the season they may give Petty a shot and see what happens. I don’t expect much from Petty this year, but for those of you in keeper leagues, Petty is an interesting pick. Don’t bother with him this season in re-draft leagues, but my money is on Petty being the Jets starting QB in 2016.
Sean Mannion, Rams -The Rams have a new QB in Nick Foles, but it has yet to be seen whether he’s a good fit for the Rams offense. After drafting workhorse RB Todd Gurley this year and Tre Mason last year, the offense should be run heavy but could also open up passing lanes for whoever is at QB. I’m not sold on Foles outside of Chip Kelly’s QB friendly offense and it’s a real possibility that the QB job will be up for grabs by the 2nd half of the season.
Mannion was projected to be an early draft pick after a solid junior season, but the loss of WR Brandin Cooks hurt Mannion’s production in 2014. His production dropped, but Mannion still has the prototype size, arm strength and accuracy to be an NFL QB. The Rams lack of talent at WR could be a problem, but he’s worth a flyer in keeper leagues as he could be the Rams starting QB to open the 2016 season.
Next: 2015 Fantasy Football: Quarterback Rankings