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With the 2024 NFL season approaching, dynasty fantasy football drafts are in full swing. A new crop of rookies is joining an already talented base of impact players, leaving dynasty fantasy football managers with difficult decisions regarding trades, draft picks, and roster construction.
As these key decisions await managers, it is important to identify young quarterbacks who may be flying under the radar in dynasty drafts. These quarterback sleepers may hold more value than initially perceived at first glance.
In this article, we look at five young quarterbacks who are sleeper options for dynasty managers ahead of the 2024 season. The list includes a variety of players, including one rookie and one former No. 1 pick.
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Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
You can't get Daniels for super cheap right now, but he's still being drafted below his value. He's the best running quarterback in this year's draft class, and we should all know by now that the most successful fantasy quarterbacks run the ball. Note that we're not just talking about "mobile" quarterbacks here. For the most part, the top fantasy quarterbacks are the ones who dominate designed runs, elude tacklers in the open field, and consistently vulture rushing touchdowns from their team's running backs.
All of those descriptors fit Daniels, the LSU star who won the Heisman Trophy en route to being selected second overall by the Commanders in April. He broke free for a whopping 2,019 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns over his final two seasons. Initially, I likened him to Anthony Richardson, but I'm starting to get the vibes of someone in a higher tier: Lamar Jackson.
Daniels currently has an ADP of 94, which ranks 12th among all quarterbacks. He's going ninth in rookie drafts; that puts him behind fellow quarterback Caleb Williams. While nobody is denying Williams' talent, I'm compelled to believe that Daniels has more fantasy upside. Not only is he a much better runner than Williams, but he's also a strong enough passer to sustain drives, keep the offense on the field, and create opportunities for himself and the players around him. He has top-five quarterback upside in fantasy football, making him a sleeper at his current price tag.
Of course, there is still some risk here. I saw similarities between Daniels and Richardson in terms of playing style, but there are also some similar injury concerns. Richardson's physical nature left him exposed to hits in 2023 and ultimately led to him suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. Even a talented offensive line can't protect the quarterback when he leaves himself exposed while scrambling or diving. Daniels will need to gain a feel for which plays he can execute without getting injured.
Man, I hope Jayden Daniels learns to protect himself more at the next level or he’s not going to last long pic.twitter.com/F8Oro1RQKA
— Tyler_FF_ (@Tyler_FF_) May 28, 2024
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Lawrence has been in the league for four years, but his inconsistent production has allowed him to remain in the "sleeper" category for dynasty leagues. Lawrence has finished among the top 13 quarterbacks in each of the last two seasons, but he currently has an ADP of 106 (QB14). Often, we see young players drafted even higher than their previous season's finish because people are buying their upside and growth. Yet, that's not the case with Lawrence. He's being drafted lower than where he finished in 2023 and 2022.
Perhaps part of this lack of faith stems from Jacksonville's decision to let Calvin Ridley depart in free agency. However, Ridley had fewer catches and yards per game than teammate Christian Kirk, who blossomed into one of Lawrence's favorite weapons in the passing game. Before suffering a season-ending core injury in Week 13, Kirk was averaging 5.1 catches, 69.2 yards, and 0.3 touchdowns per game. Kirk will be fully healthy for 2024, and Lawrence still has Evan Engram and Travis Etienne Jr. at his disposal. Plus, Tank Bigsby is expected to have a larger role, Gabe Davis has joined the wide receiver room, and the Jaguars spent a first-round pick on Brian Thomas Jr. Make no mistake: Lawrence still has plenty of weapons at his disposal.
Lawrence is also particularly appealing in dynasty formats because he is expected to remain with the Jaguars long-term. Jacksonville recently signed Lawrence to a deal worth $55 million per year, reflecting the Jaguars' commitment to him as their franchise quarterback.
Lawrence already had talent and weapons, and now he has some contractual stability. All of these factors make him a value selection at his current dynasty price tag.
The Jaguars are “all in” on Trevor Lawrence and are engaged in talks for a extension that is expected to be in the $50M range, per @JFowlerESPN pic.twitter.com/S36M873kg7
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) May 19, 2024
Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers
It's been a little hard to read between the lines in regard to the Justin Fields trade, but he's still a value addition at his current ADP of 168 (QB24). The former Bears first-round pick repeatedly showed promise in Chicago. He likely would have kept his job in the Windy City if not for the Bears' fortune of landing the No. 1 pick. Still, he's shown improvement as a passer while continuing to be a threat in the rushing attack.
Fields also has an opportunity to learn from Russell Wilson, who has put together a fantastic career by fooling defenses with his arms and legs. While he'd probably like to forget his two years in Denver, he still made nine Pro Bowls over 10 seasons with the Seahawks and can be a role model for Fields.
My biggest hesitation with Fields is that the Bears facilitated this trade with Pittsburgh at his request. More than two dozen teams probably would have jumped at the chance to acquire him for a sixth-round pick; it's not like the Steelers aggressively overpaid. Without high capital or compensation attached to Fields, the Steelers will be less attached to Fields.
That's not to say they won't try to develop him into a franchise cornerstone, though. Wilson is a free agent after 2024, so it's not hard to see a scenario in which the baton is passed to Fields next season. He averaged 19.4 fantasy points per game over the last two years, which was good enough to rank him as the QB7 in 2022. If he can earn the starting job in Pittsburgh next year, he has top-12 fantasy upside.
Justin Fields is likely going elsewhere during the offseason, what does this mean?
He’s got nothing to lose, he’s going to give it all he’s got and give us a nice stretch of games and then go play for a better team.
Easiest QB buy in dynasty… pic.twitter.com/xPxZnXYnTT
— Snoog’s Dynasty Society (@FFSnoog) December 13, 2023
Will Levis, Tennessee Titans
Don't look now, but the Titans are loading up on weapons. Tennessee has an intimidating wide receiver corps with Calvin Ridley, DeAndre Hopkins, and Tyler Boyd. They also have some up-and-coming homegrown talent in Chigoziem Okonkwo, Treylon Burks, and Tyjae Spears. At the very least, Levis has a pair of physical, toolsy receivers at his disposal in Ridley and Hopkins; those two should create nightmares for opposing defenses when on the field at the same time. At their ceiling, however, Tennessee has a ferocious three-headed monster at wide receiver with a young tight end who wreaks havoc after the catch and one of the best pass-catching running backs in the league.
Aiding Levis's value (and the Titans' offense as a whole) is Brian Callahan. Tabbed the new head coach in Tennessee, Callahan was previously the offensive coordinator in Cincinnati, where he extracted three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons from Ja'Marr Chase and two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons from Tee Higgins. He's capable of elevating the passing game, and while Levis isn't Joe Burrow, Callahan could still help the young signal caller maximize his potential with a dominant group of receivers by his side.
From a fantasy football perspective, Levis is being selected 186th overall in dynasty drafts. That ranks 23rd among quarterbacks and puts him behind Baker Mayfield. Yet, Levis is only 24 years old, faces no competition with the Titans, and has a much-improved group of weapons around him. He could certainly take his game to the next level this season, but his ADP reflects a less optimistic stance. Therefore, there's clear value in drafting him at his current price tag.
"I told ya'll that's a quaterback!"@GrindSimmons94 was hyped during Will Levis' dominant debut 🙌 @Titans pic.twitter.com/OE5NLRtyJh
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) June 12, 2024
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
There was extensive hype around Young last summer after he was selected first overall by the Carolina Panthers. However, that buzz has dissipated almost entirely due to the Alabama product's suboptimal rookie campaign. While there's no ignoring his disappointing stat lines, fantasy managers would be wise to consider some additional context in regard to Young's first NFL campaign.
For starters, Young dealt with inconsistency among the coaching staff as head coach Frank Reich and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown were both fired in November. The coaching shakeup was probably necessary, but it still made development more difficult for someone like Young. Hopefully, for Young's sake, the Panthers have finally found the right person for their franchise in new head coach Dave Canales, who enjoyed extensive success with Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense in 2023.
We also can't ignore the fact that Young was throwing to a group of pass-catchers routinely ranked among the worst in the league. Adam Thielen was the only reliable contributor at the wide receiver position, but even he had some dud games and certainly should not be viewed as a WR1. At tight end, the patchwork signing of Hayden Hurst proved fruitless; he finished the year with 184 yards, while Tommy Tremble led the team with 194. No Panthers player finished with more than five receiving touchdowns, and Thielen was the only one who crossed the 1,000-yard mark (he finished with 1,014 receiving yards).
Young, meanwhile, showed enough flashes of potential to suggest that he can bounce back with a stronger supporting cast by his side. He came on particularly strong over his final four games in 2023 and even posted PFF passing grades of 74.2 and 81.3 in Weeks 15 and 16, respectively. He'll also enter 2024 with an upgraded group of weapons at his disposal after Carolina traded for Diontae Johnson and drafted Xavier Legette and Jonathon Brooks.
Young currently sports an ADP of 164, which ranks 20th among quarterbacks. He's being drafted later than Kirk Cousins, which makes sense in redraft leagues but is trickier to defend in dynasty formats. Young still has the potential to break out in the NFL, making him a true dynasty sleeper at his current price tag.
Former #1 overall pick @_bryce_young is ready to throw 🎯coming into year 2️⃣ pic.twitter.com/WEKYePDvJ1
— NFL (@NFL) June 2, 2024
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