One of the more popular fantasy football draft strategies in recent seasons has been to wait to draft the quarterback position. While quarterbacks score the most fantasy points, on average, the depth at the position allows fantasy owners to explore other positions early on then pick up a quality player later in drafts. This is especially true if you can figure out the best fantasy football sleepers at quarterback.Whether it’s name value, recency bias or the overall team talent around them, there are always players that are overlooked, creating some really valuable quarterback sleepers. Using Awesemo’s season-long rankings and consensus average draft position (ADP), these are the top three quarterback sleepers for the 2020 fantasy season.
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Awesemo’s Fantasy Football Sleepers: Top Three Quarterbacks
Tyrod Taylor, Los Angeles Chargers
Awesemo Rank: 73 | ADP: 250
Taylor is going to be the starting quarterback with the Chargers, and he has had Anthony Lynn‘s full support. If Taylor plays well, he could create a situation where first-round rookie Justin Herbert can sit and learn for his first season. With a talented overall team and weapons at his disposal, all signs point to this happening, putting the team in a position where there is little-to-no reason to make a switch.
Over the course of his career, we have seen how well Taylor protects the football. With just a 1.5% interception rate and 20 interceptions for his entire career, this will be a bit of a switch from Philip Rivers, but it’s likely one that will help the Chargers win games. Taylor also has tremendous weapons at his disposal. He has Keenan Allen and Mike Williams at wide receiver, with another talented pass-catcher, Austin Ekeler, in the backfield. Taylor has always loved utilizing the tight end, and he has a talented one in Hunter Henry.
Taylor is also capable of extending plays and moving the chains with his legs, which can quickly become valuable for fantasy. While he was a consistent starter from 2015-18, he averaged 35.4 rushing yards and 0.31 rushing touchdowns per game. This creates an extra 5.4 fantasy points on average on rushing alone. Assuming the Chargers are winning games, Taylor is going to be a big-time fantasy sleeper.
Cam Newton, New England Patriots
Awesemo Rank: 66 | ADP: 160
While he is not likely to be a quarterback sleeper towards the end of the summer, those drafting their fantasy teams early could get a great value on Newton, the projected Week 1 starter in New England. What may help to keep his ADP a little lower is recency bias, as he played just two games last season and hasn’t thrown a touchdown since Dec. 2, 2018. However, we must remember that he is now in arguably the greatest system of all time.
The biggest thing with Newton is health. If he stays healthy and plays most of the games, there is no doubt we will be saying he was one of the best quarterback sleepers of the season. He has not finished lower than QB5 in any season, including his rookie year, when he has played 16 games.
With a massive chip on his shoulder and many months to get his body healthy, Newton is going to be as motivated as ever to show what he can do. Barring injury, he should do just that.
More Fantasy Football Sleepers
Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco
Awesemo Rank: 111 | ADP: 153
Playing on a run-first team, Garoppolo has been one of the few quarterbacks that has quickly been overshadowed. Even his tight end gets more attention than he does. While Garoppolo may not be the most exciting, that doesn’t mean he should be forgotten in fantasy. Going at the very end of most drafts, if at all, Garoppolo is an intriguing quarterback sleeper.
Last season, the 49ers rushing attack was dominant. Still, Garoppolo passed for nearly 4,000 yards and 27 touchdowns, good enough to rank as QB14 for the year. There’s little reason why these numbers should dip. In fact, if the defense is less elite or the rushing attack is not as consistent, Garoppolo may be asked to pass the ball even more, giving him more opportunity to be a major fantasy football sleeper.
It also shouldn’t be glossed over that he plays behind a solid offensive line that shouldn’t let him get killed. Having a low injury risk at quarterback can be important, especially if you are waiting at the position in a deeper league.
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