Fanelli’s Fantasy Files: Five Best Ball Sleeper Quarterbacks

Fantasy football has been around for a long time. However, recently fantasy football has expanded into different styles of play. From keeper to dynasty to DFS, we also have best ball. Unlike season-long leagues and DFS, you don’t set your weekly lineups with best ball. All you do is draft your team and forget about it until after the season. Each week, the highest-scoring lineup automatically gets set for your team. Unlike season-long leagues, where you have to worry about the weekly floor of your players, in best ball, you want the players with the most upside.

Superstar players like Patrick Mahomes, Christian McCaffrey, Davante Adams, and Travis Kelce are still very valuable in best ball. However, players with safe weekly floors but limited upside like Josh Jacobs and Tyler Boyd are less valuable. Instead, fantasy owners want to target players with massive upside to go off any given week or score zero fantasy points like Mike Williams and Latavius Murray. However, just like in any fantasy football format, there are sleeper players that can help you win your best ball leagues. Today, I gave my five favorite sleeper quarterbacks with an ADP outside the top 100 on Underdog Fantasy.

Be sure to check out all of Fanelli’s Best Ball Sleepers.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Washington Football Team (150.8 ADP)

The man, the myth, the legend of Fitzpatrick has two sides to him: Fitzmagic and Fitztragic. When Fitzpatrick is hot, he plays with a fantasy magic that few can match. However, when he is cold, Fitzpatrick makes more mistakes than impressive plays. Last season Fitzpatrick split time with Tua Tagovailoa as the starting quarterback. In the nine games he played, Fitzpatrick scored 21 or more fantasy points four times. However, in the other five games, Fitzpatrick scored under 16.5 in four of them. In Washington, Fitzpatrick should be the unquestioned starter and has plenty of weapons around him in Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, and Antonio Gibson. It shouldn’t come as a surprise if Fitzpatrick has a handful of games with over 30 fantasy points this season.

Daniel Jones, New York Giants (166.3 ADP)

Last season Jones was a fantasy disappointment, averaging 12.9 fantasy points per game. He scored under 14 fantasy points in eight of 14 games. Furthermore, he scored under 10.5 fantasy points in six of his games, including single-digit fantasy points in over a quarter of his games. However, Jones has two 20 plus fantasy points games, both against the Philadelphia Eagles. More importantly, Jones’ rushing ability gives him weekly upside. Last season, Jones rushed for 45 or more yards in five games. In the offseason, the Giants added Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney to their wide receiver room. While Jones will likely remain inconsistent weekly, his upside makes him the ideal late-round target in best ball leagues.

Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans (201.6 ADP)

Will Watson play this year? Maybe, but unlikely. However, if he does or plays in only part of the season, getting Watson this late in your draft is the biggest steal of all time. Last season, Watson finished as the QB5, averaging 23.1 fantasy points per game. More importantly, Watson scored 19 or more fantasy points in 75 percent of his games while scoring 26 or more in 25 percent of his games. Whether Watson plays in Houston this season or elsewhere, you are getting him at an ADP 150 or more spots lower than it would be without all the off the field issues. If Watson doesn’t play this season, you have wasted one of your last picks on a high-valued lottery ticket.

Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints (208.8 ADP)

For years, Hill has been a thorn in the side of all Drew Brees and Alvin Kamara fantasy owners whenever the Saints got in the red zone. However, with Brees retiring, Hill will battle Jameis Winston for the starting quarterback role this season. If Hill wins the job, he will turn into fantasy gold at his current ADP. In the four games he started with Brees injured last season, Hill averaged 21.1 fantasy points per game, scoring 18.9 or more fantasy points in three of them. Even in the games that Brees played, Hill scored seven or more fantasy points in five of them. If Hill wins the starting job, he has the upside to finish top-10 with the ability to score 25 or more fantasy points a week.

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Cam Newton, New England Patriots (210.7 ADP)

Despite playing last season with no receiver over 750 yards, Newton still averaged over 17 fantasy points per game because of his legs. Newton averaged 8.8 fantasy points per game with his legs, in large part thanks to his 12 rushing touchdowns. In his 15 games last season, Newton was the ultimate boom or bust fantasy quarterback. He scored under 12.5 fantasy points in 40 percent of his games. However, Newton scored 23.5 or more fantasy points in 33 percent of his game, including 34.5 or more twice. If he can continue to be a rushing touchdown machine and improve his passing game with the new additions, Newton has the potential to finish as a top-five quarterback this season.