Quarterback Rankings and Draft Strategy 

It’s officially summer and while baseball dominates the sports headlines, fantasy football enthusiasts know that the start of summer means that it will not be long before NFL training camps open, preseason football games are played, and redraft leagues fill. 

To help you prepare for the upcoming draft season, I will be breaking down how I will be approaching each position on draft day. This four-part series will feature redraft rankings, targets, fades, sleepers, and overall strategy for each of the positions (QB, RB, WR, TE). 

The series begins with quarterback. Discussions assume 1QB redraft. Targets, fades, and sleepers are all based on how I see a player’s value in relation to their current ADP. 

There are very few players that I am completely out on. There is almost always a point where a player would slide far enough in a draft where I would feel comfortable selecting him. However, based on ADP, there are several players at each position that I am not likely to roster in a single league; those players make up my “fade” list. 

In the same way, my “targets” and “sleepers” are players I see as being undervalued, and as such, I am bound to be heavily invested in them this year, barring a significant change to their ADPs. 

Don’t agree with some of the rankings or advice—let us know your thoughts on our message board, found at the end of the article. 

Rankings

rank	Name	Team
1	Josh Allen	BUF
2	Lamar Jackson	BAL
3	Jayden Daniels	WAS
4	Jalen Hurts	PHI
5	Joe Burrow	CIN
6	Patrick Mahomes II	KC
7	Baker Mayfield	TB
8	Jared Goff	DET
9	Kyler Murray	ARI
10	Trevor Lawrence	JAC
11	Caleb Williams	CHI
12	Dak Prescott	DAL
13	Bo Nix	DEN
14	Brock Purdy	SF
15	Justin Fields	NYJ
16	Jordan Love	GB
17	Justin Herbert	LAC
18	C.J. Stroud	HOU
19	Matthew Stafford	LAR
20	J.J. McCarthy	MIN
21	Drake Maye	NE
22	Bryce Young	CAR
23	Tua Tagovailoa	MIA
24	Cameron Ward	TEN
25	Michael Penix Jr.	ATL
26	Sam Darnold	SEA
27	Geno Smith	LV
28	Aaron Rodgers	PIT
29	Anthony Richardson	IND
30	Daniel Jones	IND
31	Tyler Shough	NO
32	Jaxson Dart	NYG
33	Russell Wilson	NYG
34	Joe Flacco	CLE
35	Jameis Winston	NYG
36	Jalen Milroe	SEA

Targets

Trevor Lawrence 

Prior to Trevor Lawrence’s 2024 season prematurely ending in Week 9 (other than his ten week 10 attempts before leaving with an injury), Lawrence was fantasy’s #9 overall quarterback. This coming off of a 2023 where he finished as a borderline QB1. 

Jacksonville added a potential stud receiver with the #2 overall pick in Travis Hunter. Hunter will split time on defense, but with superstar Brian Thomas serving at the team’s go-to receiver, Hunter can settle into his role as an elite #2 option. With questions surrounding the Jaguars ground game, Lawrence could see career highs in attempts and completions, making him an excellent value and mispriced as QB19 on FantasyPros Expert Consensus Ranking (ECR). 

Dak Prescott 

Dak Prescott’s story heading into draft season largely mirrors Trevor Lawrence’s. Dak’s 2024 season ended in Week 9, but all signs point to the Dallas quarterback entering 2025 fully healthy. His shorten 2024 season seems to have caused his top-3 2023 finish to have been largely forgotten, as evident by his QB15 ECR. However, with the addition of George Pickens, set to line up opposite CeeDee Lamb, Prescott will be throwing to one of the top receiving duos in the league. Considering that the Cowboys come into training camp with arguably the worst running back room in the league, Dak is expected to carry the Dallas offense this season, making him a top quarterback target. 

Fades

Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers turns 42 during the season, and will be taking over a Steelers offense that had the fourth-lowest passing attempts in 2024, used their second pick on a running back in Kaleb Johnson (pick 3.19), and has an underwhelming receiving room outside of newly-acquired DK Metcalf. 

At QB20 (DataForce ADP), Rodgers’ cost is too high for his limited ceiling. I would much rather target Matthew Stafford, J.J. McCarthy, and Bryce Young, all of whom go later in DataForce drafts.  

Drake May

The real-life excitement over Drake May establishing himself as the Patriots long-term solution at quarterback seems to have clouded his realistic range of outcomes for the 2025 fantasy season. Drake May leads a New England offense that was bottom-ten in passing attempts and only surpassed the hapless Giants in passing touchdowns. With a receiving room filled with questions marks, I do not expect enough positive regression to justify his QB16 DataForce ADP, higher than Jordan Love and Trevor Lawrence. 

Sleepers

J.J. McCarthy

Supporting cast matters. Sam Darnold obliterated all previous career highs in 2024, when he threw for 4319 yards with 35 touchdowns. Having Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and Aaron Jones on the receiving end of passes makes for a productive season. With Darnold cashing in on his fantasy QB1 season, signing a lucrative contract with Seattle, it is now McCarthy’s turn. 

It would be bad process to simply pencil in McCarthy for similar numbers as Darnold’s league-winning 2024 season. At the same time, McCarthy is the unquestioned starter heading into 2025, with the same supporting cast that Darnold enjoyed, including a healthy Hockenson. His QB21 Dataforce ADP is his floor and makes him a fine second or third quarterback in superflex or best ball. 

Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford’s Dataforce ADP of QB27 makes little sense. Stafford continues to perform well, finishing as a solid QB2 in his age 36 season. The Rams replaced a washed-looking Cooper Kupp with Davante Adams, who would have posted yet another WR1 season, if not for his missing three games at start of the year. Do not confuse dynasty with redraft…there is no reason why Stafford should not be viewed again as solid QB2 with upside. 

Overall Strategy 

When it comes to best ball, I tend to favor 3QB builds made up primarily of quarterbacks from the teens and early twenties of my rankings, quarterbacks that are expected to start Week 1 and keep their job all season. That “larger tier” features enough quarterbacks with rushing upside and/or lead high-volume passing attacks, that any one of my three quarterbacks can return value, any given week. This build has allowed me to load up on wide receivers and running back early. If Trevor Lawrence and/or Dak Prescott drop, as has often been the case, I am thrilled to secure them at value. 

In traditional redraft, I am looking to select one of the top 12 quarterbacks from my rankings if I wanted to be comfortable just rostering one quarterback heading into the season. If I were to employ a committee, I would target a pair in my top twenty. As detailed earlier, Trevor Lawrence and Dak Prescott appear to be the best values heading into traditional redraft season, and are likely to be on many of my redraft teams.

 

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