8 Late-Round Quarterbacks to Draft (2025 Fantasy Football)

As the 2025 fantasy football season draws closer, there are as many quarterback drafting strategies as there are quarterbacks in the NFL. While every fantasy manager would love to have a Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson or Jalen Hurts, unless you play in a lot of four-team leagues, securing an elite quarterback is not always going to work.

Often, the late-round quarterback strategy must be deployed. The good news, however, is that it still works all these years later.

In 2024, quarterbacks like Sam Darnold and Bo Nix came out of nowhere to be no-doubt-about-it starters for fantasy football teams. Was the fact that neither was taken among the top 20 quarterbacks in any draft just bad analysis? Of course not, this is just the way the fantasy football world works.

Sometimes, quarterbacks hit the perfect trifecta of scheme, coaching and offensive personnel, which allows them to thrive when we least expect it. Here’s a look at late-round QB fantasy football draft strategy, including picks and targets for 2025.

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Late-Round Quarterbacks to Draft

Let’s get started with whether or note late-round QB strategy was effective in 2024 fantasy football.

Was Waiting on a QB Strategy Effective in 2024?

The Injury Impact

Everyone heard that over 60 quarterbacks started a game in 2023. Unfortunately, that didn’t change in 2024, as 59 different quarterbacks made a start. However, let’s dive a little deeper than that. Was there a higher number of quarterbacks injured last season than in the past? I decided to look back at the past eight years and see how many quarterbacks attempted a pass and how many had at least 100 attempts each season.

Despite all the talk that there were over 60 starting quarterbacks in 2023, there wasn’t a bump in the number of quarterbacks with at least 100 pass attempts compared to 2022. Similarly, 46 quarterbacks had at least 100 pass attempts last year. Furthermore, the jump in quarterbacks with at least 100 pass attempts came between 2021 and 2022, with a 10.6% increase, which lines up with the first few seasons of a 17-game schedule.

Over the past three years, there have been an average of 47 quarterbacks per season with at least 100 pass attempts and 78 with one attempt. By comparison, there was an average of 42.6 quarterbacks per season with at least 100 pass attempts and 71.8 with one attempt over the previous five years.

The slight bump in the number of quarterbacks seeing the field could be because of the extra regular-season game. While there wasn’t a jump in quarterbacks seeing the field in the first year with 17 games (2021), the past three seasons saw an increase compared to the 2020 season. Yet, the jump isn’t significant enough to say it played a role in last year’s late-round quarterback draft strategy.

2024 Quarterback Review

Fantasy players who waited on a quarterback last season were more likely to win the league than those who spent an early-round pick on the position. There were a few quarterbacks who were drafted early and finished inside the top five. However, several QB1 finishers last year weren’t drafted inside the top 10. Let’s look at the data on how the quarterbacks ended the 2024 season.

Allen, Mahomes, Hurts, and Jackson were the first four quarterbacks drafted last season. Unfortunately, Hurts slipped out of the top five finishers because of a late-season injury. Yet, Jackson and Allen finished as the top two scoring fantasy quarterbacks. Meanwhile, Mahomes was a massive bust for the second consecutive year, ending the season barely in the low-end QB1 range.

Five of the top nine finishers outperformed their positional ADP by at least seven spots. Furthermore, three of those five quarterbacks outperformed their positional ADP by 16 or more spots, including Darnold by 22.

While the top 12 had several surprise finishes, the high-end QB2s weren’t shocking. Purdy and Rodgers finished within three spots of their ADP. Meanwhile, Smith had a surprising finish, ending the year as the QB14 despite getting drafted 10 spots later on average.

Now, let’s look at the data from the ADP side and see how much fantasy players regretted drafting a quarterback early last season.

Unfortunately, Jackson and Burrow were the only quarterbacks in the top 10 to outperform their ADP. Allen and Hurts would have likely met or outperformed their ADP if not for injuries or meaningless Week 18 games. Meanwhile, Murray finished two spots lower than his ADP, which isn’t ideal. Yet, fantasy players can accept that kind of return on their investment.

However, three of the top six quarterbacks and five of the top 10 in ADP were massive fantasy busts. Prescott missed the final nine games with a hamstring injury that required surgery. Meanwhile, Richardson and Love missed time with minor injuries. Unfortunately, Mahomes and Stroud failed to live up to their top-five ADP despite playing in every meaningful game.

Meanwhile, Daniels and Goff got drafted as low-end QB1s or high-end QB2s in most leagues. Yet, they both vastly outperformed their ADP, finishing at least seven spots higher than when drafted. Furthermore, Daniels was a league winner, ranking as the QB2 on a points-per-game basis if you remove the two contests he left early.

