Roundtable: QB Futures

Photo: Stan Szeto, USA Today Sports

Welcome to Week 16 of the 2022 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. Topics are now split into separate features.

This week's roundtable features these four topics:

• QB Futures (see below)
• Sign of Good Things to Come in 2023
• Difficult Week 17 Lineup Calls
• Gutsy Championship Lineup Decisions

QB Futures

Matt Waldman: Check out the list of these rookie quarterbacks who haven't started many, if any games:

• Matt Corral
• Desmond Ridder
• Trey Lance
• Malik Willis
• Sam Howell

Use this list to answer the following:

1. Most likely to deliver fantasy starter production in 2023.
2. Most likely to have his team draft a rookie quarterback in 2023.
3. The player who has the best shot of you selling high on in 2024.

Let's begin with the most likely passer who delivers fantasy starter production in 2023.

Andy Hicks: Lance seems the only logical option here. Jimmy Garoppolo will be elsewhere and Brock Purdy will most likely back Lance up. Washington and Carolina can believe in Matt Corral and Sam Howell all they like, but they will have to significantly outplay any more credentialed rival to start. A new coaching staff for the Panthers makes that even more unlikely for Corral. Ridder and Willis were their teams hoping for the best, but with no confidence in a low-quality draft pool of quarterbacks. They have done nothing to encourage even a short leash in 2023. Lance has a year's experience on the other four and was the highest draft pick. Percentages indicate he will be given every chance to prove his ability.

Adam Wilde: Lance’s early career has been a roller coaster, but we mustn’t forget that Kyle Shanahan and Mike Lynch have their legacies tied to him. Not only that but they *want* their legacies tied to him. Externally it may appear as though the jury is out on Lance, but I doubt those feelings are shared inside the 49ers’ organization. Jimmy Garoppolo will be moving on next year, and if Brock Purdy somehow earns a shot to compete with Lance in camp, he’s fighting an uphill battle to he can’t win. The 49ers spent three first-round picks and a third-round pick on Lance. He will be delivering fantasy starter production in 2023.

Ben Cummins: This is Lance and it isn’t close. Now, there certainly is a chance the 49ers roll with Brock Purdy in 2023 based on his performance. We’ll see how the rest of this season goes but Purdy has proven he’s a leader and the lights aren’t too bright for him. Still, Lance has by far the best odds here of not only being the starting quarterback for his team in 2023 but delivering top-10 quarterback upside based on the offense he’ll be in and his elite rushing capabilities.

Scott Bischoff: Lance is most likely from this group as he has the greatest chance to be a starting quarterback in 2023. The 49ers invested an incredible amount of draft capital to get him in the 2021 NFL draft, and he is the presumed starter in 2023. However, there is a small chance that backup quarterback Brock Purdy takes the 49ers a long way in the playoffs this season, winning over the team and becoming the starting quarterback next year. Still, Lance is the most likely player from this list to deliver starter production in 2023.

Jordan McNamara: By process of elimination I think you have to take Trey Lance. None of the other quarterbacks have the sufficient draft pedigree to secure their chance at a week 1 starting job. Lance is a firm incomplete but was a top-three pick, and I expect San Francisco will want to give him the opportunity to play in 2023.