2019 NFL Draft fantasy profiles: QB Dwayne Haskins

For a second consecutive year it appears possible that the Heisman winning Oklahoma QB could go first overall. While there can be a side discussion on Kyler Murray being a QB or WR, I will say that in most mock drafts it is Dwayne Haskins who enters the 2019 NFL draft as the 2^nd best QB option. There is a chance that Drew Lock (Missouri) is chosen ahead of him but in about 70% of the mock drafts I see Haskins goes just ahead of Lock.

2019 NFL Draft profiles

Fantasy breakdowns for the top rookies in this year’s drafts, including the best landing spot for each player.

Some history on Dwayne: from high school he originally signed with Maryland, however when Randy Edsall was fired, he instead went with Urban Meyer and Ohio State. 2016 was his freshman year but he redshirted sitting behind J.T. Barrett with Joe Burrow serving as backup QB. While Haskins had 8 games to his name the next year, there was only one game with more than 8 attempts and that was UNLV. He did step in formidably for a drive in the Michigan game which really endeared him to Ohio State fans (and Joe Burrow player a few snaps). In 2018 Dwayne won the starting job over Tate Martell after Joe transferred and led Ohio State to a 11-1 record their one notable blemish being a 29 point loss to Purdue.

Ohio State as a whole finished with 7,498 yards (4^th in NCAAF) and 593 points (6^th in NCAAF). Haskins at the helm for the Buckeyes led NCAAF in passing yards (4,831) with Kyler Murray, and Tua Tagovailoa also sitting in the top 5. He led NCAAF in Touchdowns (50) with Tua and Kyler at #2 and 3. His completion percentage of 70% was 4^th best in NCAAF. He leaves after his only full season with first team All-Big Ten honors, the Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year award, Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year. He finished as one of six NCAAF players to have 50 passing touchdowns in one season. Dwayne has a strong arm and is quite accurate down field with his passing fitting very much into a prototypical pocket passing quarterback.

There are a few downsides to Haskins and the first I would highlight is his experience. Entering the NFL draft with essentially one full collegiate season under his belt, I think he would have definitely benefited long term from at least one more season in college football. I get that his stock is high but I think he has more to learn about the game as it escalates to each subsequent level. His learning curve is heightened by how many snaps he took from a shotgun formation giving him limited number of snaps from center. The second is the Belichick & Brady effect: Dwayne put up some great stats this year but he was also on a very talented Ohio State team that had Parris Campbell, KJ Hill, Johnnie Dixon and Terry McLaurin catching balls. The secondary couldn’t focus completely on the deep ball as JK Dobbins and Mike Weber would make you pay on the line thus spreading defenses out. Some of the draft critics are quick to point out the talent around him when lavishing on his impressive stats.

Dwayne has all the tools to be a franchise QB for a team but not quite yet. He will be pocket heavy with the ability to occasionally scramble and hit a target on the run. While not the most all around athletic QB in this draft, he probably has the strongest arm of any QB in this year’s class. He makes good reads and hits his passes well but he needs time to watch some NFL play, practice plays under center and work a bit on footwork mechanics. Any team that is willing to draft him and sit on him for a year could have a very solid player in waiting.

Best Fantasy Fits

• New York Giants: Much to the chagrin of many Giants fans they took Saquon Barkley in lieu of a number of QBs last year. Ultimately Saquon went on to win rookie of the year and is now THE foundational piece to build around. Having Dwayne join the Giants is nice since Eli Manning is still under helm. While Eli getting older with declining skills, he has the knowledge and experience of two Super Bowl wins that he could pass along to Dwayne who will likely need at least half a season before he would be ready to take any NFL snaps. At pick number six this wouldn’t be an overt reach for them either.
• Washington: Case Keenum will be the new name for Washington but he doesn’t seem like the long term franchise QB they wanted. If he slipped somehow to 15, I could see them scooping him up and sitting on him for a year to see what he could be long term for the city.
• Miami Dolphins: Out goes Ryan Tannehill and in comes Ryan Fitzmagic. For Ryan this must be a nice move as he somehow went from Tampa Bay to a sunnier, warmer climate. Ryan has a respectable career having played 141 games with 29,357 yards, 190 TDs, 148 INTs and a completion percentage of 60.1. At the age of 36, I don’t see Ryan Fitzpatrick having a lot more seasons in him (unless he’s on the TB12 diet and workout plan). This would be ideal to allow Dwayne a whole season to sit back and watch. Pick number 13 seems just about the area that a QB like Dwayne SHOULD go but there is always a premium and eagerness to secure these promising QBs so he could go sooner.

PS: No Ohio State QB has been drafted in the first round since Art Schlichter was taken by the Baltimore Ravens at 4^th overall in 1982.