A vet and two 2nd-year QBs make the list
My Boom-Bust Quarterbacks picks were 1-for-3 last season as Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson (Boom) and San Francisco’s (now in Dallas) Trey Lance (Sleeper) had injuries to derail their seasons.
I did, however, predict the LA Rams’ Matthew Stafford was in for a long season after winning the Super Bowl. Stafford started last year with an elbow injury and missed the last seven games because of spinal cord contusion which caused numbness in his legs.
Well enough about last season, let’s get into this season’s Boom-Bust Quarterbacks.
Boom
Russell Wilson, Denver
Wilson struggled mightily during his first season in Denver. He finished with career lows in QB rating (84.4) completion percentage (60.5 percent) and touchdowns passes with 16. He was also sacked 55 times.
Enter Sean Payton. Payton’s offensive scheme should allow Wilson to deliver the ball quicker to his receivers, which should boost his completion percentage behind an improved offensive line (up 10 spots to 11th in PFF rankings). Wilson is currently 34 years old, and Payton paved the way for Drew Brees to throw 30 TD passes or more in five seasons after Brees’ 34th birthday.
Jerry Jeudy’s hamstring injury may hurt at the beginning of the season, but Wilson still has two talented receiving backs in Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine and a strong receiver corps with WRs Courtland Sutton and Marvin Mims Jr. and TE Greg Dulcich.
Bust
Brock Purdy, San Francisco
Purdy was the darling savior down the stretch last season as he threw for 2 or more TDs in his final six games of the regular season, leading to 49ers to a season-ending six-game winning streak.
However, the majority of his fantasy points came from his 13 TD passes as he only averaged 218 yards passing a game and did very little with his legs (only 10 rushing yards in his six regular season starts).
The 49ers also have a first-place schedule this season, which include 5 Eastern Time Zone games, the AFC North and a NFC Championship rematch vs. Philadelphia.
We could see Sam Darnold as the San Fran QB at some point this season.
Sleeper
Sam Howell, Washington
Hear me out on Howell.
Howell and Patrick Mahomes’ career starts are eerily similar.
Mahomes, a rookie, started the final game of the 2017 regular season for the Chiefs and they defeated division rival Denver.
Howell, a rookie, started the Commanders final game of the regular season last year, defeating division rival Dallas.
Now, Howell has the same offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy, as Mahomes had when he became the Chiefs’ full-time starter in 2018.
These parallels are too surprising for Howell to not have a great season.
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