Quarterback Sleepers For Fantasy Football 2025: A Second-Year Spike For Caleb Williams On Tap?
Fantasy

Quarterback Sleepers For Fantasy Football 2025: A Second-Year Spike For Caleb Williams On Tap?

Dwain McFarland, Ian Hartitz, Kendall Valenzuela, and Matthew Freedman unveil their QB sleepers for 2025 fantasy football drafts.

Fantasy football draft season is always the time of year when old friends reach out to us with a quick hello followed by the inevitable question: Got any good sleepers this year?

Why, yes. Yes, we do. Thanks for asking.

Presenting: Our quarterback sleepers for fantasy football to target in 2025, courtesy of Dwain McFarland, Kendall Valenzuela, Matthew Freedman, and me. The only ground rules: Stick to guys going Round 10 (pick 109+) or later, and no touching of the hair or face. That's it.

Make sure to check out the Fantasy Life rankings for updates throughout the offseason. You can also get 20% off of your FantasyLife+ subscription with code IAN at checkout.

As always: It's a great day to be great.

2025 Fantasy Football Quarterback Sleepers

CHI_bears-logo.svgCaleb Williams | Bears

Ian: Da Bears QB1 didn't exactly live up to "generational" expectations as a rookie, although that's not too uncommon. After all, just six rookie QBs have produced top-12 numbers in fantasy points per game over the last decade.

Good news: The flashes were still there, and positive rushing TD regression is expected. Williams also now finds himself inside of what sure looks like one of the league's most fantasy-friendly offensive environments:

Williams wasn't without fault as a rookie, but man, the organization has essentially done everything in its power to surround him with better resources ahead of year two. I prefer taking a barbell/first-or-last approach at the position this year—don't be afraid to click Williams in the double-digit rounds once the top-36 RBs, top-50 WRs, and top-10 TEs are already well off the board.

NE_patriots-logo.svgDrake Maye | Patriots

Dwain: We don't have a late-round dual-threat option like Jayden Daniels in fantasy drafts last season. That makes taking an early-round option like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, or Jalen Hurts early very appealing. However, when waiting past pick 109, Maye has the ingredients that have historically unlocked fantasy upside.

The second-year quarterback might not have 800+ rushing upside like the top names, but he could be a 500-yard guy. Last season, he averaged 37 yards per game on the ground and 235 through the air in games where he played the majority of the snaps. That was good for 17.1 PPG. With the additions of Stefon Diggs, TreVeyon Henderson, and Kyle Williams, there is room for improvement.

A 4,000-yard passer with 500 rushing yards will be hard to keep out of the top 10 in fantasy football. Since 2011, QBs around those numbers have averaged 22.1 PPG with a QB4 finish. He offers the eighth-highest projection ceiling (23.6 PPG) in the variance model.

That is why Maye is my QB12 and a key pillar within my QB Strategy Guide for 2025 fantasy drafts.

Note: Caleb Williams is my No. 1 QB sleeper; he is my QB9 (highest at Fantasy Life). He offers upside in the passing and rushing categories in a massively improved offense, but you guys want some variety here, and Ian already wrote him up. Just be sure to reach out to Ian and tell him to move him up the ranks and remind him of all the times he wanted to argue with me about Justin Fields vs. Williams on the Fantasy Life Show. 🙂

Freedman: A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a piece on QBs projected for 75+ attempts—because those QBs have naturally high ceiling/floor combos for fantasy—and Drake Maye was highlighted in that piece.

I want Maye in all formats. He's one of my favorite 2025 fantasy bench picks, because I don't need to draft him as if he's a fantasy starter … but I think he'll provide that kind of production right away.

He was the No. 3 overall pick last year, and then he flashed with an average of 36.3 yards rushing across his 10 full games.

Most QBs naturally improve in their second NFL season, and that could especially be the case for Maye, thanks to all the offseason additions the team has made (OC Josh McDaniels, LT Will Campbell, LG Jared Wilson, C Garrett Bradbury, RT Morgan Moses, WR Stefon Diggs, and RB TreVeyon Henderson).

I think he'd be a great pick in Guillotine Leagues™ as someone to hold down the position until you have an opportunity to add one of the elite QBs via waivers in the middle of the season.

