4 Fantasy Football Sleepers Experts Draft: Quarterbacks (2025)

When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, knowing which players to target and others to avoid is important. The amount of information available can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine players to draft and others to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to fantasy football average draft position (ADP). In this way, you can identify players the experts are willing to reach for at ADP and others they are not drafting until much later than average. Let’s dive into a few notable fantasy football sleepers below. And check out all of the fantasy football sleepers experts love in our consensus sleeper rankings.

Fantasy Football Sleepers: Quarterbacks

Here are fantasy football sleepers the experts love to target in drafts.

Who are Fantasy Football Sleepers?

Fantasy football sleepers are players who have a strong chance to exceed expectations and become surprise difference-makers for fantasy managers.

Fantasy Football Sleepers: Quarterbacks

Michael Penix Jr. (ATL)

Michael Penix heads into the 2025 season as the Falcons’ unquestioned starting quarterback after sitting behind Kirk Cousins for most of the 2024 season. Penix did make three late-season starts, completing 58% of his throws in those games, averaging 245.7 passing yards per game and 7.4 yards per attempt, with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Penix is a pocket passer who doesn’t offer much rushing upside, but he has a powerful and accurate arm. He led FBS in passing yardage in each of his final two college seasons at Washington. Penix has the potential to return a small profit on his low-end QB2 price tag.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Drake Maye (NE)

The Patriots QB is going to enter the top 12 QB conversation this season. The offensive environment in New England is going to improve for Maye with additions in free agency and the Draft. And I can’t ignore his dual-threat skill set.

Among the 7 QBs in 2024 that hit 30-plus rushing yards – which includes Maye – five finished inside the top 6 scoring QBs on a per-dropback basis.

What the Pats QB did as a rookie in a terrible situation cannot be understated. He threw at least one TD pass in the 10 games he played fully as a rookie. That resulted in 18.1 fantasy points per game which would have ranked QB15 on the year.
– Andrew Erickson

J.J. McCarthy (MIN)

Yes, I know we haven’t seen J.J. McCarthy play outside of an abbreviated preseason sample last year, but I’ll be targeting him everywhere this season. This should remain a pass-happy offense after ranking eighth in neutral passing rate and third in pass rate over expectation last year (per Fantasy Points Data). The Vikings remain loaded with skill players and added to the offensive line this offseason to give their new signal caller all the time in the world to dice up opposing pass defenses in 2025. Sam Darnold (yes, that Sam Darnold) finished as the QB9 in fantasy points per game last year, continuing a long history of Kevin O’Connell’s quarterbacks finishing as QB1s. I believe McCarthy will keep that streak alive. He was a stellar prospect who has been airdropped into the perfect situation. In his final collegiate season, McCarthy ranked inside the top 12 FBS quarterbacks in passing grade, adjusted completion rate, yards per attempt, adjusted completion rate with downfield throws, and against pressure (per PFF). It’s wheels up for McCarthy in 2025.
– Derek Brown

Matthew Stafford (LAR)

If you’re looking to punt quarterback in your drafts this season, Matthew Stafford should be in the mix for your fantasy football teams. Before tailing off at the end of last season, with Puka Nacua back in the huddle, Stafford was performing as the QB11 in fantasy points per game. During that stretch, he was ranked tenth in yards per attempt, sixth in passer rating, and 11th in highly accurate throw rate and fantasy points per dropback (per Fantasy Points Data). Cooper Kupp is gone and replaced by the always awesome Davante Adams. Tyler Higbee will be ready to roll and Terrance Ferguson has been added as his heir apparent. Stafford could turn back the clock in 2025 with another QB1 season for fantasy football.
– Derek Brown