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Quarterbacks Worth Reaching For in 2021 Fantasy Football Drafts

Quarterbacks Worth Reaching For
by Alan Seslowsky – Twitter: @Alanseslowsky

RosterWatch’s signature tool, the ultimate draft cheat sheet, is crafted to help you leverage against average draft position. It is not a traditional ranking list. Following the three simple rules on the cheat sheet guarantees you an expert quality draft. There are times RosterWatch can endorse reaching ahead of ADP if you believe that a player has the upside to win you a fantasy football league. If you can identify a player that has a plausible case to crush his ADP, he may be worth “reaching” for. Below are three players Rosterwatch believes could have league-winning upside at the QB position. 

Josh Allen, QB Bills (ADP 40, QB2)

Waiting on QB has long been a sharp fantasy football strategy. In leagues that require only one starting QB, passing on the top 10 QBs for a locked-in starter that could get you 250 yards and 2 TDs was good enough. Especially since you were able to draft more RBs and WRs in the early rounds. The NFL has changed and along with it so has fantasy football. Drafting Derek Carr or Baker Mayfield is fine in the 14th round, but in order to be competitive, you need a dual threat QB. A player like Josh Allen who gets you 300 yards passing with 2 TDs and also rushes for 50 yards and a rushing TD is too much of an edge to give away. The fifth round is the sweet spot for the dual threat QBs this year. Josh Allen’s ADP is in the fourth round. Though it may feel uncomfortable taking a QB when there are great WRs and RBs on the board, Allen provides a weekly advantage that can’t be matched. He is worth drafting anytime in round four. 

 

Mathew Stafford, QB Rams (ADP 85, QB10)

If you can’t bring yourself to click “draft on a dual threat QB in rounds five and six, Mathew Stafford should be your backup plan. The Rams offense is set up to have a top-five offense in the NFL. Now that they lost Cam Akers for the season, the Rams will undoubtedly be passing more than they expected to before they lost Akers. If you don’t have a running QB you need one that can pass for over 5,000 yards and have a shot at 45 TDs. In this offense, Stafford is set up well. He is worth a “reach” in round seven. 

 

Trevor Lawrence, QB Jaguars (ADP 110, QB14)

Fantasy football managers are guilty of overthinking situations and talking themselves out of smart draft picks. Often we are proactive in drafting a player early in the offseason then we let the wisdom of crowds (updated ADP) influence our process for the worse. Trevor Lawrence has been touted as an all time prospect for three seasons. NFL teams were tanking their seasons to “earn” the number one overall pick. Lawrence lands in Jacksonville with a talented receiver core and one of the best running back tandems in the league. Lawrence will be a hit at ADP. He is a “can’t miss” as they come for fantasy. Lawrence averaged 8.5 rushing TDs the last two seasons as well. He is a threat for five TDs on the ground. He is worth reaching for in the 8th round if you don’t mind the perceived risk with T-Law.

28 Comments

  1. ↓ Post By FF_Hookem

    Hi looking for some keeper guidance in a $200 salary league – pick 2 keepers. My initial thought is to just pick 1 keeper, Chubb. Thoughts?

    Nick Chubb – $28 (duh)
    Tannehill – $10
    Tonyan – $10
    Shenault – $10
    AJ Dillon – $10
    Will Fuller – $20
    TY Hilton $20
    JJacobs – $38

    1. ↓ Post By Nathan Steele

      What type of league is it (Standard, PPR, .5PPR?) Also, can you keep them at the same price year after year? AJ Dillon at $10 is an injury away from being elite.

      1. ↓ Post By FF_Hookem

        PPR. The prices above reflect the cost to keep. Thanks!

        1. ↓ Post By Nathan Steele

          I’d definitely keep AJ then. Shenault in a PPR at $10 is likely going to be legit as well.

  2. ↓ Post By R A

    Thoughts on Pollard? I just picked him up in dynasty (couldn’t believe he was on the wire) after slotting Etienne into IR. Any insight on Pollard’s role/usage increasing to the point of a locked and loaded flex play at minimum, outside of a Zeke injury? I remember Byron touched on this a little on the Cowboys TC update, but didn’t seem to have much to go off of.

    Etienne seemed like one of the most debated and polarizing players this year. I wasn’t banking on him starting much for me this year unless injuries mount. He would’ve been my RB5/6. I’m hoping losing him and adding Pollard won’t drop the needle much for the year.

