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Fantasy Football: Top 3 sleeper quarterback candidates

kyle cantlon
Writer
·4 min read
22

Unsurprisingly, the quarterbacks you select and where you draft them can often make or break your fantasy football season. Selecting one too high who doesn't end up performing up to their potential can be crushing, but selecting one in the later rounds who overdelivers can really push your squad over the top.

As drafts kick off in the not-too-distant future, here are three sleeper quarterback candidates to target.

Trey Lance

This one is fairly simple as the 49ers made it clear right out of the gate that Lance would be their guy sooner rather than later — and that time is now.

There is an immense amount of fantasy appeal around a quarterback who boasts the ability to rush like Lance does — something we saw in bunches over his two starts for the Niners last season. Having a QB who can make things happen with his feet not only raises his ceiling but also his floor. Lance is a guy who we feel completely comfortable with as a QB1 heading into the season, and not just because of his mobility and rushing prowess.

This 49ers offense is looking pretty stacked entering 2022, starting with one of the most unique receivers in the NFL in Deebo Samuel, who committed to the team through 2025 earlier this offseason. George Kittle is an absolute stud at the tight end position who should continue his ascent this season barring a setback. Wideout and return specialist Brandon Aiyuk looks poised to break into the league's upper tier of receivers in his third NFL campaign, giving Lance and the Niners a truly elite deep threat to add to their loaded arsenal.

Lance has a Top 5 ceiling from a fantasy perspective because of his passing skills and the ability to win downfield, but he also has a great floor with his rushing ability and the weapons around him, making him a safe pick, too. Lance looks poised to absolutely smash through his ADP this season.

Trey Lance has all the tools, and the supporting cast, to be a fantasy football darling for years to come. (Getty)
Trey Lance has all the tools, and the supporting cast, to be a fantasy football darling for years to come. (Getty)

Trevor Lawrence

The Jaguars were barely a functioning football operation in Lawrence's first NFL season, so let's not put much stock into what were some very mediocre numbers in 2021 amid the complete and utter circus that was Urban Meyer's reign in Jacksonville. If anyone has ever been poised to make a second-year leap, it's last year's first-overall pick.

With Doug Pederson taking over, the Jaguars will boast a legitimate NFL offense, which, based on Pederson's tenure as head coach and play-caller with the Eagles, should be very pass-heavy. Those Eagles teams threw a ton, ran a lot of plays and moved very fast — the exact type of ecosystem we want surrounding our fantasy quarterbacks.

On top of that, the team added a couple pieces to its receiving corps. Even without any bonafide stars in Jacksonville's pass-catching group, it should operate at an average NFL level, which is enough for someone as talented as Lawrence to work with.

Add in the ability to rush the ball and factor big into the team's running game, Lawrence could very well be a top-12 quarterback who you can scoop up in the later rounds of your draft.

Daniel Jones

Another young quarterback looking to benefit from a coaching change is Jones who, like Lawrence, had a tumultuous start to his NFL career mostly due to organizational factors beyond his control. With highly coveted former Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll now at the helm, the stars could finally be lining up for Jones.

If you're in a flex or two-quarterback league, going after Jones on the cheap as a potential QB2 option could provide some real good value along with solid sleeper potential at the position.

There is, of course, the danger of him being benched as the Giants didn't pick up Jones's fifth-year option and have a competent NFL quarterback in Tyrod Taylor in the mix, but the chances are just as good of Jones excelling under his new coach's play-calling and offensive design — especially after playing under guys like Jason Garrett and Joe Judge, who ran slow, old-school, run-heavy, offences that are soul crushing for quarterbacks from a fantasy perspective.

Daboll and new offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, who came over from the Chiefs, are new-age guys who run fast-paced, pass-first offenses with high play rates. We don't quite know yet if Jones is talented enough to actually flourish in that style of offense, but with his running ability and a better overall group around him, he could definitely be worth that late-round pick on draft day.

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