2025 Late-Round Quarterback Draft Targets

Justin Fields (NYJ)

Over the last three seasons, when he has been a starting quarterback, Justin Fields has finished inside the top ten fantasy quarterbacks in fantasy points per game (QB7, QB9, QB5). Last year, in his six starts for Pittsburgh, he was the QB7 in fantasy points per game while averaging 9.2 carries and 38.5 rushing yards per game. If Fields had kept up that rushing pace for the entire season he would have finished fifth in rushing yards per game among quarterbacks immediately behind Jalen Hurts. He also took a step forward as a passer last year. In Weeks 1-6, among 31 qualifying quarterbacks, he ranked 17th in CPOE, fourth-best in highly accurate throw rate, 12th-best in catchable target rate, and he boasted the ninth-lowest turnover-worthy throw rate (per Fantasy Points Data). The weapons surrounding Fields aren’t amazing, but he’s not being asked to work with a totally barren skill cupboard as Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall, & Mason Taylor should all be dependable receiving options. The Jets also have an offensive line that should have no problems buying him time in the pocket. Fields is a locked-in top-ten fantasy quarterback this season.
– Derek Brown

Brock Purdy (SF)

The very last player selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, Brock Purdy has given the 49ers two-plus good seasons and was rewarded with a five-year, $265 million contract that included more than $182 million in guaranteed money. After a QB6 fantasy finish in 2023, Purdy finished QB14 in overall fantasy scoring last year, QB12 in fantasy points per game. Purdy went from an NFL-best 9.6 yards per pass attempt in 2023 to a still-good 8.5 YPA in 2024. Purdy’s TD rate fell from 7.0% to 4.4%, but he boosted his rushing output, running for 323 yards and five touchdowns. Injuries to WR Brandon Aiyuk, RB Christian McCaffrey and multiple offensive linemen didn’t help Purdy’s cause last year. Purdy is a sound investment as a low-end QB1 or high-end QB2 in 2025 fantasy drafts.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Dak Prescott (DAL)

Prescott is an amazing late-round quarterback value. He is primed to return to the QB1 ranks in 2025. With George Pickens added opposite CeeDee Lamb, Jake Ferguson, and Jalen Tolbert, Prescott has enough weaponry at his disposal to excel in Dallas’s pass-centric offense. Last year, in Weeks 1-8, Dallas ranked eighth in neutral passing rate and tenth in pass rate over expectation. Last year, Prescott’s passing touchdown rate dipped to 3.8%, which was the first time since 2020 that his passing touchdown rate had dipped below 5.8%. Prescott will throw for more touchdowns in 2025. We’re only one season removed from him finishing as the QB4 in fantasy points per game, seventh in yards per attempt, eighth in CPOE, and sixth-best in highly accurate throw rate (per Fantasy Points Data). Invest in Prescott.
– Derek Brown

Drake Maye (NE)

Drake Maye might not have moved the needle for fantasy in his rookie season, but his performance over 12 starts was impressive considering how terrible his supporting cast was. From Week 6 of last season, when Maye made his first start, through Week 17, Maye averaged a respectable 16.8 fantasy points per game. The third overall pick in last year’s NFL Draft, Maye has immense potential as a passer, but it’s his rushing that should make him attractive to fantasy games. Maye had 421 rushing yards last season, and there’s potential for much more. As a sophomore at the University of North Carolina, Maye had 698 rushing yards in 14 games. Bear in mind that college quarterbacks’ sack yardage counts against their rushing yardage, and Maye lost about 200 yards from his rushing total that year. Maye should have it a little easier in the passing game this year, with New England beefing up its offensive line in the offseason and adding WRs Stefon Diggs and Kyle Williams. It’s possible we get a Drake Maye breakout in 2025.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Jordan Love (GB)

Expectations were high for Jordan Love in 2024 after he went nuclear down the stretch in 2023 and bounced the Cowboys from the playoffs with a masterful performance. But Love sprained his MCL in the 2024 season opener against the Eagles and missed two games. Green Bay also became one of the run-heaviest teams in the league. The Packers were one of only three teams to run the ball on more than half of their offensive snaps last year. Love finished with 3,389 passing yards, 25 TD passes and 11 INTs. He averaged 16.3 fantasy points per game, ranking QB17 in that category. Love figures to play much of the 2025 season without Christian Watson, who tore his ACL late last year, but the Packers spent a first-round pick on WR Matthew Golden to give their offense a dose of speed. Love profiles as a high-end to midrange QB2 in fantasy.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

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

Bryce Young (CAR)

Bryce Young’s second NFL season was a roller-coaster ride, but it ended on a high note. Benched after two poor games to start the season, Young returned as Carolina’s starting QB in Week 7 and gradually showed improvement. Over his final three starts of the season, he completed 64.8% of his passes for 612 yards, with seven TDs, zero INTs, and a QB rating of 111.6. Young also has five rushing touchdowns in his final six games. Panthers head coach Dave Canales has a good track record with young quarterbacks, and his continued work with Young could pay off in 2025. Pass-catching weaponry has been an issue for Young, but the Panthers spent the eighth overall pick of the NFL Draft on highly regarded WR Tetairoa McMillan.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Geno Smith (LV)

The Raiders traded a third-round draft pick for Geno Smith in March and gave him a two-year contract extension worth $85.5 million. Smith will helm an intriguing Raiders offense that will be guided by new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who likes to run his offense at an uptempo pace. TE Brock Bowers was a revelation as a rookie, WR Jakobi Meyers is a dependable veteran, and the Raiders added RB Ashton Jeanty and WR Jack Bech in the draft. Smith finished QB13 in fantasy scoring last season, averaging 16.5 fantasy points per game. He completed 70.4% of his passes last season for 4,320 yards, with 21 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Smith will be drafted as a low-end QB2 or high-end QB3 but could once again finish as a high-end QB2.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

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