Fantasy Football: 4 Late-Round Quarterbacks to Target

When taking part in fantasy football drafts, the quarterback position can be addressed in a variety of ways. Besides taking one of the elite signal-callers early, taking a late-round quarterback who outperforms their average draft position (ADP) can lead to a more well-balanced roster.

With drafts becoming more commonplace ahead of the preseason, there are four quarterbacks who stand out as values in the later rounds. All four of the quarterbacks within this article possess an ADP of 106 or later in FantasyPros' consensus ADP for half-PPR leagues.

Here are the four quarterbacks to consider if you prefer to wait to select a signal-caller.

Fantasy Football: Late-Round Quarterbacks to Target

Caleb Williams, Bears

ADP: QB14 (106.0 Overall)

Rookie quarterbacks can be tricky to place trust in, but Caleb Williams is surrounded by plenty of weapons entering his first year with the Chicago Bears. Along with D.J. Moore and Cole Kmet returning, the Bears added Keenan Allen, rookie Rome Odunze, and D'Andre Swift to an offense that will now have Shane Waldron -- the former offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks and former assistant under Sean McVay -- calling plays.

On top of that, Pro Football Focus believes the Bears have the 11th-best offensive line in the NFL entering the 2024 season. If Williams is given time to survey the field, it's hard to envision a scenario where he doesn't have more positives than negatives in his rookie year.

Williams doesn't lack arm talent as he combined for 8,170 passing yards, 72 passing touchdowns, and only 10 interceptions on a 67.5% completion percentage in his two years at USC. Among college quarterbacks with 200-plus drop backs a season ago, Williams recorded the 8th-most yards per attempt (9.3) and 13th-highest adjusted completion percentage (77.5%), via PFF.

Dual-threat quarterbacks can be invaluable in fantasy football, and Williams is fully capable of producing with his legs, totaling 966 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns during his three-year collegiate career. Our fantasy football projections -- which assume a 17-game season for each player -- view Williams as a value at his ADP, predicting a QB10 finish with 4,165 passing yards, 26.7 passing touchdowns, 301 rushing yards, and 3.2 rushing touchdowns.

Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars

ADP: QB17 (127.3)

In the non-Urban Meyer years for Trevor Lawrence, the former No. 1 overall pick has been a solid quarterback in fantasy football for the Jacksonville Jaguars. After finishing as the overall QB8 in 2022, Lawrence concluded last year as the overall QB13.

While the Jaguars lost Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones in free agency this offseason, they added Gabriel Davis and rookie Brian Thomas Jr. -- who is one of my favorite late-round receivers to target -- to an offense that already features Christian Kirk, Evan Engram, and Travis Etienne.

Lawrence had 12 touchdowns to just 1 interception in the red zone in 2023 while completing only 50% of his 56 red-zone attempts, per Pro Football Reference. This was in large part due to Jacksonville's primary red-zone targets (Ridley, Kirk, Jones, and Engram) all having catch rates of 66.7% or lower within the opponent's 20-yard line.

Partly as a result of his red-zone woes from last season, our own Brandon Gdula wrote up Lawrence as one of the five quarterbacks who should throw more touchdowns in 2024. Similar to Williams, our projections believe Lawrence can outperform his ADP to the tune of a QB13 finish with 4,189 passing yards, 26.3 passing touchdowns, 308 rushing yards, and 3.3 rushing touchdowns.

Kirk Cousins, Falcons

ADP: QB18 (134.0 Overall)

There is undoubtedly some risk in taking a soon to be 36-year-old Kirk Cousins coming off a torn Achilles. At the same time, he hasn't shown any signs of concern in training camp ahead of his first year with a loaded Atlanta Falcons offense.

While Cousins excelled throwing passes to Justin Jefferson on the Minnesota Vikings, the Falcons can distribute the ball to a talented young trio of Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and Bijan Robinson. It also helps that Cousins was playing arguably the best football of his career in 2023 before suffering his unfortunate Achilles ailment.

In his eight starts last year, Cousins produced 291.4 passing yards per game, 2.3 passing touchdowns per game, and a fantastic 4.6% completion rate over expected, via NextGenStats. Despite missing nine games, Cousins tallied the seventh-most fantasy points per game (19.3) at the quarterback position in 2023.

Even though Cousins doesn't provide rushing production, he was the QB16 or better in fantasy points per game in five of his six seasons in Minnesota. If Cousins can remain healthy in his debut year with the Falcons, there is top-10 upside with the arsenal of weapons he has at his disposal.

Geno Smith, Seahawks

ADP: QB25 (168.7 Overall)

One of the quarterback ADPs that doesn't make much sense to me is Geno Smith of the Seattle Seahawks. After finishing as the overall QB5 in 2022, Smith dealt with injuries in 2023, leading to a QB19 finish.

Despite Smith's numbers being worse across the board last season, there is reason for optimism entering the 2024 campaign. For starters, Seattle hired offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb -- who was the offensive coordinator for the Washington Huskies -- this offseason. With Michael Penix operating Grubb's offense at Washington in 2023, the Huskies averaged a robust 462.1 yards and 23.3 first downs per game.

Even in a down season for Smith, the veteran signal-caller had a formidable 49.1% passing success rate and 257.3 passing yards per game last year. Smith spoke about how excited he is to play in Grubb's offense, which prioritizes motion and play-action -- something that favors Smith.

Being part of a new offensive scheme and having D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and second-year wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba to target through the air make Smith an enticing option in the later rounds. While Smith is currently dealing with an injury in training camp, as long as he isn't expected to miss extended time, he could provide league-winning upside at his current ADP.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.