Everyone knows to draft Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson in the early rounds of fantasy football drafts. Leagues are won by finding those under-the-radar guys who significantly outperform their ADP. We still have a long way to go in preparing for 2025 fantasy drafts, but here are some early fantasy quarterback sleepers that managers should target.
Justin Fields, New York Jets
In modern fantasy football, having an elite quarterback not only matters, but it’s advisable. It’s okay to spend a Round 2-4 pick on a QB. But only a handful of teams will be able to pay up for that top-end production. Fortunately, if I miss out on a top QB, I know Justin Fields exists.
Given the depth of the position, it’s understandable that Fields is ranked so low. Yet, it’s still surprising.
Fields may not be a high-end NFL quarterback, but that doesn’t matter for fantasy purposes. The only “concern” with Fields is that his performance may result in him getting benched. Well, on the Jets, I don’t see any world where he loses his job unless he’s truly horrendous. For all of Fields’ criticisms over the first four years of his career, the guy is, at worst, a low-end NFL starter. He belongs.
Since 2022, Fields has started 34 games. Over that span, he’s averaged 18.8 fantasy points per game. He is basically a QB1 whenever he starts. Only seven quarterbacks have been better during that timeframe and they are the ones who you would expect.
Meanwhile, Fields has outproduced the likes of Kyler Murray, Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, Baker Mayfield, and Justin Herbert, to name a few. Most of these guys will be drafted ahead of Fields this year. If you miss out on the elites, wait and take Fields.
Drake Maye, New England Patriots
The Drake Maye proposition is similar to Fields, except that Maye doesn’t have as much of a track record of production.
Maye was understandably overshadowed by Jayden Daniels having the greatest rookie season in NFL history, Caleb Williams being the top pick and featured on Hard Knocks, and Bo Nix leading the Broncos to the playoffs. Of the top three picks, Maye was the only one to not start immediately.
This has created a value proposition for Maye heading into 2025 fantasy drafts, at least for now. There are a lot of quarterbacks with 20 ppg upside. As a result, Maye likely won’t be taken inside the top 12. But he can absolutely give us a QB1 season.
Maye’s 14.4 ppg average is fake. It includes the 2.1 points he scored when he made his NFL debut in Week 3 for only a handful of plays, as well as his 0 points in Week 18 when he played just three snaps. If we remove those two games, Maye posted 16.8 ppg, much more respectable.
This year, the Patriots added reliable veteran WR Stefon Diggs, rookie third-rounder Kyle Williams, and a receiving back in TreVeyon Henderson. Maye is also another year older and has an experienced, competent head coach. Plus, Josh McDaniels is back.
With his rushing ability raising his floor, Maye could be a surprise top-five fantasy quarterback if things break right this season.