Kyler Murray Fantasy Outlook is Sky High Heading into 2020 Sophomore Season

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Kyler Murray immediately stepped in and made an impact in both real-world football and fantasy football. His 3,722 yards checked in at No. 15 in the NFL, and he finished as the No. 8 ranked fantasy football quarterback.

Heading into his second pro season, we can expect even bigger things from Murray.

To start with, Murray is likely to improve as a passer now that he has a full year of NFL experience under his belt. His 6.61 adjusted yards per pass attempt (AY/A) averaged ranked sixth among the 21 rookies since 2010 that threw 400-plus passes, and any improvement in efficiency should translate to a big jump in production in the high-volume Arizona passing attack.

He also now has one of the best wide receivers in the NFL at his disposal in DeAndre Hopkins. Murray didn't have a true No. 1 option last year, with the aging Larry Fitzgerald and still-unproven Christian Kirk being the only Cardinals to see at least 50 targets.

Also adding to Murray's fantasy upside is his rushing ability. His 544 yards on the ground were second only to Lamar Jackson among quarterbacks in 2020, but he saw unusually few TDs on the ground. The three other QBs that ran for 400-plus yards last year each scored at least 7 rushing touchdowns, while Murray only scored four. If the scores start coming, Murray could very well offer Jackson-lite type value as a rusher.

Average quarterback play tends to be pretty replaceable in fantasy football. Most weeks you can feel pretty good about getting 14 to 16 points from a guy off the waiver wire. That leaves upside being the most important thing to look for when drafting a player at the position, and Murray offers upside in spades.

Part of the second tier of fantasy quarterbacks (with the clear first tier being Jackson and Patrick Mahomes), Murray checks in at QB6 in our 2020 fantasy football rankings.

Join FanDuel Daily Fantasy to compete for cash in free & paid to play games. New users get a $5 bonus with their first deposit.

Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.