Now that we’re in best ball mode here on Fantasy Alarm and Bettor Sports Network, we have regular fantasy football best ball drafts being set up in our Discord with the Fantasy Alarm #FAmily! We’re hitting the fantasy football best ball coverage very hard now with the NFL Draft in our rearview mirror and fantasy football rookie landing spots intact. Watching the 2023 fantasy football ADP shift from week to week will be fantastic as we will now be inundated with more rookie hype, plus a slew of new fantasy football projections and, of course, a whole new set of fantasy football rankings to study. Are you ready? 

Make sure you register for Underdog Fantasy by clicking here and using promo code “FANTASYALARM” so you can come draft with Howard Bender, Andrew Cooper, Britt Flinn, Jon Impemba, myself and other analysts.

Now starts one of the biggest lulls of the NFL offseason, where news trickles in slowly, and it’s usually dominated by veterans signing with teams. With that, we’ll be going position by position to pick out some quarterback targets that are attractive values at their ADP. 

All ADP is per Underdog Fantasy and is from Best Ball Mania IV.

If you missed the other positions in this series, check them out here:

 

Best Ball Fantasy Football Quarterback Early-Round Target

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (QB7)

The quarterback landscape in best ball is pretty divisive, and it’s already creating a sizable chasm between the top-three elites at the position and the rest. A second-round price is a pretty hefty one to pay for Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, so comparatively speaking, the next tier or two down doesn’t seem so bad. 

A veritable bargain at QB7 with a fifth-round average draft position (ADP) on Underdog Fantasy, Justin Herbert sits at the bottom of the next elite quarterback tier with Trevor Lawrence. Both are excellent values at their best ball price points, and I’ll be pretty overweight on Herbert in my portfolio of rosters.

Herbert put up 4,739 passing yards and 25 touchdowns in 2022 despite injuries all around him at the skill positions. At one point in the middle of the season, Herbert was slinging the ball to such notable names as Joshua Palmer, Michael Bandy, Jason Moore and DeAndre Carter. Not exactly a murderer’s row. Despite that, Herbert still finished as QB12 in fantasy points per game with eight top-10 weekly finishes.

The Chargers will still throw a ton this season, with Kellen Moore replacing Joe Lombardi as the new offensive coordinator. It’s not like they didn’t throw a ton last season; they certainly did. Los Angeles was fourth in the NFL pass rate over expected (PROE) in 2022 and second in raw pass rate (68.1%), plus they added a first-round wide receiver in Quentin Johnston to incumbents Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. Herbert’s 6.9 average depth of target and 6.5 air yards per attempt were also knocks on him but those should be rectified as the Chargers and Moore should clear the runway for Herbert to take off in 2023.

As long as we don’t get an across-the-board injury collapse of virtually every receiver and most of the offensive line like Herbert had to deal with last season, Herbert should have a ton of passing volume, exceed his 25 touchdowns from 2022 and have realistic overall QB1 upside at a very reasonable price. I’m in, and you should be too.

Best Ball Fantasy Football Quarterback Mid-Round Target

Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts (QB10)

If you’re playing in stand-alone best ball leagues like Best Ball 10’s or FFPC, Richardson is likely lower in ADP. On Underdog Fantasy, however, Richardson’s price has gone through the roof since he was drafted as the fourth-overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts.

And why shouldn’t it? Richardson jumps into a ready-made situation where he can lift all boats in this offense and propel the Colts to something they haven’t had since Andrew Luck was in uniform: a high-functioning, modern NFL offense.

No disrespect to the Philip Rivers and Matt Ryans of the world, but they were caretakers tasked with not disrupting the run game with some occasional shots to their (at the time) a middling pass-catching group. With Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, Alec Pierce, Jelani Woods and others, it should be a welcome upgrade for a Colts offense that already has great pieces on the offensive line and Jonathan Taylor.

The Colts should be much more dynamic with Richardson at the helm and while he’ll have his warts, a top-12 season seems easily attainable with clear and obvious upside for me.

You don’t win best ball leagues by drafting the QB12 and him finishing at QB10-12. You need massive upside and the ability to get much more of a return on investment, especially in tournaments. Even on Underdog, where Richardson’s price has shot through the roof, you’re still getting him at QB10 with a top-five upside. On other platforms, the price vs. upside is much more pronounced. The ADP is fluid, but as he doesn’t get into QB7/QB8 territory, I’m on board with the upside.

Best Ball Fantasy Football Quarterback Late-Round Target

Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks (QB16)

I don’t think anybody had “Geno Smith finishes as a top-ten fantasy quarterback” on their bingo cards last season, but it’s certainly a thing that happened. Smith was QB8 in fantasy points per game and had only three weekly finishes under QB15. Not only was he prolific with his arm, but he also added 366 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. It was truly an unexpected yet great year for the journeyman quarterback turned Comeback Player of the Year.

The Underdog Fantasy market is NOT buying it, as he’s sitting between Aaron Rodgers and Jared Goff as QB16 in Best Ball Mania IV. So are we about to get another season of “Geno Smith magic,” or does the glass slipper no longer fit?

For 2023, the Seahawks extended his contract and added the consensus top wide receiver in the NFL Draft: Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Adding Smith-Njigba to DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett gives him arguably the best trio of wide receivers in the NFL currently. The one concern over the passing game is the amount of three-wide sets the Seahawks will utilize. However, with the addition of Smith-Njigba, that number could come up, especially if Smith-Njigba forces the issue and is impossible to keep off the field. 

No team played more 12 personnel than the Seahawks did last season, and Seattle’s usage of 11 personnel was bottom-six in the league in 2022. Those two factors would need to change for Smith to realize top-six potential at quarterback, but adding Smith-Njigba could swing the Seahawks’ usage of 11 personnel in Smith’s favor.

There are a lot of warts on the lower-end quarterbacks in best ball, but if the main wart for Smith is, "Can he repeat the season he just had with the same weapons plus a first-round rookie WR?" I think that puts him over options like Daniel Jones, Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson, Jared Goff, and even Kirk Cousins. QB16 is a bargain price. Pounce on it.

 

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