This article marks the final installment of the best situations for rookies in dynasty fantasy leagues series for 2021. The series will end on a high note, though, as we discuss the most important position in sports. A lot of things can make or break a rookie quarterback. Their coaching, their roster, and of course their talent. This article aims to identify the best situations for rookies based on the first two factors.

Everyone on the field impacts the quarterback, and the quarterback impacts everyone on the field. To succeed, a young quarterback needs to be protected by the offensive line and they need weapons to help them make plays. All of the teams on this list have at least one of those things, and the potential to get the other.

A rookie quarterback also needs coaching stability. How many young quarterbacks have we seen struggle as they go through three or four offensive coordinators or head coaches during their rookie contract? Teams with offensive-minded coaches at head coach are seen as a plus for this reason. If the head coach is calling the plays or at least managing the offensive scheme, the quarterback is unlikely to need to learn a new offense every offseason.

All of that said, the situation will matter more for some rookie quarterbacks and less for others. Trevor Lawrence is a generational talent and a quarterback that will take effort to mess up. The Jaguars, who are not on this list, will probably not hold Lawrence back. The situation that they land in could absolutely be the difference for Trey Lance or Mac Jones, for example. Keep this in mind when thinking about each team.

The Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are the best landing spot for a rookie quarterback, especially one that may need to sit in the short-term. The Falcons have a lot to offer to a young signal-caller for fantasy purposes both short and long-term. This includes an average offensive line, a strong wide receiver group, a potentially high passing volume, and a bad defense. Since their Head Coach is offensive-minded, the young quarterback will not need to re-learn the offense every time their offensive coordinator gets poached.

The Falcons offensive line was in the middle of the NFL last season, finishing sixteenth in pass block win rate per ESPN. With Alex Mack, James Carpenter, Justin McCray, and others currently free agents there is work to be done at the position in Atlanta. The starting tackles will be returning, though, so the Falcons should be able to return to average.

The receiver group in Atlanta is one that a rookie quarterback will love. The Falcons have Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley on the outside, with Russell Gage having been a productive WR3 for the team the past two years. Hayden Hurst, who signed out of Baltimore before last season, was productive at tight end last year as well. Even once Jones moves on, Matt Ryan‘s replacement will have weapons. In the short-term, though, Julio Jones figures to play in Atlanta in 2021 and likely in 2022. He is under contract until 2023, but the team could reasonably cut him at that point.

Matt Ryan is a short-term negative. If the Falcons draft a rookie in 2021 they will likely not play much during the season. I expect Matt Ryan to start at least as long as the team is in playoff contention. This could be good in the long-term, as Matt Ryan‘s successor will not play until they are ready to play.

In Tennessee Arthur Smith‘s offense relied heavily on the run game. This could be a worry for some fantasy owners. I am not worried. Arthur Smith seems to be a guy who will scheme around his players rather than force them into his scheme. He has the players to have a strong passing attack, and he doesn’t currently have a running back who can be the guy in a run-first offense.

New #Falcons HC chats about transitioning from his role as #Titans OC #PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/sdFXIrD3D7

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 3, 2021

The Carolina Panthers

I was splitting hairs choosing the Falcons over the Panthers as the best landing spot for a rookie quarterback in Dynasty. The two teams share a lot of strengths. Like the Falcons, the Panthers have a great group of wide receivers. They are substantially weaker at tight end, though. They also have great young coaching. Joe Brady, the offensive coordinator, figures to be a Head Coach in the near future, though. The strength that the Falcons don’t have is Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey offers a great run game and a great check down option for whoever succeeds Teddy Bridgewater.

The Panthers have work to do on the offensive line. As of this article’s writing, the Panthers have already reportedly made moves for Cameron Erving and Pat Elflein. They also brought back Taylor Moton. The offensive line will likely not be much higher than the middle of the league, but any improvement from their below-average pass block win rate of 53 percent would be a win. They ranked twenty-third in the stat per ESPN.

The wide receiver group in Carolina is an incredibly explosive one. A rookie quarterback drafted by the Panthers is in good hands there. The group of D.J. Moore, Curtis Samuel, and Robby Anderson did well in 2020. Going into 2021, though, Samuel is a free agent. Even if he doesn’t re-sign, the team will be strong at the position, but he is the difference between the group being good or great.

Teddy Bridgewater‘s situation with the Panthers is similar to Matt Ryan‘s with the Falcons. He will very likely start as long as the team is in playoff contention. While that means a rookie quarterback that lands here won’t be super productive early, they won’t play until they’re ready to play. This makes both teams great situations for Trey Lance, for instance, who is incredibly talented but played relatively few games in college.

The San Francisco 49ers

Like all of the teams mentioned already, the 49ers already have a quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo. The team also has a below-average offensive line. So why bother with San Francisco? Kyle Shanahan is a fantastic young offensive mind. The 49ers have two very solid young wide receivers. They also have a top 2 tight end. Due to their draft position at twelfth overall, it may be tough for the team to draft a quarterback, but if they do they will land in a fantastic long-term position.

The security of having Kyle Shanahan as the coach of the 49ers is a large part of what makes the situation great. There is no threat of the offense needing to be relearned every time an offensive coordinator is hired out. A rookie drafted to San Francisco will have one of the NFL’s best offensive minds locked in for a long time.

