Would You Rather: Draft Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson for 2021 Fantasy Football

Spending an early draft pick to secure a starting quarterback is a popular strategy amongst fantasy football managers. However, it isn't as clear-cut at the top as many people think it is. Managers may be forced to make a tough decision between two young playmakers in Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson.

Choosing between these two quarterbacks isn't going to be simple, but let's break it down.

Josh Allen Fantasy Outlook

Josh Allen is coming off a ridiculous 2020 season in which he finished as the No. 1 quarterback in fantasy football. The 25-year-old completed a career-high 69.2% of his pass attempts for 4,544 yards and 37 touchdowns. Allen's passing abilities easily outshine Jackson's arm and that leads to him having a much higher floor in 2021.

Jackson may have a leg up in the speed department, but Allen's rushing totals from 2020 were well above average. In fact, the Buffalo Bills' leader got into the end zone 8 times using his own two feet.

Having all his offensive weapons back this fall should make Allen a lock to finish as a top-5 QB once again. The young signal-caller even has the potential to repeat at the top QB if everything goes to plan.

Lamar Jackson Fantasy Outlook

On the other side, Jackson is looking to get back to the form he showed when he took home the NFL MVP award in 2019. With starting running back J.K. Dobbins going down, the Baltimore Ravens may work more rushing plays for Jackson into the playbook. After all, the 24-year-old averaged 6.3 yards per rushing attempt during the 2020 season.

The one area that Jackson is sorely lacking in is his passing game. He posted an average of 183.8 passing yards per game last year and tossed just 26 touchdowns. That is well below what he was able to accomplish in the season prior (3,127 yards & 36 touchdowns).

There is no reason that Jackson should be drafted outside of the top-5 quarterbacks in fantasy football drafts. Managers just have to stay aware that his upside is capped because of his passing struggles.

Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson

When it comes down to it, Allen edges Jackson out for the 2021 season. The difference between the two is small, but Allen's arm talent gives him the upper hand. He should be much less likely than Jackson is to post a dud during weekly matchups.

Allen checks in at QB2 in The Duel's 2021 fantasy football rankings, while Jackson can be found just one spot below at QB3.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. 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 their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.