The quarterback position can be a tricky spot to draft for a lot of fantasy managers. Do you address the position earlier by drafting the likes of Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, or Lamar Jackson? Or do you wait it out and solve that problem in the middle to later rounds?
Well, if you’re a person who kicks the can down the road, here are four quarterbacks who could provide great upside to your fantasy team.
Trevor Lawrence
Frankly, last season went about as bad as it could have gone for Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, a lot of their struggles can be placed at the feet of former Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer. With Meyer now out of the picture, Lawrence should be in a better position to prove why he was the No. 1 overall pick in 2021.
As drafts go now, Lawrence’s average draft position is in the middle of the 14th round. Quarterbacks like Justin Fields and Tua Tagovailoa are currently being drafted at least 11 spots ahead of him. There’s apprehension because Lawrence finished the season as QB23 and only had five weeks where he scored 16 or more points.
The Jaguars addressed some of the problems around Lawrence in free agency and with draft picks so that there would be a more well-rounded offense surrounding their franchise signal-caller. Waiting to draft a quarterback in the later rounds wouldn’t be a bad play this fantasy season and Lawrence has an opportunity to return great value where he’s currently being drafted.
Trey Lance
A new era in San Francisco 49ers football is just beyond the horizon and we got a small preview last season of what’s in store. In the three games that Trey Lance had 18 or more passing attempts, he finished with an average of 18 fantasy points a game. It’s an extremely small sample size, but Lance showed glimpses of what made him the third overall pick in 2021.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Jalen Hurts, finished as QB9 last season and Lance can make that same type of fantasy impact in his sophomore season as well. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is known as an offensive genius and he’s going to put Lance in situations to succeed. Lance has the ability to launch the ball downfield, but can also scramble out of the pocket and take it to the end zone on his own, giving him a chance to have one of the highest ceilings in fantasy.
Lance is currently going at the end of the 10th round and is being drafted as QB13. With the amount of offensive weapons at Lance’s disposal, he’s in the perfect situation to outperform his average draft position.
Derek Carr
In the eight seasons that Derek Carr has been the Las Vegas Raiders’ signal-caller, he has never finished better than QB12, which came in 2016. However, with the Raiders acquiring Carr’s college teammate and two-time All-Pro wide receiver, Davante Adams, Carr is poised to have the best season of his career.
The Raiders should be more fluid than last season, and with head coach Josh McDaniels directing the offense, Carr’s arguably in the best position of his career. With an offense that features receivers like Adams, Darren Waller, and Hunter Renfrow, Carr has one of the best receiving corps in the league.
Carr is going as QB14 in the middle of the 11th round, which makes sense with how he has performed in the last couple of seasons. However, Carr’s floor and ceiling should see a big boost with some of the additions that the Raiders made in the off-season.
Kirk Cousins
It may go somewhat unnoticed, but Kirk Cousins has finished as QB11 the past two seasons in fantasy. For the most part, Cousins is a reliable fantasy quarterback option. Of course, he doesn’t have the ceiling of Allen, Mahomes, Herbert or Jackson, but rarely will Cousins lose a matchup for you.
There’s even room to believe that Cousins’ production could increase since the Minnesota Vikings hired former Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator, Kevin O’Connell, to be their head coach this past off-season. With the amount of offensive talent surrounding Cousins, he has a chance to have one of the best seasons of his career.
Cousins is being drafted towards the end of the 11th round, making him an intriguing pick for anyone that waits to draft a quarterback. He may have a couple of bumpy weeks, but most of the time, you can pencil Cousins in for at least 15 fantasy points a week.
