Who are some possible breakout QB candidates?

Matt Harmon and Chris Allen, contributor at NBC Sports Edge, discuss who could be the breakout QBs for the upcoming fantasy football season.

Video Transcript

MATT HARMON: Switching back gears there to sort of some breakout quarterbacks. You mentioned Tua. I know you just wrote a piece on this as well. Who are like two or three other guys, and we can go one by one, we could diagnose sort of other players in the offense as well. Who are like two other guys that you're really looking forward to as breakout players at the quarterback position?

Because it's a position that we kind of tend to overlook, because we think, oh, you know, we can just stream these guys. And that is generally true. But with the rushing factor that some of these guys have, there is an advantage to, you know-- that's why some of these guys, like Kyler and Josh Allen, are getting pushed up the board. So then who are we looking at maybe later on?

CHRIS ALLEN: So one of the other guys I'm looking at later on is actually looking at your board behind you. Are you a Washington fan now? I might be a Washington fan now because of Ryan Fitzpatrick. I mean, we know that Ryan Fitzpatrick has been one of the streaming quarterback targets for the past couple of seasons. Like whether, when he was in Tampa Bay, I mean completely setting the world on fire with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. I mean, now he's moved over to Washington.

And honestly, what's the difference in that situation in Tampa Bay then what he now has in Washington? He now has just a premier wide receiver for-- I mean, minus Curtis Samuel, hopefully he's back and practicing with them soon-- but Terry McLaurin we know is going to be one of those other dominant wide receivers. Logan Thomas, if you want to talk about Logan, I mean, tight ends for a second.

MATT HARMON: The pride of Lynchburg, Virginia, Logan Thomas.

CHRIS ALLEN: Ooh, I knew I had to bring him up because that's your hometown boy. But I mean, it's just, we saw him start to break out in terms from the tight end position last season as well. Everybody's still excited about Antonio Gibson. So it's just the surrounding talent now, like it brings about that portion of Ryan Fitzpatrick's game that we get really excited about.

MATT HARMON: Who's another quarterback maybe that we should keep an eye on as a breakout candidate?

CHRIS ALLEN: So like the last guy that I want to talk about, and I know that it's one guy that nobody really cares about, it's an offense that everybody thinks is stagnant, but I do have to give a shout out to Derek Carr real quick. Honestly, last season, top 10 in terms of efficiency EPA per play from the quarterback position. Like that was where Derek Carr finished last season, which is actually absolutely surprising.

Because when we think of the Las Vegas Raiders, I mean, we think about the memes of Jon Gruden and all the rest of that stuff, like spider [INAUDIBLE] banana, like all that stuff. So it's just, it's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that Derek Hardy was actually [? inefficient ?] passer. So the hope is, though, coming out, like coming into the 2021 season, that one, they get our boy, like Smoky Brown involved, like right quick and early. He brings like some of that, some of those intermediate routes that we know that Derek Carr could really look flourished under.

But also, I want to see what to do with Henry Ruggs this year. If they start to actually create a more diverse route tree for Henry Ruggs, like here in his second season, wheels up like for that entire offense. And I can almost-- the way that I'm thinking about it, again, assumption of rational coaching. They need that. After all of the offensive linemen that they jettison like at the beginning of the season, I mean, it's just how do you not take your first round selection and turn him into the alpha, like the primary option in your receiving game? Makes no sense.

So that's the hope, or that's the assumption I'm making for Derek Carr and for the rest of that Raiders offense. But regardless, I still think Derek Carr can wind up still being at least a guy that, I mean, he's being drafted back end of all the quarterbacks, probably around where Ben Roethlisberger and some of those other guys are being selected. So if you are really in a pinch from the quarterback position, Derek Carr could be a guy that can wind up pulling out of a jam. Again, if we're excited about Ruggs in his second year, John Brown coming over, Darren Lawler, I mean, as another tight end prospect, I mean who's now cemented himself into like the big three for tight ends, why not also be excited about the guy that's going to be throwing them passes in Derek Carr?