The quarterback position is king in the NFL, but that traditionally isn’t the case in fantasy. While it’s always exciting to roster one of the league’s top passers, in 1QB leagues it’s hard to argue against the power that taking a QB late while loading up on the skill positions. The response to this has been a rise in 2QB and Superflex leagues, as fantasy owners try to mirror the NFL in the importance of signal callers. Still, even in leagues that start a pair of QBs, there’s value to be had at the position.
We’ve asked our writers to provide their best values at the quarterback position based on our consensus ADP.
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Who are the best values at the quarterback position?
Kirk Cousins (MIN): ADP QB22
Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins is one of those players that is drastically undervalued in fantasy football because of his shortcomings as an NFL quarterback. While those issues are a major problem for the Minnesota Vikings quest to be a Super Bowl winner, they do nothing to negatively impact Cousins’ value as a fantasy quarterback. Cousins is a very durable quarterback, having started 16 games each of the last four years. He has finished eighth, fifth, sixth, and 13th the last four years among fantasy quarterbacks. His offense is loaded with good offensive weapons, such as WRs Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs and RB Dalvin Cook. Those should all help him have a big statistical season in 2019, and the chances of Cousins falling off from 13th to 20th in fantasy points among quarterbacks seems very unlikely. Furthermore, the chances of him being benched for Sean Mannion are remote given Cousins’ massive contract and Mannion’s lack of NFL experience. Cousins may very well fail to lead his team to the playoffs and fail to win big games against playoff teams, but he seems like a good bet to throw for 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns. Fantasy football is about statistics, not winning important games. Even in today’s pass-happy NFL, Cousins puts up big passing numbers compared to his peers, and he is an absolute steal given his durability, backup situation, and offensive weapons. He needs to be paired with another good quarterback to maximize your fantasy production at quarterback, but that should be easy to do when Cousins has an ADP of 146, making him one of the great values of 2019 fantasy football drafts.
– Derek Lofland (@DerekLofland)
Kyler Murray (ARI): ADP QB12
This is the easiest I was able to pinpoint the guy to fit the question. Kyler Murray is a ridiculous value going outside the top 100. Now, to be fair, there is exactly a 0% chance Murray’s ADP is in the triple digits by the time we all draft in late August, but it really doesn’t matter. Murray has never played an NFL snap, but that should not stop everyone from chasing after him. The way you win fantasy leagues is by possessing game-breaking players. Kyler Murray can break matchups. I know QB is largely dismissed by the fantasy community because production is replaceable, and that is true. With that being said, if we knew for a fact that Patrick Mahomes would repeat his 2018 performance, he would be a screaming value in the third round. Murray does not cost a third-round pick, but his ceiling is just as high. In fact, Murray’s ceiling is the No. 1 overall player in fantasy. Even for as high as a seventh-round pick, it’s difficult to say it is not worth it to chase the second coming of 2011 Cam Newton. If you buy into Kliff Kingsbury’s air raid offense and the idea that Murray will be dropping back to pass nearly 700 times, it’s easy to envision how he just explodes as a rookie. I’m not saying it’s a certainty as the Cardinals still need to execute and gain first downs to run as many plays as they want to run, but the upside is undeniable. And what’s the downside? You drop him and stream the same caliber of QB you would draft in the double-digit rounds anyway.
– Jason Katz (@jasonkatz13)
Jimmy Garoppolo (SF): ADP QB21
Last year’s fantasy darling is this year’s bargain bin quarterback, as fantasy players are currently taking Jimmy Garoppolo at just QB21 and 148 overall. For some perspective, that’s behind the inconsistent Mitch Trubisky and sophomore quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. While Garoppolo has not yet played a full season to prove his worth, the complete evaporation of his QB1 hype from last season doesn’t make sense. Sure, he struggled in Week 1 and put up only 9.0 points while throwing three interceptions, but he followed his awful debut with 16.6 and 22.3-point performances. These were good enough to earn him QB19 despite his dismal Week 1 showing. This season, Garoppolo will have had more time to study Kyle Shanahan’s playbook, and he’ll have a stronger supporting cast. The 49ers added wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Jalen Hurd in the draft, and they hired retired wideouts Wes Welker and Miles Austin as coaches. Welker’s addition should help develop slot receiver Trent Taylor, and their roster additions should free up Marquise Goodwin to play a gadget role that maximizes his field-stretching ability. Add Dante Pettis, George Kittle, and newly-acquired Tevin Coleman to the mix, and the 49ers’ offense could score 30+ points per game. Garoppolo may carry risk as an unknown commodity, but the 49ers’ revitalized offense under guru Kyle Shanahan could skyrocket him into QB1 territory. His late-round ADP means that he is a good option for players that want to use valuable early-round draft capital on other positions.
– Isaiah Sirois (@is_sirois)
Carson Wentz (PHI): ADP QB10
This quarterback is getting drafted near pick 100. Over the last two seasons, he has scored 17 or more points in 67 percent of his games, 20 or more in 50 percent, 24 or more 30 percent of the time, and fewer than 15 in just four of his 24 games (17%). Who is he? His name is Carson Wentz and he could be a league-winner. The addition of the ever-dangerous, field-stretching DeSean Jackson will be huge for Wentz, who already has a weapons arsenal that includes: Zach Ertz, Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, Dallas Goedert, and Miles Sanders. The injury concerns with the 26-year-old are nothing to scoff at, but this is the position where you can stream players off the waiver wire without losing any sleep. There is very little risk in selecting Wentz at his current ADP, and the reward could easily be a top-five finish.
– Elisha Twerski (@ElishaTwerski)
Lamar Jackson (BAL): ADP QB19
I’m not recommending starting the season with Lamar Jackson as your QB1, but do your best to lock him up on your bench for two reasons. Lamar did plenty as a rookie to prove that he has that Michael Vick-type fantasy ceiling that made him worthy of a high draft pick or blockbuster trade package for years. Lamar set the all-time record for rushing attempts by a QB in just seven starts, averaging 17 carries per game. Vick never averaged more than 8.3 A/G, and just barely topped 1,000 yards rushing in a season one time. Lamar’s read-option prowess led him to a 1,243-yard 16-game pace last season. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by saying Lamar can be the most productive running QB of all time, a trait that has always been known to be a competitive advantage in fantasy. If his 16-game pace rushing numbers are counted with his FantasyPros passing projections of 3,083 yards 16 TDs and 11 INTs, he ranks as the second-highest scoring QB behind Patrick Mahomes. Even if Lamar fails to improve passing or maintain that insane rushing workload, he can still serve as a valuable plug-and-play option in beneficial matchups. The Ravens allowed the least yards and second-least points in the NFL. If they’re playing a poor offense you can predict that Baltimore will dominate the time of possession with plenty of Lamar and Mark Ingram options. Lamar averaged 11.5 FPPG on the ground last season. After drafting two of the fastest receivers in the first few rounds of the draft and bringing in Mark Ingram in free agency, the fantasy world is in the palm of Jackson’s hands if he can just hit some timely deep passes to keep the defense honest.
– James Esposito (@PropZillaa)
Ben Roethlisberger (PIT): ADP QB15
There are so many guys I was considering and that shows just how much value there is at this position. Some of the others I considered are Drew Brees (eighth), Tom Brady (14th) and Matthew Stafford (13th). I really love Big Ben at 15th, though. Missing Antonio Brown will hurt, but we’re talking about a guy who has finished third in fantasy points last season. This is still a pass-heavy offense and Bog Ben’s floor should be top 15.
– Joel Bartilotta (@Bartilottajoel)
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