Who Is Fantasy Football's True QB1 This Year?

Patrick Mahomes. Josh Allen.

Josh Allen. Patrick Mahomes.

It's hard to fault fantasy managers whichever way they go, but there can be arguments made for both. 

Josh Allen is a pillar of consistency, finishing as QB1, QB1, and QB2 the past three seasons. But HC Sean McDermott has said they will try and run him less. But they said that last year too and Allen still ran a career-high 124 times for 762 yards and 7 TDs. Those are elite rushing stats and any drop-off in that would hurt his fantasy standings. 

Additionally, Buffalo has a bit of turmoil around their team with Stefon Diggs' blowup in the playoffs last season and his current friction with the team. #2 WR Gabe Davis has yet to fully take that next step and people are high on RB James Cook coming out of camp. So Allen could see a bit of regression.

Last year, Patrick Mahomes actually finished as fantasy's QB1, even in 4-point passing TD leagues. He had almost 1,000 more passing yards than Allen and bested him in both TDs (six more) and INTs (two less) which providing some sneaky value on the ground (61 carries for 358 yards and 4 TDs). All this while losing his #1 weapon in Tyreek Hill.

But fantasy greatness is the norm for Mahomes. In fact, he's thrown for 37+ TDs and rushed for at least 300+ yards in three straight seasons. Wide Receiver shuffling in KC could be a concern, but when you realize he never fully relied on those guys and they were essentially interchangeable, it lessens the worry. Travis Kelce is back. Andy Reid is still there. Isiah Pacheco can alleviate some of the burden with his running ability. Maybe some of this Justyn Ross hype is even real.

So in my mind, there are fewer concerns in Kansas City with the pieces that matter while Josh Allen has a couple more swirling concerns that can make his outlook a bit more cloudy. For those reasons, I'm going with Patrick Mahomes QB1 and Josh Allen QB2.

And I do think after those two there is a sizeable drop-off before we get into QB3. Who is that QB3? Mintzy & I didn't agree on that, but check out the rest of our Fantasy Football Quarterback preview here: