Let’s follow up the negativity surrounding some quarterbacks with a bit more of the good feelings today. A lot of folks are sleeping on some quarterbacks who can be major contributors this year, so with the help of our Best Ball rankings, we are going to break down those quarterbacks whose ADP doesn’t do them justice. Here are the most undervalued Best Ball quarterbacks for 2024, including Anthony Richardson.
Level up your Best Ball game. Matt Gajewski has a Best Ball guide on how to do just that; he breaks down everything you need from draft strategy, stacking and building rosters.
Undervalued Best Ball Quarterbacks for 2024
These ADPs are for Underdog Fantasy. You can find ADP for Drafters and DraftKings in our FREE Best Ball QB rankings, but the discrepancies between rankings depends on which site you are using.
Anthony Richardson: QB5, ADP 57.3
Quarterback is pretty tight in terms of the rankings. You are not going to find as many players that are egregiously priced other than a few at the end of drafts that could be sleepers or overvalued. On DraftKings, Richardson’s value falls pretty much in line with his ADP. On Underdog, however, he comes in as a much stronger value.
This is basically a question of upside with Richardson. His projections are based on a median range of outcomes, but his upside is a legitimate QB1 over Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. He’s a true dual threat and only played in four games last year — two of which he did not finish — and Richardson still managed 136 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. He ultimately finished 15th overall in fantasy quarterback rushing production — again, in only four games.
The Colts have an elite supporting cast as well. The offensive line is a top-5 unit, and there is a really strong group of pass catchers with Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs and the addition of rookie Adonai Mitchell. Maybe Jonathan Taylor steals some rushing production, but it’s just as likely that this is a “rising tide lifts all ships” kind of situation.
Everything sets up for Richardson to have a breakout fantasy season. Plus, there are a lot of pocket passers who are near or ahead of his ADP whom Richardson can demolish as a fantasy asset — even Patrick Mahomes.
Deshaun Watson: QB16, ADP 162.0
This might be a “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” (actually, we’re approaching the third time), but there are couple reasons to like Watson where he sits right now.
Some of them are the same as what Richardson has: A top-5 offensive line, good supporting cast with Amari Cooper, David Njoku, Elijah Moore, and adding Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman. This unit really made Joe Flacco shine, and this is now or never for Watson since the Browns let Flacco walk. Watson is going to have every opportunity to succeed.
There’s a lot to like on the profile — just not in the past two years. For his career he averages 8.2 adjusted yards per pass attempt, whereas the last two years he was at 6.0 and 6.3. Now, those came in limited action — once due to suspension, once due to injury — so it is a bit hard to parse this.
The reason Watson is a value, even if he plays towards the bottom end of his career performance, is his rushing potential. He had three straight seasons of 400-plus rushing yards before his two shortened seasons. The Browns offensive line should give him opportunities to run as well, and if Watson puts up 500 rushing yards, he is undervalued on that alone before even considering his passing.
There is a lot to like about Watson in an offensive that is very good with talent all around him; he just needs to return to some semblance of his former self.
Daniel Jones: QB24, ADP 195.3
Jones is coming off a horrific season that was shortened by an ACL injury, but his ADP of 195.3 means you only need to take him as one of your final-round picks. You are not spending any high draft capital on him whatsoever.
Jones’ stats will not wow anyone, and last year was his worst season. However, two years ago Brian Daboll coaxed a career-best season out of Jones, not only in terms of yards per attempt, but also the 708 yards rushing. Last year was a complete disaster, as the Giants lost some players on the offensive line and some pieces they expected to step up did not. It was basically negligence the team they put on the field.
To alleviate some of these ills, they added Jermaine Eluemunor and John Runyan at guard, drafted a center in the second round, and have tackles Andrew Thomas (who is great) and Evan Neal (who is a first-round pick that hasn’t lived up to expectations but has a chance in this offense). Regardless, this is an upgraded offensive line.
It is also an upgraded receiver corps with rookie Malik Nabers, Jalin Hyatt in year 2 and Wan’Dale Robinson a year removed from an ACL injury. Jones had his career-best 2022 with players far worse than this, and the Giants also made the playoffs that year.
There is also the matter of Jones having job security. Basically the Giants let Saquon Barkley test free agency and kept Jones instead, so they are committed to Jones at least for this year in which he is making a lot of money.
