Devy Fantasy Football Player Watch: Quarterbacks To Watch Week 2

Devy fantasy football players to have your eye on this weekend.

Author:
Marc Poust
Updated:
Sep 10, 2021 9:06 AM EDT
Original:
Sep 10, 2021

Here are five quarterbacks we will be monitoring on Saturday’s slate.

Will Levis - Quarterback - Kentucky

Can Will Levis lead Kentucky to a big win this Saturday?

If there was any belief that head coach Mark Stoops made a mistake starting the Penn State transfer over Joey Gatewood or Beau Allen, it was gone by the final whistle at 3:14 PM. Coming from the same high school as MLB legend Jeff Bagwell, Levis hit one out of the park in his debut in Lexington, as the Connecticut native completed almost 70 percent of his passes and totaled 367 yards and four touchdowns in the win against the Warhawks. The Kentucky passing game has resided in the basement of the SEC for the last three seasons, so Levis being the first Wildcats’ signal-caller to throw for either 300-plus yards or four touchdowns since 2016 electrified the fans at Kroger Field. Used primarily in a rushing capacity in his 15 appearances in a Nittany Lions’ uniform, it is apparent offensive coordinator Liam Coen saw the 6’3” 232-pounder’s potential as a passer when recruiting him out of the transfer portal. The redshirt junior gets another home matchup against a Missouri team that allowed the combination of Central Michigan quarterbacks Jacob Sirmon and Daniel Richardson to throw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns a week ago. If the Wildcats plan to avenge their 20-10 loss to the Tigers from a year ago, Levis will have to prove he is not simply a one-hit-wonder.

Michael Pratt - Quarterback - Tulane

Michael Pratt looks to lead Tulane to a big win after a solid week.

Usually, when a potential Heisman Award winner takes the field in a season-opener against an unranked team, the opposing quarterback’s performance does not hold a candle to the star’s stat line. Not only did Pratt prove capable of hanging around with a quarterback of Spencer Rattler’s status, he stole the spotlight. Despite losing three fumbles, the Deerfield Beach product led the way in Tulane’s opener against Oklahoma, recording 296 yards through the air and scoring four touchdowns in a gritty performance against the Sooners. The Boca Raton, Florida native’s freshman season flew under the national radar, as his 20 passing touchdowns not only led all first-year signal-callers across the country, but it was the most by a Green Wave quarterback since Ryan Griffin in 2012. Adding eight touchdowns on the ground in his first season in The Big Easy, the 6’2” 210-pounder proved he was not solely a pocket passer, possessing some mobility to work out of the pocket and extend plays. With performances like last week, there is no question that we should be paying more attention to Pratt as a quarterback to watch when he becomes eligible. The Tulane signal-caller looks to ride the wave into Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama against Morgan State, a team that got lit up by Towson for 278 yards and two scores through the air a week ago.

Emory Jones - Quarterback - Florida

Emory Jones could boost his draft stock and fantasy football value with a strong season.

One of the most intriguing quarterback battles of the offseason occurred down in Gainesville, as Jones clashed with redshirt freshman Anthony Richardson for the opportunity to lead the Gators in the post-Trask era. The Heard County product eventually won the job, but his debut against Florida Atlantic caused second-guessing in The Swamp. Jones completed 63 percent of his passes and led Florida to back-to-back scores on the first two drives but only totaled 113 yards, along with two interceptions. While Richardson flashed big-play potential in his limited action, Coach Dan Mullen expressed that the redshirt junior will “obviously” continue to be the Gators’ starting quarterback for the time being. The fact remains that this was the 6’2” 212-pound passer’s first start of his career, and he understands that he needs to improve this week against South Florida. On the other hand, with a matchup against the Crimson Tide looming, we are interested to see how the LaGrange, Georgia product bounces back. USF comes into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium after giving up 45 points to North Carolina State, and while the Gators will likely opt to attack the Bulls in the running game, this is an ideal rebound opportunity for Jones.

Tanner McKee - Quarterback - Stanford

Tanner McKee looks to build up his devy fantasy football value.

After Jack West struggled in the season opener against Kansas State, the second-year signal-caller entered the game, completing 83 percent of his passes and recording his first career touchdown late in the fourth quarter against the Wildcats. A forgotten name across the college football landscape, McKee was once a high-end four-star prospect coming out of Corona Centennial High School, falling only behind Trevor Lawrence and J.T. Daniels among pro-style quarterbacks in the 2018 class. The 6’6” 225-pounder spent two years in Brazil on an LDS mission before making his Cardinal debut last season against Oregon. The “Decree for McKee” has finally been issued, as David Shaw announced on Tuesday that the Irvine, California native will get his first career start when Stanford travels to the L.A. Coliseum to face the Trojans. Interestingly enough, after saying that the quarterbacks will rotate in the opener, Shaw mentioned that he does not plan on switching this week, meaning we should see a ton of passing reps from McKee. Frankly, this is a tough first test for the second-year passer, as San Jose State quarterback Nick Starkel only completed 52 percent of his passes and turned the ball over twice against USC last week. By and large, it will merely be intriguing to see how the inexperienced McKee handles his first career Pac-12 start.

Brendon Lewis - Quarterback - Colorado

Brendon Lewis looks to take the starting quarterback job and run with it.

With Sam Noyer heading to Oregon State in the offseason, many around Boulder believed the fourth-year quarterback JT Shrout, who transferred from Tennessee, would eventually be named the starting quarterback in the season opener. Shrout suffered a significant knee injury in a preseason scrimmage roughly two weeks before Northern Colorado, allowing the 6’2” 215-pound passer from Melissa, Texas, to wrangle the reins to lead the Buffaloes. Lewis displayed a solid performance in his first start against the Bears, completing 67 percent of his passes and getting his first career touchdown pass to Montana Lemonious-Craig in the second quarter. Colorado’s run game alleviated some pressure from Lewis in last week’s matchup, as running backs carried the ball 40 times as opposed to only 15 passes thrown. Saturday’s matchup will be much different, as Texas A&M’s high-powered offense will force Lewis and the pass-catchers to step up and make some plays to keep this game competitive. While we do not expect Colorado to take down the sixth-ranked Aggies, the fanatics inside Folsom Field would love to see the Melissa High product flash against his home-state team.