Stars In The Making

With the retirement of Tom Brady, and with aging stars such as Matthew Stafford and Kirk Cousins on the downsides of their careers, the NFL will be ushering in a new wave of young quarterbacks looking to stake their claim as rising stars.

The ITB 2022 Fantasy Football Preview series continues with Geoff Mosher’s preview of quarterbacks.

On Tuesday, Andrew DiCecco gave his quarterbacks preview. Here’s our Inside The Birds YouTube video previewing fantasy quarterbacks including Mosher, DiCecco, and Adam Caplan.

Next week, starting Monday, ITB will continue is series by previewing running backs.

GETTY IMAGES: Steelers second-year QB Kenny Pickett is poised for a breakout 2023 season.

TOP FIVE

Patrick Mahomes

Last year’s top QB point-scorer actually added explosion around him, with second-rounder WR Rashee Rice added to the mix, along with Skyy More’s development and a cast that includes Kadarius Toney, MVS and – of course – Travis Kelce.

Josh Allen

Hard to believe but Allen actually averaged more points per game in 2022 (29.72) than Mahomes (29.34). The Bills talk about lightening his load, but didn’t add much offensively to enable that. His passing-running combo stays fantasy friendly.

Jalen Hurts

Has the O-line, weapons, and coaching familiarly to make another MVP run. New pass-catching RB D’Andre Swift could help the pass game even more.

Joe Burrow

Always seems to find a way to have an injury, always seems to be a high-scorer in the end, regardless. Bengals have too many weapons for Burrow not to put up good numbers, and the OT Orlando Brown addition should help protect him.

Lamar Jackson

Could go Justin Herbert here, but new OC Todd Monken should help Jackson connect with his plethora of playmakers, including WR Rashod Bateman, TE Mark Andrews, rookie WR Zay Flowers, and Odell Beckham. Don’t forget about TE Isaiah Likely, either.

ON THE RISE

GETTY IMAGES: A full offseason should help Deshaun Watson return to his 2020 form.

Deshaun Watson

Consider this more of a resurrection than rise for Watson, who just three seasons ago passed for almost 5,000 yards and tossed 33 touchdowns, which would’ve been the second-most for each category in 2022. He’s got WRs Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones, along with TE David Njoku, and an excellent O-line – all the makings for a top-8 finish, if not top-5.

Kenny Pickett

Armed with major offensive line enhancements, Pickett already had stellar perimeter weapons in WRs Diontae Johnson and George Pickens, with good complementary pieces in TE Pat Friermuth and RB Najee Harris. Look for a major breakout here. The Steelers know how to groom young QBs.

IN DECLINE

Geno Smith

Just can’t see him finishing as the fourth-highest scoring QB like he was last year, even with the addition of WR Jaxson Smith-Njigba to complement D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. The Seahawks are a run-heavy organization, making it harder for Smith to exceed – or even match – the nearly 4,300 passing yards and 30 TDs he threw last season.

Kirk Cousins

He’ll be good enough as QB2 for two-QB leagues but Cousins’ lack of mobility, modest weapons outside of WR Justin Jefferson, and career trajectory scream decline. Even with Jefferson, Cousins last year watched his completion percentage drop for the fourth-straight year and his passer rating tumble by almost 11 points. His 49.4 QBR was his lowest ever as a starting QB. The loss of  RB Dalvin Cook is also sure to impact the offense.

Justin Fields

I’m not forecasting a major step-back. I actually like Fields, and the Bears helped him by adding WRs D.J. Moore and Chase Claypool along with some OL enhancements. But like Geno Smith, Fields also finished top-10 last year — 10th, actually – thanks to down seasons from Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, and Dak Prescott. I don’t see another top-10 finish for Fields, who’s currently being drafted ahead of Trevor Lawrence, Rodgers, Watson and Prescott despite having less experience and talent around him.

GETTY IMAGES: Colts rookie QB Anthony Richardson’s dual-threat ability and off-charts athleticism should be very fantasy friendly.

SLEEPERS

Anthony Richardson

Richardson has been going anywhere between the 16th and 20th overall quarterback taken. Trust me, he’ll either rank top-10 or right outside by year’s end. Imagine what Justin Fields would’ve finished as last year if the Bears didn’t wait 10 weeks to capitalize on his running ability. The Colts won’t make that mistake, and Richardson has more to work with than Fields had last year.

Jordan Love

Big-armed QB drafted by an organization known for hitting on QBs? Yeah, he’s on my radar. Would love to see the Packers have more experience at WR but Green Bay’s OL is solid and head coach comes from the Shanahan Tree. WRs Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs and newcomers TE Luke Musgrave and WR Jayden Reed are nice weapons to grow with, along with veteran RB Aaron Jones. There’s enough for Love to be a top-15 QB.

– Geoff Mosher (@geoffmoshernfl) is co-host of the “Inside the Birds” podcast and staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.

Watch Part 1 of ITB’s 2023 Fantasy Football Preview Series featuring Adam Caplan, Geoff Mosher and Andrew DiCecco: