I’m a big proponent of the late round quarterback drafting method. Advocating for such a no-brainer drafting method isn’t that difficult at all. There’s plenty of sound reasons for foregoing the quarterback position in traditional start-one quarterback leagues and waiting to select your signal caller. The position is the most predictable, it’s flat in scoring, and the opportunity cost — foregoing a starting running back or wide receiver — just isn’t worth it in the early rounds.
As noted by Armando Marsal in an earlier article on Superflex League Strategy, the difference between the QB6 and the QB16 was just 2.27 points per game. That’s just half a touchdown in most leagues (four points per passing touchdown). Through rushing or increased passing volume, there’s plenty of ways for a quarterback to make up that difference any given week.
The quarterback position is deeper this year than I can ever remember. I’ve been bestball drafting for nearly five months now and there are plenty of fantasy quarterback options for you to take deep into your fantasy drafts. Streaming your quarterbacks based on matchups is a viable backup option in traditional 12 team leagues, but the goal is to hit a homerun with your quarterback and hope they turn into an every-week starter.
When targeting late round quarterbacks, I like to draft players that check off a few key boxes that have previously led to me drafting the position with great success:
Easy Early Schedule – the first few weeks are when we are most active on the waiver wire. Finding a quarterback that has an easy start to the year can let you prioritize tweaking your RB/WR positions instead.
Aggressive Passing Playcaller – Passing volume isn’t the most important statistic when searching for a quarterback, but we want our QBs to be in offenses that lean more pass-heavy. Working with playcallers that are also aggressive, pass in any type of game script, and throw often in the red zone can benefit the both the quarterback and the entire offense.
Strong Supporting Cast – A quarterback throwing to scrubs can be detrimental to the entire offense. A talented supporting cast can help pick up yardage after the catch, break tackles for additional yardage, and win contested catches for touchdowns. We don’t necessarily need a team to field a roster of All-Pro’s at each position, but quarterbacks throwing to plus-receivers will naturally see an uptick in efficiency and overall fantasy production.
Let’s check out a few quarterback options that check these three boxes, have a redraft ADP beyond QB12, and are available in the double-digit rounds.
LRQB Fantasy Options for 2019
Jameis Winston (QB13)
Bruce Arians is going to keep the fireworks flying in Tampa Bay this upcoming year. Last year’s combination of Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick finished with the fifth-most passing yards in NFL history. Arians’ aggressive playcalling will fit right in here and we can expect Tampa Bay to finish near the top of the leaderboards in most passing categories again in 2019. Winston averaged over 294 passing yards per game and 19.3 FPPG in nine starts last year. That fantasy pace would’ve netted him a fantasy finish of QB8 last year. The Bucs were also top-five in most red zone plays last year (3.8 per game) and top-10 in red zone pass play percentage (57.9%). Add in the fact they start the year tied with the Chargers for the softest opening month in terms of Passing Strength of Schedule (SOS), and Winston becomes a fantasy homerun available in the double-digit rounds.
Philip Rivers (QB14)
The Chargers’ soft schedule makes Philip Rivers an appealing fantasy candidate to start the year. Opening against the likes of Indianapolis, Detroit, Houston, and Miami leads to a strong chance of Rivers outplaying his current ADP. Rivers is coming of a 2018 season where he had an extraordinary 68.3% completion rate at 8.5 yards per attempt. Both figures were just shy of career marks for the 15-year veteran. Entering his fourth year in OC Ken Whisenhunt’s system, Rivers not only has comfortability within the system, he’s loaded at playmakers at every position. The return of Hunter Henry makes this one of the most complete teams in the AFC. Despite a relatively balanced run/pass ratio, Rivers’ high-end efficiency makes up for any volume shortcomings.
Ben Roethlisberger (QB16)
Entering the post-Antonio Brown era, Ben Roethlisberger will have to find a new way to keep the chains moving in Pittsburgh. JuJu Smith-Schuster will contend for the lion’s share of targets (226 vacated), but the pecking order behind him remains one of the hottest topics entering training camp. Whoever is out there, they should see plenty of volume in this offense. The 2018 Steelers trailed only Green Bay in pass play percentage (67.4%) and operated at a top-12 pace of play in situation-neutral situations. They were also the most pass-heavy squad when in the red zone (65.8%). Pittsburgh also benefits from the fourth-easiest Passing SOS in the first month of the year before they get hit with a brutal schedule. Stream Big Ben early in the year, but don’t be afraid to pivot elsewhere once the Steelers get into the meat of their schedule.
Lamar Jackson (QB20)
Slipping all the way down to QB20, fantasy footballers seem to forget exactly how consistently good Lamar Jackson was last year. Jackson never fell below 15 fantasy points per game and ran for at least 67 yards in all but one of his seven starts. The passing was sporadic at best (58.2% completion rate), but his fantasy outputs were consistent on a week-to-week basis. Starting the year with matchups against Miami, Arizona, and Kansas City, we could see Jackson get off to a hot start. The Ravens promoted Greg Roman to OC, who worked with former run specialists like Colin Kaepernick and Tyrod Taylor, and found great success. After losing some notable playmakers on defense, game script could force the Ravens to pass more often this year and turn up the flame on aggressiveness. Baltimore reigned supreme in terms of time of possession (No. 1), all while sporting a top-five pace of play during situation-neutral gamescripts. I’m eager to see how Jackson makes the second-year leap in a Roman-led offense.
*Bonus: Jimmy Garoppolo (QB18)
I’m including Jimmy Garoppolo here because he starts the year off with what should be the worst pass defense in the league, Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers’ secondary is loaded with inexperience and it should be a primary target of ours all season long. Kyle Shanahan’s play calling was not the reason San Francisco went to 4-12 last season. That was largely due to injuries and turnovers. Getting back a healthy Garoppolo should be the key to seeing this offense operate efficiently. Garoppolo makes sense as a Week 1 streamer to ditch quickly; San Francisco’s schedule climbs in difficulty in a hurry with them moving on to play in Cincinnati and then home against Pittsburgh. Starting off the year by streaming Jimmy G in Week 1 and then moving onto either Andy Dalton (vs SF) or Derek Carr (vs KC) in Week 2, could be a viable start to building your Frankenstein Build-A-QB of 2019.
