3 fantasy football QBs to consider in later rounds

When you’re looking for a fantasy football sleeper at quarterback, it’s all about potential. As an owner, you know what you’re going to get with Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson. If you wait on your quarterback, that gives you the ability to stack your other skill positions. These three quarterbacks all have potential to provide terrific value for their average draft position.

Mitchell Trubisky - Chicago Bears

Trubisky floundered early as a rookie, but made positive steps as the season closed. Chicago didn’t ask too much of him and the offense was very conservative. His receiving corps was probably the worst in the NFL with players such as Dontrelle Inman and Josh Bellamy.

The Bears have worked hard to surround Trubisky with more support this offseason. They hired an offensive-minded coach in Mike Nagy, and added new offensive weapons including Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, Trey Burton, and Anthony Miller. Additionally, he still has an excellent stable of backs in Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen.

Learning a new offense and working with new receivers will present challenges. I like the looks of the schedule he’ll face in 2018 with plenty of room for success. He has the tools to make a decent leap in his second year and could be a steal in the later rounds.

Marcus Mariota - Tennessee Titans

Mariota has shown flashes of ability in his first three seasons. The offense though has really held him back from unleashing all of his potential. The Titans haven’t been able to escape the bottom ten in passing yards over the last three seasons. The slow, methodical pace restricted any chance of big chunk plays and fantasy relevance.

The Titans cleaned out their coaching staff and hired a head coach and offensive coordinator from pass-first schemes. Tennessee only made a couple changes on offense, releasing DeMarco Murray and signing Dion Lewis. Delanie Walker and Rishard Mathews offer constant and reliable receiving options. The rest of the receivers are young with plenty of upside. Corey Davis, Taywan Taylor, and Jonnu Smith will help Mariota to improve his passing numbers.

I expect Mariota’s touchdown and yardage numbers to increase in both passing and rushing. As long as he stays healthy, 2018 should become a career year. Look for Mariota to be drafted just outside the first dozen quarterbacks, but I expect him to finish with top-10 numbers.

Patrick Mahomes - Kansas City Chiefs

Mahomes enters 2018 as one of the more intriguing quarterback available. He has a howitzer for an arm and was able to give us a preview in the regular-season finale.

The offense is stacked with amazing playmakers in the backfield and the receiving corps. They even added another big-time receiver in Sammy Watkins. Eric Bieniemy takes over as the offensive coordinator but the offense will remain the same. We all know that Andy Reid is the one running the show.

The risk that Mahomes carries is that he’s started only one professional game. We never even got to see him throw a touchdown. The year on the sideline certainly helped his development, watching and studying a veteran like Alex Smith. I also like the potential that Mahomes has as a runner. I believe the floor for Mahomes is finishing in the top-15 and that he’ll end up as a top-10 fantasy quarterback.