The 49ers currently have two starting offensive linemen who are free agents. They are tackle Trent Williams and center Hroniss Grasu. Williams, for his part, is likely the best lineman on the team. Even with him, the offensive line was below average, so without him, it could be a problem. That being said, I believe Shanahan will have a plan to get the ball out quickly if necessary to hide the problem.

Even if the offensive line is a problem, it will likely impact Jimmy Garoppolo. As mentioned earlier, I expect him to start at least the first half of the season and potentially until the team is ruled out of the playoffs. If the line is bad this year, Garropolo will be the one taking the bulk of the hits.

The Washington Football Team

The Washington Football Team is the team that has the worst chance to get one of the premier quarterbacks of this draft class. They draft all the way back at nineteenth as the sole team on this list to have made the playoffs. They made the playoffs with the rotating cast of Alex Smith, Kyle Allen, Taylor Heinicke, and Dwayne Haskins throwing the ball. Now, just two of them are left in Heinicke and Allen. A roster that is playoff-ready with that group of quarterbacks is a roster that could support a rookie quarterback.

Late last night the quarterback situation got even trickier in Washington. Ryan Fitzpatrick has reportedly agreed to sign with the team for one year. This should not stop the team from drafting a rookie, but it will make it more difficult for a rookie to start early. Given their draft position, an immediate rookie starter at QB was already unlikely, so this doesn’t change much.

Whoever the 2021 starter at quarterback is for Washington will have a great group of talented young weapons. The group includes Antonio Gibson, Terry McLaurin, Cam Sims, Steven Sims, Kelvin Harmon, and Isaiah Wright. They also have Logan Thomas who broke out in 2020 at tight end after being drafted into the NFL at quarterback in 2014.

Things get better and better for the Washington Football Team. Not only do they have the weapons for a great offense, but they also have the offensive line for it too. The offensive line ranked at fourteenth in pass block win rate per ESPN and none of their 2020 starters are leaving in free agency. A rookie quarterback that somehow lands in Washington and has the chance to start will have their work cut out for them.

With all of these strengths, why is the Washington Football Team not higher on the list? There are two main reasons. Washington is unlikely to be able to draft a startable quarterback and they are likely to be a run-first team. Antonio Gibson and their strong defense will keep them from passing too much. At least early in their career, a rookie that lands in Washington will likely have a high weekly floor but a low weekly ceiling. They will also have to beat out Ryan Fitzpatrick, Kyle Allen, and Taylor Heinicke. Fitzpatrick has had a lot of success in his last few seasons, and the other two are players that seem to be liked by Ron Rivera. I can’t imagine Washington’s quarterback, rookie or not, being more than a QB2 in the next couple of years.

The New York Jets

The New York Jets will be and already have been an active team this offseason. Already, they’ve made splash signings in Carl Lawson, Jarrad Davis, and Corey Davis. My initial thoughts putting the Jets on this list were that with their cap space and draft capital, a good offseason could make the Jets a fantastic landing spot. So far, the offseason has gone well. Robert Saleh and Mike LaFleur are well respected coaches, and Joe Douglas’s first draft class was graded well. Mehki Becton and Denzel Mims give the new regime and their quarterback pieces to work with.

The 2020 starters at wide receiver were Denzel Mims, Breshad Perriman, and Jamison Crowder. Perriman is a free agent, but the other two remain. Mims played just over half the season in his rookie year but flashed when on the field. Crowder, for his part, had his highest yards per game numbers of his career. Those two do offer reliable options going forward for the next Jets quarterback. This is good news because unless the defense takes a significant step forward they will have to throw to stay in games. A lot.

Yesterday, the Jets made a splash to improve the receiver group for the 2020 starting QB by adding Corey Davis. Davis, a 2017 early first-round pick, spent his first four years in Tennessee. Last season he had a career-high 984 yards with a catch percentage of over 70 percent. He is a massive addition to the Jets receiving group.

The Jets aren’t losing any 2020 starters on the offensive line, but they do need to replace some. Mekhi Becton did pretty well in his rookie year, but the offensive line as a whole struggled. The team was twenty-ninth in pass block win rate per ESPN, with 50 percent. They were tied with the Bengals.

Sam Darnold is still on the roster for 2021, but I can’t imagine they go back in that direction. Per reports, there have been eight teams that have made calls for Darnold. Darnold could get back on track in the NFL, but a change of scenery seems to make a lot of sense.

8 NFL teams have been in contact with the #Jets about trading for 23-year old, former 3rd overall pick QB Sam Darnold.@AlbertBreer believes he’s likely to be the next QB domino to https://t.co/IhOSNTzxVg pic.twitter.com/qkYpdpv1qB

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 15, 2021

The Jets have already been active this offseason, but to make the transition to a new quarterback after Darnold they will need to continue to add pieces. For fantasy purposes, keep an eye on their offensive line. The weapons to be at least somewhat productive are there, but outside of Becton, the Jet’s offensive line needs a lot of work.

Enjoy this content? Check out other Belly Up Fantasy Football Posts here. Also, follow my Twitter @lheureuxadam for more fantasy football and general football content from me. Find the wide receiver version of this article here, the running back version here, and the tight end version here.