My fantasy football draft is coming up fairly soon. It’s time for me to start preparing for what I’m going to do. It’s a keeper league so I have great running back depth but need some work at quarterback and wide receiver. I can write about this one and not give away any secrets because this player isn’t available. Kyler Murray will be a fantasy football rockstar in 2020.
Year two was the year Lamar Jackson set the world on fire. Now, I still think he’s a total fluke, but this is the time period you look for with this type of quarterback. I think Kyler Murray has a much longer sustainable timeline but year 2 will be the year he explodes.
Murray has a lot of things going for him. First, the rushing. Running quarterbacks have a lot of value in fantasy. Murray ran for 544 yards and 4 touchdowns in 2019. If those numbers go up even 10 percent, you’re looking at a very high floor player. Murray can be an average passer but if he puts up rushing stats, there’s a lot of value here.
Second, Murray will improve as a passer. Murray was pretty up and down as a rookie but for the most part showed promise he’s the guy moving forward. Murray finished his rookie season with 6 games with zero touchdown passes. That’s a pretty high number. Part of becoming a pro is becoming more consistent. Eliminating some of those bad games is something that’s going to come. Murray still had 20 touchdown passes as a rookie. Don’t you feel pretty good about that number at least touching 30 in 2020?
The Cardinals were feisty last year. Arizona will be more competitive while still having a bottom-tier defense. That’s exactly what you want in fantasy. During the Patrick Mahomes MVP season, part of the reason why his stats were so good is because his defense was trash. He had to put up those numbers to win. Chandler Jones is awesome and Patrick Peterson is on the back 9. Name another player on that defense you are dying to have outside of Jordan Hicks. Murray will have to put up big numbers to win.
You should feel pretty good about Murray landing in the top 5 of fantasy quarterbacks in 2020. I know that sounds crazy but strike when the iron is just starting to get hot. Murray offers way more upside than the older quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees at this point. His rushing stats are also going to push him up the leaderboard more than you may anticipate. If you have a chance to grab Kyler Murray in your fantasy draft, do it.
