We’ve been hearing this offseason that the 2023 rookie class is better than the 2022 class. I’m going to be doing a series of articles talking about the quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends. I’ll be ranking the 2021 rookies and the 2022 rookies together.
We will be starting with the quarterbacks in this series, and let me tell you this. The 2021 rookie class looks much better than the 2022 class. You will see in my rankings below how far down the list the first quarterback from 2022 is. If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a million times. If you don’t have the 1.01, trade back or trade for 2023 picks. Accumulate as many picks as you can.
What if you have the 1.01 and need a quarterback in Superflex and Kenny Pickett falls to you? Do you take the chance? Why trade your 2022 draft picks for 2023 picks? We have no idea how the 2023 class will be, outside of assumption so I wanted to do a comparison of the 2021 class to the 2022 class as it stands now from my thoughts.
Ranking All of the Quarterbacks for Dynasty Leagues
- Trevor Lawrence
- Zach Wilson
- Trey Lance
- Justin Fields
- Mac Jones
- Kenny Pickett
- Davis Mills
- Desmond Ridder
- Malik Willis
- Matt Corral
- Sam Howell
- Bailey Zappe
- Kyle Trask
- Kellon Mond
Tier 1
Ranking the two classes together, my QB1 is still Trevor Lawerence. Jacksonville built the offensive line and gave him quite a few playmakers in Christian Kirk and Evan Engram to name a couple. coming in second is Zach Wilson.
Just like Lawrence, the Jets went out in free agency and helped build the line and also brought in a couple of playmakers. The Jets even helped by adding additional weapons in the draft around Wilson by drafting Garrett Wilson in the first round followed by Breece Hall. The Jets are setting Wilson up for success, and if he fails, well that’s on him.
Tier 2
My next two are Trey Lance and Justin Fields. I’m not very high on Lance like most because there is still Jimmy Garoppolo on the team and he couldn’t beat out Garoppolo all season. Sure the kid has talent but spending the No.3 overall pick on a player who could but hasn’t blown my mind. Fields is the starter but the Bears didn’t do anything to help support him. Drafting Velus Jones Jr. could help Fields and company but I have a feeling we’ll see a lot of the same thing as we did last year.
Tier 3
Mac Jones is a great quarterback, but not being able to air it out in a Bill Belichick offense kind of sucks for fantasy purposes. Especially for someone who doesn’t run a ton. His wide receiver core is one we can all laugh at, and his running backs are going to be the main reason outside of their defense why they win games. Finally, here we are at the sixth quarterback and the first 2022 rookie, Pickett. He barely beats out Davis Mills at the moment as he was the only quarterback to be drafted in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Tier 4
Pickett has Mitch Trubisky in front of him, and even that’s not much to say he’s the starting quarterback. It should be an interesting training camp battle as the two quarterbacks battle for the starting job. I think it’s Trubisky’s job to lose, and many in the fantasy community think Pickett will be starting sooner rather than later. I think he starts Week 10 at the earliest if he doesn’t win out because the Steelers have a losing record for the first time since 2003.
Why do I have Davis Mills behind Pickett? Because Pickett was a first-round pick and Mills was a third-round pick. We all hate the draft capital talk, but right now it goes. The off-season has been good for the Texans as they drafted an offensive lineman in the first round and then went on to draft Alabama wide receiver John Metchie in the 2nd Round and Dameon Pierce in the 4th Round.
This team now looks a lot better than it did at this time last year. Things could change by year’s end and Mills could be up higher in the rankings. Last year Mills was the QB2 of rookies behind only Mac Jones. With the boost in the offense either he will exceed expectations or the Texans will be signing a free agent (Baker Mayfield??) or back to the draft board.
Tier 5
The next two in my ranks are Malik Willis and Desmond Ridder. One player that could start as soon as this year, Ridder, and one who has a better chance next year, Willis. The Atlanta Falcons drafted the dual-threat quarterback with anticipation to compete with Marcus Mariota for the starting job. The Falcons are more than a quarterback away from being a good team as they drafted more along with the defense than the offense.
I like Ridder’s opportunity this year to get some playing time because if the team is doing badly, which is what I expect, he should see the field. Even with the additional playing time I see Ridder making a possible impact this year, but could easily be replaced next season.
With Willis, we were all stunned to see him fall out of the first round, and the second round, to be taken in the third round by the Tennessee Titans. Ryan Tannehill is signed through 2024 but the Titans could cut Tannehill after the 2022 season and take an $18.8M cap hit in 2023, but I don’t see that happening. Willis will more than likely be a backup at best and be that dual-threat quarterback we once loved that never was.
The Rest
Matt Corral was drafted in the third round as the Carolina Panthers traded a 4th Round pick and a 2023 3rd Round pick to get some competition with Sam Darnold. I was high on Corral going into the NFL Draft and his landing spot is good for a rookie quarterback. Darnold is the projected starter and there are rumblings of a Cam Newton return to the team. As it stands right now Corral is the No.3 quarterback behind PJ Walker. He should be able to move into the backup behind Darnold but will more than likely not be a factor for 2022.
5th-round picks usually don’t make it long in the NFL and are just more of backups that never see the field unless there is some major injury, or that team can’t sign another free-agent quarterback. Sam Howell could be different. This time last year Howell was being projected as a 1st Round pick but fell due to the North Carolina team around him being picked in the 2021 NFL Draft. Howell lost Javonte Williams, Dyami Brown, Michael Carter, and Daz Newsome and had to carry the Tar Heels on his own.
Howell’s passing numbers weren’t great for 2021, but his rushing numbers were. The Washington Commanders traded for Carson Wentz this off-season and having Howell here gives the team a “Plan B” approach. If Wentz flames out, Howell could jump in as the starter. If Wentz succeeds and can take the Commanders to the next level, then there’s a possible trade piece in Howell. It’s hard to predict and see where he goes right now.
Finally, we are down to the last three quarterbacks. I don’t see these guys being any more than developmental pieces. Bailey Zappe led college football last season in passing yards, touchdowns, attempts, and completions. I don’t see him being the backup there, but more as a development piece. I was higher on Kellon Mond last season because of what he did at Texas A&M, but the Minnesota Vikings don’t seem to be interested in him. Finally, Kyle Trask was a second-round second-round pick, but Tampa Bay doesn’t even view him as a backup, so there goes that flame.
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