Cam Newton Award

Jayden Daniels, LSU (2023)

Fantasy Points: 566

2. Bo Nix, Oregon

3. Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma

Last year’s Cam Newton Award recipient, Caleb Williams, outscored second-place vote-getter Austin Reed by a grand total of 31 fantasy points for the entirety of the season. So, it should be no surprise that we have a runaway winner for this year’s award with LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, considering that he outscored CFF QB No. 2 Dillon Gabriel by a whopping 130.1 FPs. In the regular season, if you prefer to look at fantasy points per game (FFPG) instead of total FPs scored, Daniels holds a massive edge there as well, averaging 11 more FPPG than the next closest quarterback.

Two categories I personally look at when determining an award winner are consistency and CFF playoff performance. Daniels checks both boxes in a resounding fashion. Consistency: 35 or more fantasy points in all but one game, with a season-low of just 26 FPs scored in the opener versus Florida State. Stupendous CFF Playoff performances: 68 points against Florida in Week 11, 74 points against Georgia State in Week 12, and 45 points in the finale against Texas A&M. This was as impressive a fantasy season as we’ve seen from a quarterback in some time, and one that resulted in Jayden Daniels holding up the Heisman Trophy.

by Mike Bainbridge

Caleb Williams, USC (2022)

Fantasy Points: 532

2. Drake Maye, North Carolina

3. Clayton Tune, Houston

The Cam Newton Award would’ve gone to Drake Maye had the season ended in Week 11, but the North Carolina offense folded down the stretch and cost numerous CFF players a shot at a championship. On the flip side, Caleb Williams played like the Heisman front-runner that he was in the last six weeks, averaging 40.6 FPPG and performing at his best when the lights shined brightest.

Particularly in CFF redraft formats, there is something to be said about scoring consistency and that’s what we got with Williams, scoring 20 fantasy points or more in all but one game during the regular season. Set and forget at the quarterback position if you had Caleb Williams on your roster.

In third place, Clayton Tune collected 11 points. After a disappointing first month of the season, Tune remained available in some leagues on the waiver wire. For those who acquired the Cougars’ quarterback, the rewards were astronomical. In his final seven games, Tune surpassed 40 points six times, including a season-best 82 against SMU. His hot streak catapulted him to third place in the voting, beating out Bo Nx and Austin Reed. 

by Mike Bainbridge

Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky (2021)

Fantasy Points: 630

2. Brennan Armstrong, Virginia

3. Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh

Salt in the wound for me personally having to write up Bailey Zappe as the top college fantasy quarterback for 2021. We knew the scheme coming to Western Kentucky under offensive coordinator Zach Kittley would likely light up the scoreboard where defense is optional in Conference USA. Yet. We overthought it a bit when analyzing this offseason, ranking Zappe in the CFF QB 15-20 range.

Western Kentucky was bringing in 10-plus transfers on the offensive side of the ball, and I believed it would take some time to integrate all of the new pieces with the roster already in place. Zappe’s debut season with Houston Baptist didn’t necessarily yield the eye-popping results either. That analysis went out the window instantly as Zappe went on to throw seven touchdowns in his Hilltoppers debut, setting the tone for what would be a sensational year as he led the country in passing yards (4,968) and passing touchdowns (52). Bryce Young and Kenny Pickett—two quarterbacks in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony—threw 12 fewer touchdowns this season.

What do we look for in the perfect CFF prospect? Upside and consistency, and Zappe provided all of that. At least three touchdown passes in every game this season and topped 30-plus FPs every single week. Bailey Zappe wasn’t just the best fantasy quarterback this season, but the top CFF player in the country and a league-winner for many.

by Mike Bainbridge

Kyle Trask, Florida (2020)

Fantasy Points: 452

2. Zach Wilson, BYU 

3. Malik Willis, Liberty

Typically, in College Fantasy Football, sorting out the best quarterback is not a difficult proposition. Not the case this year where we had three to five viable contenders with no standouts. Ohio State’s Justin Fields would have been a lock had the Buckeyes played a full season, but alas, he was limited to just five games with the condensed schedule and COVID cancellations. BYU’s Zach Wilson started out on a scorched Earth pace but tapered off late in the year.

