Everyone would love to have Peyton Manning anchor their fantasy teams, but that's just not going to be the case all around. In fact, if you want to get a premier arm, you might have to overpay and leave rare talent on the board at other positions.
2014 fantasy football quarterback sleepers to consider
A fantasy owner’s best friend is that undervalued stud in the draft. Dan Ciarrocchi examines quarterback sleepers to keep in mind.
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But if you’re a proponent of getting the most bang for your buck, choosing quarterbacks in the mid-to-late rounds is a great strategy to have. Let’s take a look at some sleepers who could wind up dominating.
The Steelers finished strong with a 6-3 record down the stretch, and they did so by being a more aggressive, fast-paced offense. It propelled Roethlisberger to one of the quietest 4,200-yard and 28-touchdown seasons ever recorded. In the final nine games of the year, Roethlisberger put up the fourth-most fantasy points among quarterbacks, behind only Nick Foles, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees.
So now, Roethlisberger can be had in the 11th round? That’s only good enough for a current rank of QB16 despite his strong finish and capable crop of receivers going into the new season. He’s a great argument for proponents of the late-round QB draft strategy, and he’s a guy who will give you production at a bargain in 2014. Sign me up.
A lot the love for Cutler depends on how much of an upgrade you think he will be over Josh McCown. There wasn't much of a difference between the two in 2013, and they totaled for 303 fantasy points. If that output was done by a single effort instead of a joint one, it would have ranked third among all quarterbacks, and their combined average of 19 fantasy points per game would rank fourth in the league. I'm bullish on Cutler being able to replicate or come close to those numbers in Marc Trestman's offense, health permitting.
Because the opportunity presents itself to have top-five potential once again, I have to like being able to find Cutler in the ninth round. Cutler has not played a full season since 2009, but there’s still enough reason to place a cheap bet on him with a big payoff looming.
A sight we've been accustomed to seeing over the years is Romo scrambling after having about a quarter of a second to throw from a clean pocket. But this year, he might just have the best offensive line in the NFL. And when you give a mobile quarterback extra time to make plays for receivers like Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams and Jason Witten, great things can happen.
But while Dallas' offense looks the part, injuries and lack of depth makes the defense look like hot garbage. Expect the Cowboys to play from behind often this season, which can mean another air-it-out year for one of the league's better quarterbacks. Though Romo was maddening down the stretch in 2013, there remains plenty of reason for fantasy owners to get excited for him once again.
I know. It's difficult to believe that a player who threw just 12 touchdowns to 21 interceptions a season ago could be in the mix for sleeper, but I'll confidently place Smith in this category. With a strong finish to his rookie season, further encouragement arises from reports indicating he's looked steady in camp this summer. The addition of Eric Decker enhances a non-existent receiving core from 2013, and if rookie tight end Jace Amaro can ascend the steep learning curve of learning a pro offense, there's a lot to like here.
This is nice and all, but what strikes me as most intriguing are Smith's splits. Smith was really, really good when the Jets won, but really, really bad when they lost. As is the case when weighing two different perspectives, the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle. With Smith, that's likely the case as well, but if his god-awful games become merely average ones then he's looking at top-12 potential over the course of a season.
You could use the same reasoning to describe an adverse scenario, but to me, I’d rather gamble on his upside than avoid him for the downside. He is a young quarterback with more weapons and another year under his belt. But mostly, it would be because he’s not even being drafted in most leagues. Why not take a last-round flier on him?
