The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are handing their offense to undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels in Week 4, and fantasy managers looking deep at the quarterback position suddenly have one of the week's more interesting boom-or-bust options.
Daniels will make his first NFL start Sunday against the Green Bay Packers with Baker Mayfield sidelined by a dislocated right thumb. The undrafted rookie out of Kansas saw his first regular-season action late against Minnesota, going 0-of-3 through the air, recording an interception on a final-play Hail Mary, and adding a nine-yard run. There isn't much of an NFL sample to work with, which immediately makes Daniels a risky fantasy play.
Still, I think Daniels has a chance to be a QB2 in fantasy lineups this week, particularly
in Superflex formats. His biggest source of upside is something that doesn't necessarily require him to have a great day throwing the football: his legs.
Daniels rushed for 1,445 yards and 23 touchdowns during his Kansas career, including 404 yards and four touchdowns in his final college season. That ability was also on display during the preseason, when Daniels rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown while throwing for 239 yards and another score. His ability to create outside the pocket gives him a path to fantasy points even if his first NFL start isn't particularly impressive through the air.
Tampa Bay can also make things easier on its rookie quarterback by giving him opportunities to get the ball out quickly. I would like to see offensive coordinator Zac Robinson lean on screens and other short throws that put the ball in the hands of Tampa Bay's playmakers rather than asking Daniels to consistently attack Green Bay downfield in his first start.
If one of those short completions turns into a big gain after the catch, all of those yards still count toward Daniels' passing total. Combine that possibility with what he can produce as a runner, and there is a path to a sneaky productive fantasy performance without Daniels needing to light up the Packers through the air.
Daniels is an undrafted rookie making his first start for an 0-3 team, and fantasy managers have almost no regular-season sample to judge him by. This could go either way, making him more of a boom-or-bust option than a quarterback you should feel comfortable plugging into your lineup.
In a standard one-quarterback league, I'm leaving Daniels on the bench unless I'm insanely desperate. In Superflex or two-quarterback leagues, however, I'm willing to roll the dice on him as a QB2 because his rushing ability gives him another avenue to produce fantasy points.
Daniels is the definition of a risky play this week. You could love the outcome or hate it, but his legs and the possibility of Tampa Bay's playmakers creating yards after the catch give him enough upside to make the gamble interesting in deeper fantasy formats.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Should you start Jalon Daniels this week in fantasy football?
