Joe Burrow vs Zay Flowers

“For Pollard to find his way into the top-12, we need a Drake Maye / Joe Burrow -esque second season from Ward.”

“Joe Burrow paired with Ja’Marr Chase is obviously a nightmare matchup to go head-to-head against, but the variance the pair would inject into your lineup is prohibitively high in this format. An explosive game from them will only truly save your season when the rest of your team lays some eggs.”

“But if Bengals QB Joe Burrow, who missed nine games last season, enjoys a season of good health, McPherson should have his fair share of FG and PAT opportunities.”

“The trio of Joe Burrow , Ja'Marr Chase , and Tee Higgins forces defenses to respect the passing game.”

“When Joe Burrow was healthy, he was a top-three quarterback last season”

“Joe Burrow (QB – CIN) According to Sharp Football Analysis , the Bengals have the second-easiest schedule this season, which bodes well for a passing attack featuring Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins”

“For example, fantasy players would need to use four of their first five or six picks to build a Cincinnati Bengals stack of Ja’Marr Chase , Chase Brown , Tee Higgins , and Joe Burrow”

“Lamar Jackson , Jayden Daniels , Joe Burrow , Baker Mayfield , and Kyler Murray all were selected as top-12 players at the position and finished double-digit slots behind expectations in terms of points per game.”

“Round 1: Joe Burrow (QB – CIN) To kick things off at No. 4 overall, I went with Joe Burrow .”

“Even with a modest target share, Higgins maximizes his opportunities in one of the NFL’s premier passing offenses led by Joe Burrow .”

“The pivot to more under-center passing won’t be as natural and certainly might not be anywhere near as successful for the Bengals, because Burrow clearly isn’t as comfortable and doesn’t perform as well. In fact, if we go back the last three years, Burrow’s under-center dropbacks average just 3.6 air yards, which ranked dead last: #69 out of 69 qualifying QBs. His time to throw of 2.81 seconds was the #5 fastest out of 69 QBs, and he threw just 17% of passes 10+ yards downfield, also ranking dead last.”

“Zac Taylor wants the Bengals to play more from under center in 2026. Unfortunately, Joe Burrow under center is precisely where this offense struggles most, which is why the Bengals haven't used it often of late. How much the Bengals choose to pivot to under-center passing and how much Burrow can improve on these dropbacks might have a large impact on their fortunes in 2026.”

“He now works behind a reworked offensive line with a new playcaller and a thin receiving corps behind Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews . The QB1 ceiling is real, but at a top-two quarterback price the market is baking that ceiling in as a near certainty when it is anything but.”

“Head coach Todd Monken spent the past three years coaching Zay Flowers in Baltimore and should see similarities with Concepcion. Last season, the former Texas A&M star had the fifth-highest yards after the catch average (7.”

“Zay Flowers dominated Baltimore’s passing game in 2025 and remains Lamar Jackson’s most trusted target.”

“Zay Flowers (WR – BAL) “ Zay Flowers is being drafted as WR17, which is a bit of a head scratcher considering he finished as WR12 in PPG for receivers that played more than half the year (WR14 if not).”

“Flowers posted 86 catches, 1,211 yards, and six total touchdowns last year despite playing for a team that threw the fewest passes in the league over the last three years.”

“Zay Flowers (WR – BAL) is set up for touchdown regression in the best way. Every other receiver who topped 1,200 receiving yards last year scored at least eight touchdowns except him.”

“Zay Flowers is a popular target of the fantasy community due to his ability to separate from defenders, along with Declan Doyle’s new offense. Camp reports have been extremely positive, with a lot of talk that Flowers will be the absolute focal point of this Ravens’ passing game.”

“There’s a world where Zay Flowers has the talent to be a top-5 fantasy WR if he can ever score TDs.”

“Isaiah Likely is gone, and I don’t think Ja’Kobi Lane or Elijah Sarratt provide the level of incentive to keep me off of drafting the guy who has been the other boundary target next to Zay Flowers for years now.”

“The Fantasy Hitman grabbed his beloved Zay Flowers to be his WR2.”

“The Ballers really like Zay Flowers , who will serve as the primary pre-snap chess piece operating from the Z-receiver spot. This alignment keeps him off the line of scrimmage to dodge press coverage while creating misdirection.”

“The Declan Doyle addition makes me more bullish on Flowers, who was the entire Ravens’ passing game last season.”