A sleeper quarterback is a player taken as a backup who ends up worthy of being a starter or at least far outplays the draft slot where you selected him. Average Draft Positions (ADP) are taken from MyFantasyLeague.com using only real drafts conducted after August 15.

Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
The Average Draft order shows a general picture of how your draft will happen and where values/sleepers and bad values/busts likely exist. Any green check means the player is a good value that could be taken earlier. A red “X” signifies an overvalued player that is a bad value or just too high of a risk for that spot.
Average Draft order – Value plays
ADP | Value | Tm | Player | Analysis |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | KC | Patrick Mahomes | 5000 yards, 50 TDs in his first year playing? Yeah. Nice pick. Bet you still made it too early though. | |
2 | HOU | Deshaun Watson | Rushing and passing totals make him a top-three QB in every draft. | |
3 | GB | Aaron Rodgers | Always elite when healthy and this year opponents not sure what to expect in the new offense. | |
4 | CLE | Baker Mayfield | Even Brett Favre said he reminds him of Brett Favre. He’s made the Browns competitive. Let that sink in. | |
5 | ![]() |
ATL | Matt Ryan | Matt Ryan is either a top QB or barely average and does it every other year. Last year was big. 2017 he was #14. Schedule much worse than last year. Don’t draft for last year. |
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IND | Andrew Luck | And… he’s gone! |
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PHI | Carson Wentz | I won’t touch a guy that gets injured every year. Just too many other options. Great when healthy. Might be huge. Gonna happen on someone else’s team though. |
8 | SEA | Russell Wilson | This may be a bit high. The Seahawks ran more than any other team last year. Wilson was only #10 in 2018 and was healthy. I wouldn’t take him this early but he’s been the savior in Seattle. | |
9 | CAR | Cam Newton | Needs to stay healthy and comes back from a shoulder injury. But has ended in the top-two for QB twice in the last four years. Was looking healthy again but then just sprained his ankle in his Week 3 game. | |
10 | NO | Drew Brees | Maybe his years as a top-five QB are over, but Brees as a backup? Yeah, I can deal with that. Still ended as the #8 QB last year. Right spot maybe but still feels like a steal on name alone. | |
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LAR | Jared Goff | Goff ended as the #6 QB last year with 4,688 yards and 34 TDs. This year Rams will be prepared in case Gurley goes AWOL again. Goff has plenty of targets. Plenty. Cooper back makes a big difference. |
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TB | Jameis Winston | Solid pick. Winston also has plenty of talented targets, a poor rushing game and HC Bruce Arians whispering QB tips and techniques to him. Upside is higher than this. |
Sleepers and over-valued players
ADP | Value | Tm | Player | Analysis |
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13 | ![]() ![]() |
ARI | Kyler Murray | Okay, look. I get it. We all want the next Patrick Mahomes/Deshaun Watson. And maybe Murray is it but as a rookie, he has not impressed much in camp or preseason games. Has a terrible O-line which won’t help. He will run the ball and that helps. So long as he is a backup and not a starter for you, then could be a fun pick. |
14 | PIT | Ben Roethlisberger | Comes off a career year but loses Antonio Brown. No one is sure quite where he belongs. I’d let someone else figure that out. 2018 was the first time in four years that he played all 16 games. | |
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NE | Tom Brady | Maybe Pats fans consider it sacrilegious, but Tommy was only #11 last year and NE brought in more RBs and lost Gronk. And at 42 years old, fantasy owners hold their breath until he gets back up after every hit. |
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BAL | Lamar Jackson | Granted. His passing was the worst in the league. And his rushing was best in NFL history. As a backup, willing to see if his passing improves. He says he will run less but let’s see what happens when the ball is snapped. |
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DAL | Dak Prescott | Maybe Prescott hasn’t been better than the #9 QB in his three years, but he also has never been worse than #12 and now he has Cooper, Cobb, Gallup, and Witten. And if no Elliott, then plenty of Prescott. |
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LAC | Philip Rivers | Yeah, he’s 38 years old. And he was #13 last year. But he was top-ten in the five years prior. Another great pick for backup QB. And if Gordon situation goes south, then Rivers will be throwing and throwing and … |
19 | MIN | Kirk Cousins | Apparently, the specter of Dalvin Cook being used as a full-time RB plus a tougher schedule drops him despite being top-ten in each year since 2014. Seems like a very sweet backup this deep. | |
20 | JAC | Nick Foles | This deep means he’s just a bye week filler but Foles brings all-new upside to the new offense in JAC. Don’t think Blake Bortles II, think SB LII MVP. Now put him on the Jaguars and maybe this will work out. | |
21 | CIN | Andy Dalton | He should be this good but Dalton has always produced moderate to low fantasy games for the last several years. You waited too long to get your bye week covered. | |
22 | ![]() |
NYG | Daniel Jones | Okay, he looked great in a preseason game against defenders that are mostly going to be building decks or landscaping by September. A lack of targets alone makes this unappetizing and, oh yes, he is not even the starter yet. |
23 | ![]() |
CHI | Mitchell Trubisky | Solid fantasy backup QB so far. Has a far better schedule and healthy receivers in the second season of HC Matt Nagy’s offense. |
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BUF | Josh Allen | He was red hot to end 2018 and ran over 90 yards in four of last six games. He’ll improve passing and hopefully still run at least some of the time. |
Best of the Rest
Derek Carr (OAK) – Second season of the same offense only with actual receivers this year. Worth a back-up QB pick.
Sam Darnold (NYJ) – Better weapons around him, bound to be in the Top-24 this year.