With the 2025 NFL season approaching and fantasy drafts on the horizon, now is as good a time as any to start zeroing in on players we should just outright stay away from in fantasy drafts.
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Fantasy Football Quarterbacks to Avoid
Below, I’ll touch on three quarterbacks I recommend avoiding at their current average draft position (ADP) come draft night.
Sam Darnold (QB – SEA)
Sam Darnold signed a massive three-year, $100.5 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks based on what he did with the Minnesota Vikings, but if you think he’ll replicate his 2024 success in Seattle, well, you’ll be let down.
In 2024, Darnold had an excellent offensive line, a competent running game with Aaron Jones, who could also catch the ball, one of the best wide receivers in football in Justin Jefferson, an excellent No. 2 WR in Jordan Addison and one of the most quarterback-friendly coaches in Kevin O’Connell.
In Seattle, he has a defensive-minded head coach in Mike Macdonald, a running game that will likely get plenty of work with Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet and a receiving corps that consists of Jaxon Smith-Njigba and an aging and beat-up Cooper Kupp.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Smith-Njigba. I think he’ll get plenty of targets from Darnold. However, I don’t see Darnold throwing for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns again. Before last season, his highest passing yardage number was 3,024, and he had never thrown for more than 19 touchdowns.
Do I think Darnold will beat his previous seasons? Sure, but the upside, like we saw in 2024, simply isn’t there.
The previous quarterback in Seattle, Geno Smith, threw for 4,320 yards and 21 touchdowns last season, and he had Smith-Njigba, DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. I’m just not sure I trust Darnold away from O’Connell. This could be a disaster.
Anthony Richardson (QB – IND)/Daniel Jones (QB – IND)
Where to even begin with this one, right? The Colts are still debating between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones for the starting quarterback job. Richardson has failed to live up to his No. 4 overall draft status, and Jones has been a perpetual bust throughout his career.
Richardson offers some upside as a runner, but as a passer? Forget about it. Last season, he completed 47.7% of his passes for 1,814 yards, eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He attempted 264 passes over 11 games. Richardson also got hurt in the first preseason game, dislocating his pinky.
As for Jones, he has some rushing upside — not anything like Richardson — and is a better passer, though that’s not saying much. Last season, before getting benched and cut, he completed 63.3% of his passes for 2,070 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions across 341 attempts.
Neither quarterback will move the needle in fantasy.
Trevor Lawrence (QB – JAX)
Of the quarterbacks on this list, I would be most happy to be wrong about Trevor Lawrence. He has a lot working in his favor. Jacksonville has a great No. 1 WR in Brian Robinson Jr. The team drafted Travis Hunter and brought in a deep threat option with Dyami Brown, and they have an offensive-minded head coach in Liam Coen.
However, I have little faith in the running game. The offensive line has some upgrades with Robert Hainsey and Patrick Mekari, but it is still far from one of the best units, and, so far, Lawrence simply hasn’t gotten it done in the NFL.
In 10 games last season before injuring his non-throwing shoulder, Lawrence completed 60.6% of his passes for 2,045 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He did have three rushing touchdowns, though. Lawrence averaged 16.8 fantasy points per game, which was good enough for QB22 from Weeks 1 to 17.
Do I think Lawrence will improve under Coen? Yes, but right now he’s on my do not draft list. I need to see it first to believe it.
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