Don’t sleep on these top fantasy football quarterback sleepers. Drafting a useful back-up quarterback on your fantasy roster can turn out to be the smartest move you ever made if your starter gets injured for any length of time. If you don’t get sufficient and consistent production from the quarterback position, you can kiss the playoffs goodbye. Since most leagues have 10 or 12 owners, there will be a good amount of quarterbacks taken in the first half of the draft, but don’t worry there will be talent still available towards the middle and end. Every year there are players who aren’t valued as much as they should be to start the season to only end up overachieving and proving people wrong.
Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams – The second-year pro is considered by most to be a solid No. 2 fantasy quarterback heading into the season. I’m here to tell you that he will be a top-10 fantasy gunslinger by the end of this season. Bradford is a franchise quarterback and his stats will start to reflect that more and more this year with Danny Amendola, a quick slot receiver who proved to have excellent hands, and the newly acquired Mike Sims-Walker as his top targets. Consider it a luxury to have him as your back-up quarterback after the draft; a true fantasy football sleeper at the quarterback position.
Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions – As long as his shoulder holds up, this former Georgia Bulldog has all the physical tools to be an elite option in fantasy football. Having an actual robot to throw to in Calvin Johnson doesn’t hurt, as the duo enter their third season together with growing expectations surrounding their football team. This is a guy you can get late in the draft and use as an insurance plan for someone else, while having a lot of upside sitting on your bench. Stafford is ranked around the middle of the pack in most rankings, but he will end the year inside the top-10 if he starts all 16 games this season.
Donovan McNabb, Minnesota Vikings – This veteran was never an elite fantasy talent, but has typically been a solid contributor who didn’t throw a lot of interceptions. McNabb hasn’t thrown for more than 4,000 yards in a season in his entire career, which is typically the gold standard for quarterbacks. With that being said, he can be very efficient given the right situation playing in the right offense and all signs point to that being the case in Minnesota. Having Adrian Peterson to move the chains on the ground will take pressure off McNabb and open up passing lanes. Look to McNabb to have a very good year as he goes back to being “the guy” under center for his team.
Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers – All signs point to Newton getting a chance to play at some point this season, but as of now it looks like he will be wearing a headset for the Panthers’ season-opener while Jimmy Clausen takes snaps. Last season’s Heisman recipient in College Football has great long-term upside and can make an impact this season with the other offensive skill players on the team. Consider him the ‘super-sleeper’ who could prove useful as the season grows older and bye weeks and injuries happen and options on the waiver wire get short. Big arm, big potential.
