If you are looking for cheap upside, quarterback is the perfect position to take some chances. Sure, you can burn an early-round pick on a Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers and hope they stand out from the pack enough to justify missing out on a potential workhorse running back or No. 1 wide receiver.
But you don't have to. Every year, multiple top-five quarterbacks emerge from the later rounds — Mahomes and Matt Ryan last season — to provide huge value for a negligible cost. That's the advice we always try to five, even if we know Fantasy players won't always follow that advice.
Still, if you want to wait on quarterback, you're looking for sleepers with the chance to win your league. That's what we're looking for here. Our staff picks for sleeper quarterbacks might have a bit of a running theme — we love the young guys who can pick up yards on the ground — but you're sure to find at least one player who will make the leap in 2019.
Here's who you'll be hearing from:
- Jamey Eisenberg, CBS Fantasy Senior Writer
- Dave Richard, CBS Fantasy Senior Writer
- Heath Cummings, CBS Fantasy Senior Writer
- Ben Gretch, CBS Fantasy Editor
- Chris Towers, CBS Fantasy Senior Editor
Quarterback Preview
Sleepers
Jamey Eisenberg's sleepers
Projections powered by
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Jackson's Average Draft Position on CBS Sports is laughable right now at No. 152 overall as the No. 25 quarterback off the board. He should destroy that value if things go according to plan. While he obviously needs to improve as a passer, his rushing production is the thing Fantasy managers should covet. He scored at least 21 Fantasy points in three of his final six outings last season, and he led all quarterbacks in rushing yards with 695 on 147 attempts. If healthy, Jackson could rush for 1,000 yards this year, and he should pass for at least 3,000 yards if things go according to plan. I'm excited to see Jackson in Year 2.
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Garoppolo is the perfect sleeper quarterback with his ADP at No. 131 overall. He's the No. 21 quarterback off the board, and I expect him to perform much better than that. He's healthy after last year's torn ACL, which he suffered in Week 3, and the 49ers improved the talent around him with the additions of Tevin Coleman, Deebo Samuel and Jalen Hurd. Along with George Kittle, Dante Pettis and Marquise Goodwin, there's a lot to like about Garoppolo this season, especially at his current price. I'm excited to see what he can do for a full season under coach Kyle Shanahan, who get nine games of at least 20 Fantasy points from the combination of Garoppolo, C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens in 2018. It would not be a surprise if Garoppolo is a top 10 Fantasy quarterback this year.
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Dave Richard's sleepers
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It's disrespectful how we treat Rivers. The guy's finished as a top-10 quarterback each of the past three seasons and a top-12 quarterback each of the past six. Now we're potentially about to get him without his star running back for a bunch of games? The Chargers will talk up Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson, but I'd be shocked if Rivers didn't handle more of the offense without Melvin Gordon around. Given his track record, his (likely?) uptick in pass attempts and a pretty nice starting schedule, don't be shocked when Rivers is among the hottest quarterbacks off waivers in September. Just draft him late.
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When Prescott got Amari Cooper last year, his numbers started to take off. Without Cooper he averaged 17.4 Fantasy points per game; with him that average was 21.5. Not only will he still have Cooper, but Randall Cobb and Jason Witten offer some veteran hands to help push Prescott's numbers higher. Dallas has the easiest early season schedule, according to my Strength of Schedule projections, and the offensive line is first class. Don't ignore Dak.
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Heath Cummings' sleepers
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From the point Jackson became the starter in 2018, he was tied with Aaron Rodgers as the No. 12 quarterback in Fantasy on a per-game basis. That's in standard CBS leagues. In leagues that award just four points per passing touchdown, he was even better. Admittedly, Jackson was a poor passer as a rookie, but it's difficult to make a statistical case he was worse than Carson Wentz, Jared Goff or Mitchell Trubisky. Jackson's floor may just be better than where CBS ADP has him, and his ceiling is sky high. If he makes the leap Wentz, Goff and Trubisky did as passers, he has legitimate top-five upside in any format.
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Dak Prescott is another quarterback who is being drafted closer to his floor than his reasonable expectation. Prescott has never finished below 14th. His rushing gives him a good floor (at least 282 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns every year of his career) but his upside has been most evident whenever he's had a No. 1 receiver. In 2016, back when Dez Bryant still was a No. 1, Prescott was a top six quarterback in Fantasy. In 2018, after the team acquired Amari Cooper, Prescott was the No. 10 quarterback in Fantasy. As long as Cooper and Ezekiel Elliott are available, we have no reason to expect anything other than Prescott being a starter in Fantasy. If you're waiting on quarterback in the draft it's hard to find a better option.
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Ben Gretch's sleepers
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A popular sleeper, perhaps the only thing holding Winston's ADP down is eight missed games over the past two seasons to everything from injury to suspension to being benched. It's certainly not his weapons, because even with some departures he's still throwing to an elite trio of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and O.J. Howard. It's not his offense, because Bruce Arians' history suggests a continuance of the vertical passing game that has been Fantasy gold in Tampa the past couple seasons. The upside is there if Winston can be more consistent.
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Prescott is the ideal late-round quarterback if you wait at the position. His past boom-or-bust profile has been in part due to offensive line injuries, and his rushing ability should provide a more stable floor than we've seen. His ADP is much lower than his Fantasy finishes in each of his three seasons. He showed off some passing upside after the addition of Amari Cooper with his first two 350-yard games last December. And he has the softest early-season schedule, making him a great September option you can move away from for streamers later if need be.
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Chris Towers' sleepers
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If you're looking for massive upside in the later rounds, the guy who could conceivably rushed for 1,000 yards is probably a good place to land. Sure, you can poke holes in his passing, but consider this: Michael Vick finished as QB3 in his 1,000-yard season with just 2,474 passing yards and 20 TDs -- and he rushed for just two scores. With an exciting set of young weapons and an offensive scheme built around his unique gifts, Jackson is the perfect late-round QB target if you want upside.
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Garoppolo has started 10 games in the NFL, and even though he has suffered injuries in two of them, he's still averaged 275.6 yards per game in them, with 16 total touchdowns. Just extrapolate that out to 16 games, and you're at nearly 4,500 yards and 26 touchdowns. You'd like him to get into the end zone a bit more often, but with a full season with upgraded weapons in Kyle Shanahan's offense, that doesn't seem like too much to ask. You can do a lot worse if you want to wait until the last round or two to select your quarterback.
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So which Fantasy Football sleepers should you snatch in your draft? And which RB2 can you wait on until late? Visit SportsLine now to get Fantasy Football cheat sheets from the model that called Andrew Luck's huge season, and find out.