Ian: Maye hasn't received the same sort of marquee offensive upgrades as Williams, but the 2024 NFL Draft's No. 3 overall pick did manage to already show off a higher fantasy ceiling.

Consider: Maye averaged 223 passing yards and 36 rushing yards per game in his 10 games with a snap rate north of 50% last season. Here are the only other QBs to clear 220 pass and 35 rush yards per game in a single season in the Super Bowl era (min. eight starts):

Note that Jayden Daniels also would have qualified if you remove his two sub-50% snap games from last season. Either way: That's pretty damn great company!

Now, don't expect Maye to resemble prime Cam Newton as a rusher, but hey, the man was technically more lethal than Lamar f*cking Jackson when scrambling last season! Throw in the reality that new OC Josh McDaniels featured Newton on some fun designed QB run concepts during his time in New England, and Maye sure looks a lot like this year's late-round dual-threat target.

JAC_jaguars-logo.svgTrevor Lawrence | Jaguars

Dwain: Lawrence hasn't lived up to the No. 1 pick hype and had a bad 2024 season. That means he often goes undrafted in home leagues. But like Maye, he is the quarterback archetype we want to target in fantasy football. 

The fifth-year signal caller offers the potential to spike in both rushing and passing categories, and he has two top-12 finishes in the last three seasons.

  • 2022: 242 pass YPG | 17.1 rush YPG | 18.5 PPG (QB8)
  • 2023: 251 pass YPG | 21 rush YPG | 17.9 PPG (QB12)

Lawrence should be playing in the best scheme, surrounded by the best talent of his career. Liam Coen brings over the scheme that helped unlock Baker Mayfield, and the team added Travis Hunter with the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft. With Brian Thomas Jr. already on board, the Jaguars could enter the top-two WR duo conversation sooner than many realize.

The ceiling for Lawrence in my projection model is 22.9 PPG. He would be a massive steal if he hits that number. If you wait at the position, Lawrence is an outstanding second QB to tack onto your roster late. Let T-Law and Williams or Maye battle it out for your starting spot!

Lawrence is one of my most-drafted QBs. Through 131 drafts, he is on 15% of my teams.

Kendall: Too many things went right for Trevor Lawrence this offseason not to see him have the best season of his career. Liam Coen becoming the new head coach helps this team—according to Ian Hartitz's team preview, offensive playcaller metrics placed Coen as the league's third-best option last season behind only Todd Monken and Joe Brady. 

Now we add in the fact that the team went all in to get Travis Hunter to pair alongside Brian Thomas Jr., and they are cooking with gas. Yes, Lawrence has been a disappointment since entering the league with his best finish in terms of fantasy points per game coming back in 2022 (QB11), but his current QB19 price tag is too cheap for a quarterback that could hit his stride as a passer and a rusher this season. 

In those two good seasons, we did see solid rushing and passing numbers, which means he has the potential to see that kind of production again (hopefully):

  • 2022: 242 passing, 17.1 rushing
  • 2023: 251 passing, 21 rushing

MIN_vikings-logo.svgJ.J. McCarthy | Vikings

  • Consensus ADP: QB19
  • Freedman Ranking: QB16

Freedman: If I miss out on Maye, it's not a big deal—because I can still get J.J. McCarthy. He's one of the 32 guys I want to draft this year.

Look at what QB Sam Darnold did with the Vikings last year (4,319 yards, 35 TDs passing). 

If Darnold can do that, then McCarthy at least has a shot at it.

He's in perhaps the league's best offensive environment, thanks to offensive HC Kevin O'Connell, WRs Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, TE T.J. Hockenson, and RB Aaron Jones.

And he has natural talent of his own, based on his draft pedigree (No. 10 pick), athleticism (6.82-second three-cone drill), college production (72.3% completion rate, 9.8 AY/A in final season), and winning makeup (CFB and HS national champion).

I doubt McCarthy finishes as a top-six fantasy QB, but he could be a low-end QB1, which would be a win at his current ADP.

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. Caleb Williams
    CalebWilliams
    QBCHICHI
    PPG
    14.98
  2. Drake Maye
    DrakeMaye
    QBNENE
    PPG
    17.26
    Proj
    17.49
  3. Trevor Lawrence
    TrevorLawrence
    QBJACJAC
    PPG
    14.78
  4. J.J. McCarthy
    J.J.McCarthyQ
    QBMINMIN
    PPG
    10.66