Gardner Minshew (QB, JAX) - 2020 Fantasy Football Draft Sleeper

4 years ago by Nick Federline

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BALLER MOVE: Target Around ~160 Overall

CURRENT ADP: ~180

ANALYSIS: As a sixth-round draft pick last season, Gardner Minshew II was expected to compete for a backup role behind recently-acquired Nick Foles. The rookie was thrust into a starring role early on though after Foles was injured in the season-opening game. Minshew would go on to start 12 games last year and far exceeded expectations as a freshman racking up all of 233.2 fantasy points to finish the year as the QB20 and on pace to QB12 had he played in all 16 games.

An overlooked talent of Minshew's is his ability to improvise and take advantage of his athleticism. Minshew averaged 5.1 yards-per-carry last year as a runner, trailing only Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray among quarterbacks with at least 30 rushing attempts. Minshew's rushing ability should provide a solid floor to his fantasy outlook, similar to Josh Allen of the Bills last season. All in all, Minshew ran for 344 yards in 67 attempts and odds are with him in the scoring side of things, as he couldn't cross the goal line last season and that should positively regress in 2020.

The stable of weapons at the young quarterback's disposal has improved in 2020, with draft picks Laviska Shenault and Collin Johnson providing high-upside wide receivers, and the addition of long-time Bengal Tyler Eifert at the tight end gives Minshew another quality red-zone target to augment his statistics. That (and playing a full 16-game schedule) should help Minshew top his 3,271 passing yards and 21 TDs from 2019.

Expecting a season approaching 4,000 yards through the air, 500 yards rushing, and 25+ touchdowns would place Minshew a high-end QB2, which means he would outperform his current ADP of QB24 (borderline QB2) by a mile. He is a solid last-round pick at the position and a sound candidate to stash as your backup fantasy football quarterback this fall and stream if your starter is on a bye, out, or Minshew starts to have booming performances down the road.