7 Dynasty Fantasy Football Backup Quarterbacks to Target and Stash (2025)

Justin's backup quarterbacks to target and draft in dynasty fantasy football. His top NFL stashes, sleepers, and draft values for 2025: Jaxson Dart, Shedeur Sanders, and Joe Milton III.

Quarterbacks are important in dynasty leagues. Because roster sizes tend to be so large, finding starting quarterbacks out on the waiver wire can be impossible.

That's why finding cheap backup quarterbacks with paths to playing time is important. Sure, you might end up with a wasted roster spot, but you never know when an unexpected player will suddenly have immense value. Who expected Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy to be so good, for example?

Below are seven backup quarterbacks that dynasty managers should be stashing, ordered from the most likely to be future fantasy stars to the players who are mostly just lottery tickets.

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Jaxson Dart - QB, New York Giants

The most valuable NFL backup quarterback in dynasty leagues should be obvious. It's Giants rookie Jaxson Dart, a rookie first-round pick back in April, who New York hopes will spend his first NFL season on the bench behind Russell Wilson.

New York's decision to sign Wilson signals at least some attempt on the team's part to win in 2025, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything for the future. For example, Minnesota signed Sam Darnold last year, won a lot of football games, and then moved on the next year to J.J. McCarthy.

Even if things go as well as possible for the Giants in 2025, that won't mean they'll stick with Wilson. The team drafted Dart for a reason. He's the only backup quarterback in the NFL who feels like a lock to start 2026, because Wilson is nothing more than a stopgap option for the Giants. He gives them the best case to win now, but he's not in the long-term picture.

Jaxson Dart has easy arm strength and has tape full of big time throws like this one. Accuracy and power and stemming from a snappy, quick release.

There isn’t a throw he can’t make and he knows it. pic.twitter.com/7yTDyUx73e

— David Syvertsen (@Ourlads_Sy) April 27, 2025

Dart has another big thing working in his favor: once he becomes the starting quarterback in New York, he'll be throwing the ball to Malik Nabers, one of the best young wide receivers in the league. That instantly raises his fantasy floor.

Jalen Milroe - QB, Seattle Seahawks

Unlike Dart, there's no guarantee that Jalen Milroe ever starts an NFL game, but his physical skill set makes him a must-roster player in dynasty leagues because of the rushing upside if he does start.

Milroe was the best rushing quarterback in this draft class. He's a speedy runner who can escape pressure and make big plays happen with his feet. Last season at Alabama, Milroe used that advantage to score 20 rushing touchdowns, four more than his passing touchdown mark of 16.

Milroe's problem is that he has many issues to clean up as a passer. He's improved his accuracy a bit, but he turns the ball over too much and doesn't seem to make the right passes at the right time.

That matters as far as his real-life upside goes, but all fantasy managers need is for the Seahawks to hit a point where they need to start him. If that happens, his high rushing floor will make him a startable fantasy option.

Quinn Ewers - QB, Miami Dolphins

This might seem a bit high for Quinn Ewers, but Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's long injury history and backup Zach Wilson's poor play make Ewers an intriguing option to roster in fantasy.

Ewers — once viewed as the top overall recruit out of high school — dropped all the way to the seventh round in this year's draft, going 231st overall to the Dolphins. His fall wasn't as unexpected as Shedeur Sanders' fall, but I expected Ewers to go at least a couple of rounds before this.

Quinn Ewers doing the reaction test at the NFLPA Rookie Premiere. He was tied for the best score of all the rookies at the event🔥 pic.twitter.com/JrzV5sBnSk

— King of Phinland🐬👑 (@KingOfPhinland) May 29, 2025

As far as his path to playing time goes, it's pretty easy. He needs to be better than Wilson to earn the backup job, then wait for the inevitable Tagovailoa injury.

[Side note: I hate, hate, hate the whole idea that certain players are injury prone. Usually, it's bad luck that certain players suffer multiple injuries throughout their careers. However, there's a limit to that. Through five NFL seasons, Tagovailoa has played every game just once, and his concussion issues have prompted people to say he should retire.]

If Ewers can do anything with a theoretical starting role is still to be determined, but he landed in a spot where backup quarterbacks have at least gotten opportunities over the past few years.

Shedeur Sanders - QB, Cleveland Browns

You might be wondering why the Browns' fourth-string quarterback is mentioned here while their second and third-string quarterbacks aren't. The answer is pretty simple.

It's because Sanders has the upside to be better than those guys.

Yes, the Browns drafted Dillon Gabriel two rounds before they drafted Sanders, and yes, that means Gabriel gets the first crack at starting whenever the Browns decide that Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett aren't the right options.

There's a reason, though, that everyone originally projected Sanders to be the second quarterback drafted, even if it didn't pan out that way. He's got a better arm than Gabriel. Sanders can make many throws that Gabriel can't, and while he needs to get more confident moving in the pocket, he's still, IMO, the better long-term prospect.

Joe Milton III - QB, Dallas Cowboys

When the Patriots put Joe Milton III on the block, every team seemed vaguely interested, but the Dallas Cowboys landed him.

Dallas has its long-term starting quarterback in Dak Prescott, but things can change quickly in the NFL. Yes, Prescott signed a huge extension with the Cowboys without an easy out until 2028, but he's also coming off his worst NFL season. Even putting aside that he missed nine games, Prescott posted a career-low touchdown rate of 3.8 percent and had the lowest QBR of his nine-year career.

Meanwhile, Milton's still kind of a project, giving him time to grow into a Prescott replacement in a few years, potentially. He's got one of the best arms in the league regarding velocity, but really, really needs to refine his accuracy, because right now, you probably can't trust him as an NFL starter since he struggles to hit the short passes he needs to make.

Jake Browning - QB, Cincinnati Bengals

The Jake Browning ship has likely sailed, but in a 14-team superflex league, he still should be rostered.

Part of that is that if anything happens to Joe Burrow, Browning is someone who fantasy managers can plug into their lineups in his spot. In 2023, when he started seven games for an injured Burrow, Browning led the NFL in completion percentage at 70.4 percent.

Jake Browning in the second half & OT vs. the Jags:

▫️ 15/19
▪️ 176 yards
▫️ 1 TD / 0 INTs
▪️ 122.8 passer rating pic.twitter.com/lORcCXnhCw

— PFF CIN Bengals (@PFF_Bengals) December 5, 2023

Unfortunately, his role right now doesn't give him a non-injury path to playing time. He didn't attempt a single pass in 2024, and at 29 years old, he's probably not getting a shot at being a long-term starter anywhere.

Still, Browning has value as a potential spot-starter in Cincinnati, and he's a free agent in 2026, so there's a shot he could spend a few years as a bridge starter somewhere. Keep him on your roster just in case.

Aidan O'Connell - QB, Las Vegas Raiders

Aidan O'Connell's time as a starter in the NFL is probably over after he failed to progress in 2024. The Raiders brought Geno Smith in this offseason, relegating O'Connell to a reserve role.

However, he's still a young player who has looked solid across his 17 NFL starts. O'Connell will never be a star in the NFL, but he fits the profile of someone who can stick around as a backup for a long time. He won't necessarily win you a football game on his own if asked to start, but he won't lose it for you either.

More than likely, O'Connell will be out there on the wire for you to bid your FAAB budget on when an injury presses him into action, but if you have enough room on the end of your bench, you can keep him rostered to avoid having to spend money on him during the year.

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