The quarterback position might be the most important position in football, but that’s not the case in fantasy. Unless you play in a league that starts two QBs, you can usually wait several rounds in your draft to grab your starter. In Yahoo leagues, there were only about 25 points separating the sixth highest scoring fantasy QB (Dak Prescott) and the 17th highest (Ben Roethlisberger) for the 2016 season. And guess which one of those two was drafted well ahead of the other? That’s right, Big Ben.
That just goes to show that you don’t need to use a top pick to draft a QB. There’s a lot of value to be found in the quarterbacks ranked in the 10-20 range or even lower. Below is a trio of quarterbacks that you can snag late to be your starter or a high-upside backup option. They might not be drafted like fantasy starters, but they have a lot going for them that make them intriguing sleeper options to finish in the top-10 at the position.
ADP referencing FantasyPros Consensus ADP
Nail your draft by prepping with the FantasyPros Draft Kit. Cheat Sheets, sleepers & more 
Kirk Cousins (QB – WAS): QB ADP – 11th
2016 Stats: 4,917 Yards, 25 TD, 12 INT
What is it about Cousins that people don’t like? He never gets enough love in fantasy circles or from his own NFL team. His own team even calls him “Kurt.” After backing up Robert Griffin III for the first two and a half years of his career, Cousins is showing everyone that Washington should have gone to him sooner. In each of his two seasons as a full-time starter, Cousins has been a top-8 fantasy QB at the end of the season, yet he never gets drafted that high the following year.
The weapons he has around him this season are arguably the best he’s ever had. Terrelle Pryor and Jamison Crowder form a dynamic wide receiver duo for Cousins, and Jordan Reed has been a solid tight end when on the field.
It also cannot be overlooked that Cousins is playing for a long-term contract which should add extra motivation for him this season. His ADP is around 11th among quarterbacks and that’s simply too low. Everything is lined up for him to have another strong QB1 season. With the weapons he has around him, I would take Cousins over the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, and even Russell Wilson. I have a feeling I’m going to own be drafting Cousins a lot this season.
Matthew Stafford (QB – DET): QB ADP – 15th
2016 Stats: 4,327 Yards, 24 TD, 10 INT
There was a nickname given to one of the best players to ever play the quarterback position. Brett Favre was known as the ol’ gun slinger. With Favre retired (99.9% sure he’s retired for good), Stafford is the man that takes over that nickname.
It’s no secret that the Lions don’t like to run the ball that much. Only the Rams and Vikings had fewer rushing yards last season. Now that’s partly because of the personnel on the roster, but Stafford himself loves to throw and throw often. He was the ninth highest scoring QB in 2015 and the seventh highest last year. This year should be no different.
There are a lot of good weapons around Stafford this season. Detroit has Golden Tate and Marvin Jones on the outside along with Eric Ebron at tight end. Both Tate and Jones have big-play capability every time the ball is snapped. Ebron can be a difference maker too, but every time he takes the field it seems like he leaves with some sort of injury. He’s already dealing with a nagging hamstring in training camp. If he can manage to play a full 16 games this season, Stafford’s numbers will have a modest boost.
In addition to the weapons on the outside, Detroit is famous for utilizing their running backs as pass catchers out of the backfield. Both Theo Riddick and Ameer Abdullah are very capable receivers in their own right and give Stafford even more options. This Lions offense has the chance to be dangerous this season with Stafford leading the way. He’s being drafted around 15th for quarterbacks but should easily outperform that value in 2017.
Tyrod Taylor (QB – BUF): QB ADP – 16th
2016 Stats: 3,023 Yards, 17 TD, 6 INT, 580 Rush Yards, 6 Rush TD
When it comes to running quarterbacks, there seems to be a vastly different opinion of them between real life and in fantasy. Other than Russell Wilson, name the last run-first signal caller to win a Super Bowl? If you want to call Elway that, fine. But that was also two decades ago when Denver won with Elway. However, in the fantasy world, quarterbacks that can run are a huge asset. Taylor definitely falls into that category.
Last season, there wasn’t a better running quarterback than Taylor. His 580 rushing yards led all NFL QBs, and only Dak Prescott matched Taylor’s six rushing touchdowns. Going off standard scoring, that’s an extra 94 fantasy points (5.9 per game) that Taylor picked up with his legs.
His arm isn’t anything to scoff at either. The question is how his receiving options will fare this season. Sammy Watkins is immensely talented but is injured as much as Rob Gronkowski. You can’t say those words very often.
The X factor for Taylor is rookie Zay Jones. There haven’t been many hotter names than Jones in drafts this year. It’s easy to see why. After an incredible collegiate career at Eastern Carolina, Jones begins his NFL career with loads of potential. If some of that translates to success on the field this year, Taylor could be a bonafide QB1 option.
Honorable Mentions
- Eli Manning (NYG): QB ADP – 17
- Deshaun Watson (HOU): QB ADP – 21
- Blake Bortles (JAC): QB ADP – 23
Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | SoundCloud | Google Play | TuneIn | RSS
Eric Cross is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Eric, check out his archive and follow him @EricCross04.
