Fantasy Football Quarterback Sleepers and Undervalued Draft Targets

Brant's quarterback fantasy football sleepers for the 2025 NFL season. His undervalued QBs and late-round targets for fantasy football drafts, including CJ Stroud and more.

Heading into 2025, there is a lot of depth at the quarterback position for fantasy football. Bona fide studs in Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Jayden Daniels, Jalen Hurts, and Joe Burrow look to be the top options off the board. In 1QB leagues, waiting on a quarterback rather than paying a premium draft pick to acquire one of the top options is a more than viable strategy. 

Looking further down the draft board, where can fantasy drafters find a bargain at the quarterback position this season? 

Rather than spend an early draft pick on a quarterback, consider taking a swing at one of these guys with league-winning upside in the later rounds.

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Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

After the NFL Draft, Dallas’ receiver room featured hardly anybody behind superstar CeeDee Lamb. That is no longer the case, as the Cowboys swung a trade for George Pickens to give Lamb a running mate and to give Dak Prescott his best receiving room since having Amari Cooper and Lamb paired together.

The 31-year-old is now fully healthy, coming off a disappointing 2024 season for the entirety of the Cowboys organization. Behind an improved offensive line with an improved group of receivers, Prescott has top-5 potential. 

Dak Prescott fantasy points per game by season (2020 was just 5 games) pic.twitter.com/MKmlnyvdCm

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) May 8, 2025

He has finished as a top-5 fantasy quarterback twice in his career, most recently finishing as the QB3 in 2023. Five of his nine seasons have resulted in a top-10 finish at the position, yet Prescott is being drafted as the QB16 right now. You cannot find a more proven option this late in drafts, especially with all of the upside that Prescott provides in what should be a much-improved offense.

C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

The hype on C.J. Stroud went too far after a stellar rookie season, and his numbers regressed in 2024. Stroud finished as the QB18 last season after a top-12 finish as a rookie in 2023. 

The Ohio State product suffered from a beat-up offensive line and receiver room, struggling to make it work all on his own. GM Nick Caserio went back to the drawing board this offseason, retooling the offensive line and adding Christian Kirk, Jayden Higgins, and Jaylin Noel to the receiver room.

The situation surrounding Stroud is much more fantasy-friendly than the back end of his 2024 season. He also seems to be high on new offensive coordinator Nick Caley, whose scheme will give the 23-year-old more control.

Stroud is currently going off the board as the QB17, one spot behind Prescott. The fantasy community was too high on him a season ago, and in turn, after being disappointing, is now too low. Grabbing the 23-year-old as your QB1 could pay off at his current value.

Justin Fields, New York Jets

Justin Fields has provided in fantasy in the past and is set up to do so again in 2025 as the entrenched starter for the New York Jets. New York brought in no other quarterback competition, hanging onto Tyrod Taylor as a backup, which sets up Fields to be the clear-cut starter for 2025.

The former Chicago Bear and Pittsburgh Steeler has been a valuable fantasy asset in spurts, most notably finishing as the QB7 in 2022. Fields’ rushing ability makes him a coveted quarterback option, and he is currently being drafted as the QB12.

However, the upside that he possesses with his scrambling puts his ceiling on par with that of some of the elite quarterback options. He could underperform his draft slot of QB12, but could also easily outperform if he remains healthy.

Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons

Michael Penix Jr. only made three starts as a rookie, but he showed improvement in each game. With a full offseason to work with offensive coordinator Zac Robinson and elite weapons in Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts, Penix’s fantasy ceiling is within top-12 range.

Every Michael Penix Jr. throw of 20+ air yards from a clean pocket in 2024: pic.twitter.com/awlATdpHrr

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) May 14, 2025

Despite all of the upside he possesses, Penix is currently graded as the QB24. He is essentially free in fantasy drafts. While his fantasy ceiling is capped by the lack of rushing ability, Penix is a sleeper candidate to lead the league in passing yards.

Cameron Ward, Tennessee Titans

The top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft is hardly talked about within fantasy circles. All of the talk is about the crop of sophomore quarterbacks, rightfully so, but Cameron Ward is flying under the radar. Ward just went off for 4,313 passing yards and 39 touchdowns while adding 204 yards and four scores on the ground.

Sure, his supporting cast is not great on paper. Ward is not in an ideal situation for a rookie quarterback to walk into, but he does have an alpha receiver in Calvin Ridley, a good two-headed attack at running back in Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears, and young talent with strong potential in Chig Okonkwo and Elic Ayomanor.

Cam Ward spinning it at #Titans camp 👀

pic.twitter.com/gYOmZS0vOp

— SleeperTitans (@SleeperTitanUp) May 9, 2025

We just saw Jayden Daniels come up from under the radar in a perceived bad situation and light the league on fire. Ward possesses elite traits like a rocket arm and quick decision-making that could lead to him blowing up stat sheets as a rookie.

Yet, he is drafted as the QB28 right now. Take a swing on the rookie late in drafts and either ride out your pick to a top-12 finish, or cut bait if it doesn’t go as planned without using relevant draft capital.

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