I went with consistency for the entire season and landed on Florida QB Kyle Trask who averaged 32.6 FPPG. Only ranked fifth in terms of points per game (PPG) average, but Trask's reliability over the course of the year was unmatched. His low-point total was 22.5 points scored against Kentucky where he still threw for three scores. He scored 30-plus FPs in six of the 10 games played this season. Topped 300-plus passing yards eight times. Higher ceilings with some other quarterbacks, but Trask never had a down week the entire season.

by Mike Bainbridge

Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma (2019)

Fantasy Points: 596

2. Joe Burrow, LSU 

3. Anthony Gordon, Washington State 

Can you believe that there were some who didn’t think Jalen Hurts was worthy of being a first-round draft pick in College Fantasy Football this season? A dual-threat quarterback with big-game experience coming into one of the most high-powered offensive systems in all of college football. I had Hurts ranked at No. 2 overall and turns out that was even too low. 4,500 total yards and 49 touchdowns later, the Oklahoma quarterback lapped the field in CFF in 2019, averaging 41 FPPG and scored over 100 points more than the next closest player in all of college football. In four-point passing TD leagues, Hurts topped 30 fantasy points scored in all but one week this season. That’s Lamar Jackson-esque—a comparison I didn’t think we would see again for quite some time. There is no other choice for the Cam Newton Award this season than Jalen Hurts.

by Mike Bainbridge

Kyler Murray, Oklahoma (2018)

Fantasy Points: 599

2. D’Eriq King, Houston

3. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama

Kyler Murray tops my ballot in a close call over D’Eriq King. King not taking home the trophy is hardly his fault—he was on track to end the CFF season as QB1 before he suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee in Game 11 against Tulane. That injury stole his final six quarters of regular season football (including, most unfortunately for his owners, Week 13, which is CFF championship week for most leagues), allowing Murray to sneak into pole position. The Sooners’ signal caller was a force all season and then combined for nearly 100 FPs in Weeks 12 and 13, swinging playoff matchups in many leagues. 

For my third choice, I went with McDonald, who finished QB #6 in standard CFF scoring but provided an absurd return on investment for anyone who threw a dart on him late in their August drafts. Dwayne Haskins (who had a few down games but was dominant in most others), Gardner Minshew (a season-long revelation after winning Wazzu’s QB job) and Taylor Cornelius (who averaged over 31 fantasy points per game despite all the turnover along Okie State’s offense) are other worthy choices worth mentioning. Had Tua Tagovailoa played anywhere near the entirety of Alabama’s 48 regular season quarters, he may have topped this list. But alas his owners ironically became victims of his and his team’s dominance.

by Thor Nystrom

Lamar Jackson, Louisville (2016)

Fantasy Points: 605

2. Patrick Mahomes, II, Texas Tech

3. Quinton Flowers, South Florida

It wasn't a flawless season for Lamar Jackson, who made it hard on his fantasy owners with his disappointing showing against Houston in the fantasy playoffs, but he was still the definite top player at his position, both in real life and in college fantasy football. Jackson could hardly be a more deserving candidate for this award, as his production in 2016 really did resemble that of Cam Newton's 2010 season. Cam threw for 2,854 yards, 30 touchdowns and seven interceptions in those 14 games, adding 1,473 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground. In his 12 regular season games this year, Jackson threw for 3,390 yards, 30 touchdowns and nine interceptions while bolting for 1,538 yards and 21 touchdowns. As was the case with Mr. Laub's championship-winning team in the CFF Joes vs. Pros league, it's almost certain that a high percentage of league-winning teams this year had Jackson on the roster. 

by Mario Puig