In fantasy, just as in real NFL football, the quarterback is crucial to your lineup construction to help you win your league’s championships. Most fantasy managers know that Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, and Josh Allen can win you a title; do they know the QB2 with top-5 potential? Correctly analyzing and identifying those later quarterbacks are essential to a draft strategy to help you win your league. Let’s start with our first quarterback, who is overlooked year after year in fantasy football.

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QB2s With Top-5 Potential

Here are quarterbacks being drafted outside the top-12 that have top-5 upside.

Kirk Cousins (QB – MIN)

Kirk Cousins always provides a safe floor for your fantasy team, but few tend to see the upside due to the “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” Effect (TEOTH). What is that, you asked? Well, good question! TEOTH is when your fantasy heart is eclipsed from seeing the potential value of an aging veteran for the younger flashy quarterbacks in the NFL. Cousins has a beautiful situation in Minnesota with another year under Kevin O’Connell. This extra year will allow for a better command of the new system he was learning that leans heavily on 11 personnel.

With that 11 personnel, we must also look into the off-season moves within the Minnesota organization to see how they support a higher passing volume offense. This process started in mid-season last year when they traded for T.J. Hockenson, and they continued to add in the draft with a separation guru in Jordan Addison. With the Minnesota Vikings bringing in those two players to attach to one of the best wide receivers in the game, Justin Jefferson, they now have a trio of weapons that can elevate Kirk Cousins’ game.

Finally, the last piece of the puzzle was Minnesota releasing Dalvin Cook. They have signaled they are ready to move into the new era and lean on their passing game while Alexander Mattison handles the running game duties. In 2023, the Vikings will have to depend on the arm of Kirk Cousins, and if you draft him, you’ll watch every Sunday as he elevates your roster with his decreased ADP and scream, “YOU LIKE THAT!”

Geno Smith (QB – SEA)

When you finish QB5 in 2022, you should command respect…

When you throw for 4,282 yards with 30 touchdowns, you should command respect…

When you lead the NFL in completion percentage (69.8%), you should command respect…

When the Seattle Seahawks add the best wide receiver in the NFL draft in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, you should command respect…

Yet everyone keeps writing Geno Smith off as he sits in FantasyPros rankings as QB14. They must have forgotten that Geno won’t write back (Best Quote of 2022, by the way). Geno Smith starts the season elevating your lineup by facing less-than-stellar defenses in the LA Rams, Carolina Panthers, and Detroit Lions. You may be weary due to the style of play that Seattle plays with a run-first mentality, however with Tyler Lockett, JSN, Noah Fant, and DK Metcalf; Geno Smith should face easy-to-solve coverages and allow his talented wide receivers to drive his stats right back near that QB5 level.

Anthony Richardson (QB – IND)

Anthony Richardson looks like he was built in a lab. He has a cannon arm, mobile legs, and is the size of a tank. He was drafted to the Indianapolis Colts, where Shane Steichen, Jalen Hurts’ former offensive coordinator, resides, and he has Jonathan Taylor to run the RPO system. We understand that his accuracy could be an issue. However, being the key to a Konami Code king in your fantasy league is worth his ADP as he sits at QB18 between Russell Wilson and Matthew Stafford.

Although both players are talented quarterbacks, if you are looking for upside (which you should be), no one can provide a higher ceiling for your fantasy teams like Anthony Richardson will. At worst, he provide Lamar Jackson (before his MVP season) value, and his ceiling is where Jalen Hurts landed last season. Build your roster in other positions and land this young athletic quarterback to elevate your roster to an unbeatable level.

Late-round quarterback used to be the only way to draft. Now fantasy managers are switching courses and drafting the elite quarterbacks early. It would be best if you zigged while they zag and loaded your team up with talented playmakers and then drafted one, maybe even two, of these quarterbacks to reach a championship-worthy fantasy roster.

Remember to read all the fantastic work here at FantasyPros. You can also reach out for advice to me on Twitter at @jpep20. Good luck in 2023!

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