5 Late-Round QBs to Draft (2025 Fantasy Football)

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 late-round fantasy football picks I target in drafts.

Fantasy Football Draft Targets: Late-Round Quarterbacks

Let’s dive into late-round quarterbacks Derek Brown targets in drafts.

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’Connel’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.

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.

C.J. Stroud (HOU)

Last year was disastrous for Stroud as he tumbled from the QB7 in fantasy points per game to the QB28. Everything that could have gone wrong did. His offensive line imploded. Nico Collins was in and out of the lineup, while Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs were lost to season-ending injuries. Stroud didn’t help matters with the fifth-highest time to throw and the 15th-highest pressure-to-sack ratio (per Fantasy Points Data). Stroud will operate behind a retooled offensive line in 2025 that honestly couldn’t be worse than what he dealt with last year. The skill player cabinet has been restocked with a nice mix of veterans and youth, with the additions of Christian Kirk, Jayden Higgins, Jayllin Noel, Nick Chubb, and Justin Watson. Everything is setting up nicely for Stroud to make a run as a top-12 fantasy quarterback again this season.

Bryce Young (CAR)

The light finally came on for Bryce Young down the stretch last year. In Weeks 12-18, he was the QB8 in fantasy points per game, averaging 25.4 rushing yards per game, which would have ranked 12th-best overall last year. During that stretch, among 34 qualifying quarterbacks, Young ranked eighth in CPOE, 12th in highly accurate throw rate, and second in hero throw rate (per Fantasy Points Data). He was aggressively pushing the ball downfield with the fifth-highest deep throw rate in the NFL behind only Josh Allen, Anthony Richardson, Lamar Jackson, and Jordan Love. Young is a sneaky QB2 option for 2025 who could again flirt with QB1 production if he can keep up the stellar play of late 2024 and quickly get on the same page with Tetairoa McMillan.

Geno Smith (LV)

Geno Smith was the QB15 in fantasy points per game on the strength of operating in an offense that ranked fourth in passing attempts. I don’t know if he’ll be afforded anywhere near that amount of volume with the Raiders, but Smith also checked more than a few boxes for strong quarterback play last season. Among 40 qualifying quarterbacks, he ranked 13th in yards per attempt, fourth in CPOE, and tenth in highly accurate throw rate (per Fantasy Points Data). The wheels came off for Smith when he was pressured, and that happened often in 2024 as he faced the sixth-most pressures in the NFL. Last year, when pressured, Smith ranked 35th in passer rating with the fourth-highest turnover-worthy throw rate while sitting at 17th in adjusted completion rate. When Smith passed from a clean pocket, he ranked 13th in passer rating, had the 23rd-lowest turnover-worthy throw rate, and was second in adjusted completion rate. The move from Seattle to Las Vegas could benefit Smith’s pressure sensitivity greatly as the Raiders were 14th in pass blocking grade last season (Seattle 19th). I don’t think Smith has the juice to be a QB1 this season, but he could easily turn in high-end QB2 numbers again this season with plenty of splash performances for the quarterback-streaming crowd.