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Aaron Schillinger identifies undervalued quarterbacks and draft targets for late-round QB drafters in fantasy football for 2020.
The 2020 NFL season is almost here and fantasy football drafts have been kicking off in full force. Whether you're a fantasy football junky or a casual fantasy football fan, you're probably reading this as you're preparing for your drafts.
The stud quarterbacks are pretty well known regardless of how dedicated you are to fantasy football, but I'll be touching on some of the late-round quarterbacks to target. These guys come with their own degree of upside and based on where they're being drafted, they're either going undrafted or as late, backup quarterbacks in your drafts.
Depending on how deep your leagues are, here are some quarterbacks going very late and could very well out-perform their current ADP. I'll be using RotoBaller's industry average draft position.
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Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans
ADP - QB17
The first quarterback that I'm looking at as a potential 'Sleeper' for the 2020 season is Ryan Tannehill now with the Tennessee Titans. Tannehill really shouldn't be a sleeper, but with his current ADP, he's definitely being overlooked for redraft leagues and needs to be mentioned.
Last year, Tannehill played his first full game as the starter in Week 7 against the Chargers. From Week 7 through Week 16, Tannehill was the QB3 overall, behind just Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen during that time. Tannehill was not just good, but he was elite for fantasy purposes and finished the year with 2,742 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He also added 185 yards with his feet and four rushing touchdowns.
Tannehill is clearly the Titans quarterback for the foreseeable future, and he's not getting near the love that he deserves after the way he played last year. If you're looking for a late-round quarterback option after waiting to draft one, Tannehill is someone I'd be targeting without a doubt.
Drew Lock, Denver Broncos
ADP - QB22
If you're an avid fantasy football fan or spend a lot of time on Twitter, there's a good chance you're well aware of Drew Lock and this Denver offense. However, he's currently being drafted as the 24th quarterback off the board and 173rd overall.
With weapons like Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Noah Fant, Melvin Gordon, and Philip Lindsay this offense has quickly become extremely high-powered and could be explosive this year.
Can Drew Lock’s WRs get open? Jerry Jeudy says “Hi”. pic.twitter.com/GKcsr7e58L
— Joe Bryant (@Football_Guys) August 26, 2020
Lock showed signs of promise last year in his five starts beginning in Week 13 against the Chargers. Sutton finished as WR19 in PPR last year and WR17 in standard-scoring leagues. Lock threw for seven touchdowns and three interceptions in those five games and really looked pretty solid. He totaled 1,020 passing yards in those games and most importantly, the Broncos appear to be moving forward with Lock as their starter for at least the 2020 season.
With plenty of talented weapons around him, Lock could easily outperform his ADP and I wouldn't be shocked if he finished as a top-15 quarterback this year. As someone who is going either undrafted or as a backup, he's got plenty of upside and is definitely someone worth keeping an eye on late in your drafts.
Teddy Bridgewater, Carolina Panthers
ADP - QB28
Next up is Teddy B, now the leader of this Carolina Panthers offense. He's going as one of the last starting quarterbacks off the board, so undrafted altogether in many leagues. In single-QB leagues, you're more than likely not going to see him get drafted, but if you are punting the quarterback position, I'd gladly grab someone like Tannehill and then Bridgewater later and be totally set at quarterback.
We all know how much of a stud Christian McCaffrey is and D.J. Moore really broke out last year, finishing as the WR16 in PPR and WR21 in standard-scoring leagues. Despite some absolutely atrocious quarterback play last year, we saw two excellent fantasy options in McCaffrey and Moore. Curtis Samuel has shown some real talent as well but hasn't put it all together yet. We've also seen Ian Thomas show some potential at times as well.
Overall, there's plenty of weapons on this offense for Bridgewater to utilize, and the Panthers invested in him with a three-year $63 million dollar contract. Bridgewater is almost a lock to out-perform his current ADP as the 25th quarterback and is someone worth targeting late in deeper leagues or keeping an eye on the waiver wire for.
Sam Darnold, New York Jets
ADP - QB24
Darnold has finished as the QB17 in each of his first two seasons in the NFL, playing in 13 games in each of them. Darnold is going undrafted and isn't really on many fantasy owner's radars as far as someone to target this year. That being said, he has a good chance to improve and out-perform his current ADP.
Building off of his rookie campaign, Darnold threw more passing yards, more touchdowns, fewer interceptions, and more rushing touchdowns in his second year than his first. The Jets haven't had many offensive weapons for Darnold to work with during his first two seasons, but they do have more weapons this year than they've had in recent years. Jamison Crowder was acquired from Washington in 2019 and finished as the WR26 in PPR last year. He'll likely be the main target for Darnold, with rookie Denzel Mims and tight end Chris Herndon is, as of now, looking healthy heading into the 2020 season. He's shown a lot of promise and has had a good connection with Darnold when he's on the field.
Le'Veon Bell should be a nice safety net for Darnold to lean on, so if the Jets can figure out how to use him, that will be a big factor that could help Darnold improve for fantasy purposes. If this group of pass-catchers stays healthy, Darnold should improve and see his best season yet in 2020. I like him as a breakout candidate, but he's just someone that I'd keep an eye on and potentially plugin for bye weeks.
Dwayne Haskins, Washington Football Team
ADP - QB30
A young player that is completely off the radar and really isn't being drafted at all is Dwayne Haskins in Washington. As the 32nd quarterback off the board, his ADP is 253 meaning he's only getting drafted in 14-team leagues with deeper rosters. Basically, he's not even being considered this year for fantasy football.
Haskins isn't someone I'm actively going out of my way to roster, but he's someone that could end up being a bye week filler or someone that gets some steam off the waiver wire occasionally. Terry McLaurin showed that he is a very talented wide receiver and is more than capable of being in your fantasy lineup each week. Outside of McLaurin, this team is in need of some weapons, with guys like Dontrelle Inman, Trey Quinn, and rookie Antonio Gandy-Golden really being their only other options. For the most part, McLaurin is really the only player in Washington getting any love, with the exception of Adrian Peterson in some leagues.
Haskins is going to have to take a big step forward, but as the 32nd quarterback off the board, he should absolutely out-perform his current ADP so long as he's the starter of the Washington Football Team. So far, it appears he is on his way to securing the job and could hold onto it despite low expectations.
Report: Dwayne Haskins is "firming his grip" as the Washington Football Team's "clearcut" starting QB. He's "looking increasingly sharp" as a competition with Kyle Allen and Alex Smith winds down.https://t.co/yEfPHpPsBC pic.twitter.com/JR1KpVSPeV
— 247Sports (@247Sports) August 29, 2020
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