    1. ↓ Post By Trashman

      I don’t see pollard getting much action outside of an Elliott injury. The Cowboys did say that they’ll keep the playoffs in mind when using Elliott this season, but unless they have a stranglehold on the nfc East, which seems unlikely, I don’t see them resting him much. It also seems like they will want to get as much as they can out of Elliott in what may be his final season in Dallas. Pollard would of course be a potential league winning back if Elliott did succumb to injury

  3. ↓ Post By TRay25

    Need some keeper advice…standard 10-team PPR league…get to keep 2 players that take our original draft spot. I’ve narrowed it down to the these 3 and would love your thoughts:

    2nd Round: Austin Ekeler
    5th Round: Calvin Ridley
    8th Round: Kyler Murray

    Wouldn’t normally keep a QB but 8th round for Kyler seems like a steal as well as 5th round for Ridley. I could also argue that Ekeler at 2nd round is a bargain as well.

    Thoughts?

    1. ↓ Post By Trashman

      I’d lose Murray. You can find comparable qb talent in a ten team league. Ekeler and Ridley will be especially potent in ppr format

      1. ↓ Post By TRay25

        Thank you sir. Makes complete sense.

  4. ↓ Post By ptobias49269@yahoo.com

    Hi Guys,

    I listened to Byron talk about Tom Brady having an epic year this year. Yet, in the two QB league he is ranked 9th. Do you believe he will throw for 40+ touchdowns? In my league qb is mission critical and I’m drafting off of the 2 qb league cheat sheet. After listening I was thinking of waiting a little on qb’s because of the opportunity to draft him.

    Thank you,
    Paul

    1. ↓ Post By Trashman

      He’s only thrown 40+ tds once in his career, so even though he hit fourth last year it seems like a stretch. I would expect 30+ which is still nothing to sniff at

    2. ↓ Post By Byron Lambert

      If you can “wait” and get Brady- you should. Even if you need to “reach” a tiny bit

      1. ↓ Post By ptobias49269@yahoo.com

        Thank you Byron.

  5. ↓ Post By Chief58

    Good morning. 10 team PPR Keeper League. I am keeping Chubb (7th), Lamb (6th), M. Davis (12th) and K. Hunt (15th). I have the 5th option for Draft Position. Guessing right now at least the first three spots will be taken. Since I have a few RB Keepers would you move to the back end of the draft to play the turn? I think Kamara and D. Adams are the only other top end choices that will be off the board as Keepers.

    Thanks

  6. ↓ Post By Trashman

    I think you’re fine at five in a ten team league, but that also means I think you’re fine at the turn.

  7. ↓ Post By John Hunsberger

    For the cheatsheet , would you recommend leaning towards rbs over wrs first 3 rounds ( if it’s the same ranking ) or would you go 2 and 1 for roster configuration

    We start 2 of each position and a flex

    1. ↓ Post By Byron Lambert

      I would break ties early w/ RBs, then pivot to breaking ties by balancing your roster

      1. ↓ Post By John Hunsberger

        Thanks Byron trying to go for a 3 peat since joining the site .. tradecast and cheatsheet are goated

  8. ↓ Post By bigbarret

    Hey guys- Would you mind giving the rookie draft cheat sheet a once over. It is a month old at this point and still has guys like Travis Etienne ranked pretty high. I need it for a dynasty draft this weekend that I am underprepared for.

    1. ↓ Post By Alan Seslowsky

      What pick do you have?

  9. ↓ Post By ryanusc3

    Anyone know best way to get in touch with Rosterwatch for Pro Account questions? Tried emailing them, but no response.

    1. ↓ Post By Byron Lambert

      This is the best place to congregate w/ questions Ryan

      1. ↓ Post By ryanusc3

        Thanks Byron. I’m a multi-year Pro member, but my account has been deactivated due to my recurring payment method being no longer in use. Was hoping to get some help setting up my new card and getting that on file. Don’t want to miss out on any of the amazing Pro benefits!

        1. ↓ Post By Byron Lambert

          Thank you for your loyal support Ryan. If you ever need help w/ customer service just email our admin Jen – rosterwatch@gmail.com – she’ll get back w/ you promptly.

          For now, you should be able to just go back in to the buy page and purchase PRO over again and put a new payment method in when you make the purchase. Just sign up with the same email you always use. Once you are active again- we actually have a feature on your account page where you can manage your payment methods.

          1. Post By ryanusc3

            Yeah man, I’ve emailed Jen twice now but haven’t heard back yet. I had some correspondence with her around this time last year and she got back with me no issue. I just wanted to make sure I had the right email address.

  10. ↓ Post By Stone Cold Will C

    Any cause for optimism that Josh Jacobs could return to his rookie year form? All the other talking heads seem to be down on him because of the Drake addition and linemen being shipped out, but Drake should probably just fill the Booker role and they brought in younger guys that are just unproven to fill the line.

    1. ↓ Post By Byron Lambert

      Jacobs is a fine pick at current ADP, don’t love it don’t hate it. He could surprise but we should be realistic .

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