There’s nothing wrong with selecting Josh Allen in fantasy football or banking on bounce-back campaigns from Lamar Jackson or Jayden Daniels, namely in softer home leagues, where sharp gamers can soak up mid-and-late-round values at running back and wide receiver.
However, in sharper leagues or those where quarterbacks get chased up draft boards, it makes sense to hunt for value at the position. The following two quarterbacks are drafted in Underdog drafts as fringe starters in 12-team leagues, and they’re must-have targets at the position.
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Must-Have Fantasy Football Quarterbacks
Justin Herbert (QB – LAC) | Underdog ADP: 82.7/QB9
Justin Herbert lost his stalwart left tackle, Rashawn Slater, to a season-ending torn patellar tendon in August. Unfortunately, the hits didn’t end there, as talented starting tackle Joe Alt played in only six games, falling short of 42% of offensive snaps in two of those contests as well. The circumstances were dire for the offensive line, but Herbert took his licks and kept on competing.
Herbert finished as the QB10 in fantasy points (299.9) last season, and his average draft position (ADP) is only one spot higher this season. Los Angeles’ franchise quarterback was, predictably, at his best when Alt was healthy.
According to the Fantasy Points data suite, in the four games when Alt had over a 90% snap share, Herbert recorded the following numbers:
- 160 dropbacks
- 133 pass attempts
- 90 completions
- 67.7% completion rate
- 76.2% adjusted completion percentage
- 1,087 passing yards (271.8 per game)
- 8.17 yards per pass attempt
- 7.67 adjusted net yards per pass attempt
- 9 passing touchdowns
- 2 interceptions
- 22.4 fantasy points per game
Obviously, four games are a small sample. Still, Herbert didn’t bum hunt. Instead, those games were against the Chiefs, Raiders, Broncos and Vikings. To put Herbert’s 22.4 fantasy points per game in those games into perspective, Josh Allen was the QB1 and scored 22 fantasy points per game.
Herbert’s passing upside matches that of anyone at the position. Where he can differentiate from strictly pocket passers is with his legs. According to Pro-Football-Reference, Herbert had a career-high 31.1 rushing yards per game and scored two rushing touchdowns last season. He’s scored multiple rushing touchdowns in five of his six seasons as a pro, and last year’s outburst in yardage squashed his previous career high of 18 rushing yards per game in 2024.
It would be lazy to call Herbert’s rushing ability and athleticism sneaky. Last year’s production was proof of concept of those tools being actual weapons to enhance the club’s offense.
After playing with Greg Roman as his offensive coordinator for the previous two years, Herbert will now play under Mike McDaniel. Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t possess nearly the same tools as Herbert, and McDaniel’s former quarterback offered zero as a runner, but Tagovailoa was the QB9 in fantasy points (284.4) in 2023. Herbert offers gamers top-three fantasy quarterback upside at a QB9 draft cost that falls somewhere between his median and floor.
Trevor Lawrence (QB – JAX) | Underdog ADP: 82.9/QB10
Copying and pasting a player’s finish from the previous season to the following season is a frequent pitfall for casual gamers. Having said that, it’s shocking Trevor Lawrence is currently selected as the QB10 in Underdog drafts after finishing as the QB4 in fantasy points (350.2) in 2025.
Last year was Lawrence’s first playing for Liam Coen. Despite it being a new football marriage, Lawrence thrived. He threw a career-high 29 passing touchdowns, set a new best in quarterback rating (58.3) and finished with his second-most adjusted net yards per pass attempt (6.3). Lawrence also had his best season as a rusher, one year after Baker Mayfield had his best season to that point as a rusher in Coen’s only year as Tampa Bay’s play-caller.
Lawrence’s full-season showing was stellar and much better than where he’s currently being drafted. Moreover, Lawrence did his best fantasy work down the stretch, which intuitively makes sense as he and Coen became more familiar with one another. The Jaguars also acquired Jakobi Meyers in a trade, and Parker Washington carved out a more prominent role in the offense as the season went on.
From Week 10 through Week 18, Lawrence was the QB1 in total points (210.9) and the QB1 in fantasy points per game (23.4). Lawrence posted the following stats during those nine games:
- 311 dropbacks
- 267 pass attempts
- 166 completions
- 62.2% completion rate
- 75.1% adjusted completion rate
- 240.8 passing yards per game
- 8.12 yards per pass attempt
- 7.55 adjusted net yards per pass attempt
- 20 passing touchdowns
- 6 interceptions
- 43 rush attempts
- 24.7 per game
- 5.16 yards per carry
- 5 rushing touchdowns
Lawrence is a steal at his ADP. His upside was on full display last year. If he falters or turns into a pre-2025 pumpkin, gamers can turn to streaming at quarterback. It’s a rare opportunity to get a high-upside player coming off a season of demonstrating that upside at Lawrence’s cost, making him a must-have pick at quarterback.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
