Fantasy Football Draft Sleepers: Bryce Young, Baker Mayfield, Geno Smith, Daniel Jones

Fantasy football draft sleepers! It’s something everyone wants to have on their fantasy football cheat sheets ahead of drafts. There will be plenty of names flying around the fantasy football community as September approaches. Here are a few early fantasy football draft sleepers that we love this summer.

Fantasy Football Draft Sleepers: Late-Round Quarterbacks

Superflex leagues have enjoyed a rapid ascent in popularity in recent years. It solved what was arguably the biggest issue with traditional fantasy football formats in that quarterbacks don’t matter. The most important position on the real football field is the least important in fantasy because standard fantasy scoring homogenizes quarterbacks into an indistinguishable glob of safe floors and high ceilings. This means the early-round signal-callers barely outscored their late-round counterparts (if at all) on a per-game basis.

Superflex allows managers to fill an additional starting position with any player (even a second QB). This results in a sudden and drastic shift in positional value, subsequently pushing QB much higher in fantasy drafts from the fabricated scarcity. In many cases, there is an overreaction in Superflex drafts from antsy managers reaching at the position from fear of missing out (FOMO). Don’t let FOMO force you to draw dead.

There are quite a few more quarterbacks with value later in Superflex drafts, whether they are your QB1 or QB2 (or even QB3). I have long employed JJ Zachariason’s late-round QB strategy to great effect, even in Superflex dynasty leagues where QB anxiety is at its peak among drafters. You might not have the same constitution for letting opponents “take all the good ones” as me. I would still implore you to consider some of these guys available long after the early tiers have dried up. You will enjoy stronger edges at every other position and a roster more fortified against attrition.

Bryce Young (QB – CAR)

It was a putrid rookie season for the number one overall pick from Alabama. Bryce Young is still a passing savant with insane football instincts and intelligence. He dealt with too many cooks in the kitchen who couldn’t agree on an offensive system or development plan for their talented young field general. The Panthers also suffered through a dearth of receivers who could create separation and open windows for Young. This was all in concert with an offensive line that couldn’t block a pass rush of senior citizens on Jazzy scooters.

Enter Dave Canales. The Bucs struck gold with the young offensive coach last season en route to a playoff berth with embattled top pick Baker Mayfield at the helm. The parallels between Young and Mayfield are simply astounding. Carolina, to their credit, went out and acquired some serviceable weaponry for Young the second time around. Diontae Johnson is among the league’s best route-running WRs and first-round selection Xavier Legette is a yards-after-catch (YAC) merchant sorely lacking from the 2023 corps. Add in top rookie RB Jonathon Brooks and the Panthers could well spin this into a winning campaign. Young was somehow still QB23 last season through abject failure. His average draft position (ADP) shows him available in the seventh round of Superflex drafts, which is insane for a guy who carved up the SEC just over a year ago.

Baker Mayfield (QB – TB)

I think it’s safe to say the Browns were the losers in the Baker Mayfield saga. Cleveland gave up on yet another top pick not long after he carried the franchise to its first playoff win in ages. Mayfield is good. He bet on himself and came up aces in 2023 to earn a new contract. The Buccaneers are very much contenders to win the NFC South again in 2024 with their gunslinger calling the shots. Mayfield was QB10 last year and is only 29 years old, so why is he still tapping his toes pensively in the eighth round of Superflex drafts? His name is still stigmatized throughout the football world, but this is a clear edge for those in the know.

Geno Smith (QB – SEA)

By most accounts, Geno Smith’s glistening carriage from the 2022 “Ain’t write back” campaign turned back into a gourd last season. Like Will Hunting, it wasn’t his fault. Injuries to two offensive tackles forced Seattle to play even more conservatively than usual. Smith was under constant duress and his accuracy metrics predictably plummeted, especially on throws down the field and on the boundaries. The Seahawks acquired promising youngster Sam Howell from Washington for depth and the rumors immediately began to swirl that Smith’s days as the Seahawks’ starter are numbered. Pump the brakes.

New offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb was outstanding at the University of Washington. He put Michael Penix in very favorable looks with an outstanding trio of WRs and led them to the National Championship game. Smith still has one of the best receiving groups in the entire league and assumedly a healthy and improved offensive line. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are the tried and true, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba is part of the next wave of dominant receivers in tomorrow’s NFL. Smith was QB19 last season and the ticker is pointing skyward, even for someone available in the 11th round of Superflex drafts. Howell can be had for insurance, but Smith is still the guy.

Daniel Jones (QB – NYG)

I like Drew Lock in New York. He’s still not as good as Daniel Jones. Danny Dimes’ 2023 season was washed away by a torn ACL in Week 9, but his supporting cast was anything but ideal. It was pretty terrible in 2022, too, but Jones rushed for more than 700 yards and seven touchdowns to be QB9 overall. I wholeheartedly believe the community is downplaying the value added to this offense by Malik Nabers. He is a game-breaking playmaker. I dare say the Giants are an underrated assortment of fantasy assets.

Brian Daboll made chicken salad out of you-know-what two years ago and finally has some hope to execute his vision for this unit. It’s pretty wild to find a recent QB1 who is still the presumed starter of an offense on the rise available after the 12th round in Superflex formats. Jones is that man. He’s 27 years old. Let’s reap the rewards of an inefficient player who rakes in fantasy points far outweighing his acquisition cost.

Fantasy Football Draft Picks to Target

Fitz’s Top Fantasy Football Draft Targets (Premium)
Erickson’s Top Fantasy Football Draft Targets (Premium)
DBro’s Top Fantasy Football Draft Targets (Premium)

NFL Bryce Young Baker Mayfield Diontae Johnson Xavier Legette Jonathon Brooks Geno Smith Sam Howell Michael Penix DK Metcalf Tyler Lockett Jaxon Smith-Njigba Daniel Jones Drew Lock Malik Nabers