Looking into Joe Fagnano, I like him more than I thought I would. I’m not sure that the Ravens will be a complete disaster with him at quarterback.
Not that he’s going to be Lamar Jackson Lite, but I like the structure of that offense. I’m not a big Snoop Huntley fan, and he was surprisingly decent as a fill-in. Huntley completed 24 of 32 for 201 yards in a win at Atlanta, with 2 TDs and no picks. And Huntley went 23 of 34 for 298 against the Bengals, with a touchdown and a pick. Huntley didn’t pass for more than 227 yards in any of his other 17 career starts.
While Fagnano is just an undrafted rookie, I wouldn’t be surprised if he can step in an operate at a Huntley-type level. Fagnano credibly ran Connecticut’s offense last year, completing 69 percent of his passes, with 28 touchdowns versus only one interception. He’s 6-foot-3, and his arm seems to be decent enough.
Fagnano was very good in the preseason, for whatever that’s worth. He finished August with a league-high 509 passing yards, completing over 70 percent of his passes in every game. Not a lot of downfield passes, but the ball comes out quick, with just 1 sack in 75 pass attempts.
There were 20 other quarterbacks with at least 300 passing yards in the preseason, and only three finished with a higher completion percentage. That was impressive – he was able to play his way onto the roster.
| PRESEASON PASSING LEADERS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Comp | Att | Yds | Pct | TD | Int |
| Joe Fagnano, Balt. | 56 | 75 | 509 | 74.7 | 3 | 1 |
| Kyle McCord, G.B. | 46 | 70 | 446 | 65.7 | 4 | 0 |
| Kedon Slovis, Ari. | 39 | 61 | 434 | 63.9 | 2 | 2 |
| Gardner Minshew, Ari. | 40 | 48 | 404 | 83.3 | 3 | 1 |
| Josh Johnson, Cin | 37 | 61 | 396 | 60.7 | 2 | 0 |
| Ty Simpson, LAR | 47 | 60 | 382 | 78.3 | 3 | 0 |
| Joe Milton, Dall. | 29 | 43 | 378 | 67.4 | 3 | 0 |
| Tyson Bagent, Chi. | 29 | 39 | 377 | 74.4 | 3 | 1 |
| Garrett Nussmeier, K.C. | 44 | 70 | 370 | 62.9 | 0 | 1 |
| Shane Buechele, Buff. | 37 | 57 | 357 | 64.9 | 1 | 0 |
| Case Keenum, Chi. | 25 | 40 | 354 | 62.5 | 2 | 0 |
| Drew Allar, Pitt. | 30 | 54 | 351 | 55.6 | 2 | 0 |
| Adrian Martinez, S.F. | 36 | 68 | 346 | 52.9 | 1 | 2 |
| Tommy DeVito, N.E. | 23 | 41 | 344 | 56.1 | 3 | 0 |
| D.J. Uiagalelei, LAC | 24 | 42 | 341 | 57.1 | 2 | 0 |
| Kenny Pickett, Car. | 44 | 63 | 339 | 69.8 | 2 | 0 |
| Behren Morton, N.E. | 38 | 58 | 318 | 65.5 | 1 | 2 |
| Sam Howell, Dall. | 27 | 40 | 314 | 67.5 | 3 | 1 |
| Jalen Milroe, Sea. | 27 | 45 | 311 | 60.0 | 1 | 2 |
| Sam Ehlinger, Den. | 27 | 36 | 310 | 75.0 | 3 | 1 |
| Jack Strand, Atl. | 24 | 36 | 306 | 66.7 | 1 | 1 |
Fagnano has decent mobility but isn’t looking to run much. That limits his statistical upside (with those stats tending to be overrewarded in our little game). But looks to me like a guy who can be plugged in as a lesser option in Superflex leagues (as a second quarterback).
For this specific week, the Ravens are hosting Jacksonville. That’s daunting, with the Jaguars looking like a legit Super Bowl contender (on the AFC side, I think we’ll be looking at Jags, Bills or KC). But it’s a defense that tends to encourage production through the air. The Jaguars have the league’s No. 1 run defense, but only three defenses are allowing more passing yards.
Ten years ago, Trevor Siemian made a nice little splash for the Broncos, going 8-6 as a starter. Fagnano could be that kind of guy. To me, he looks like he’ll be able to run the offense some, with Zay Flowers probably not falling off as much as many are expecting.
Week 9 should feature three other new starting quarterbacks, and all have some selling points. With Deshaun Watson in the concussion protocol, Shedeur Sanders likely will be starting for the Browns, playing against a lesser Saints defense. Gardner Minshew takes over in Arizona, and with plenty of weapons around him. Minshew threw 3 TDs in the fourth quarter at Dallas on Sunday.
And Minnesota appears to be preparing Kyler Murray for a soft benching, citing a hamstring injury. When Carson Wentz came off the bench in Week 1, he gave them their best quarterback play of the season, with 3 TDs and no interceptions in a win over Green Bay. Justin Jefferson has mostly struggled this year but caught 8 passes and 2 TDs in that game.
—Ian Allan
