Best ball summer continues to heat up as training camp approaches. The ADP has begun to solidify, but a few quarterbacks still stand out as strong values to take a shot on in the later rounds. Let’s get into best late-round quarterbacks for 2023 Best Ball leagues, using projections and Stokastic’s Best Ball rankings.
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NFL Best Ball 2023 Late Round Quarterbacks
Daniel Jones (New York Giants)
Daniel Jones has an ADP of 112.9 on Underdog Fantasy, making him QB14. This comes in just behind players like Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins. However, Jones showed the upside to be a top-10 quarterback in his first season under Brian Daboll.
The Giants signed Jones for a four-year, $160 million contract, which could be worth as much as $190 million in total. Jones logged career highs in efficiency as a passer. He completed 67.2% of his passes for 3,205 yards and 15 touchdowns. This equated to 6.8 yards per attempt and 3.2% touchdown rate. The latter should be due for improvement, and considering Jones’ top 3 receivers were Darius Slayton, Richie James and Isaiah Hodgins, these numbers look pretty good.
This year, the Giants return their top 2 receivers Wan’Dale Robinson and Sterling Shepard from injury. Even if they start slow, their presence will be an upgrade from last year’s practice squad group. The team also spent a second-round pick on Tennessee receiver Jalin Hyatt, while adding Darren Waller in free agency. To round out the group, Slayton and Hodges return, with Parris Campbell also coming in via free agency as a potential slot option. It is hard to believe this unit will not be better. Not to mention, Saquon Barkley returns and is a strong pass-catching back.
As a rusher, Jones has more upside than just about any quarterback in the draft range, excluding Anthony Richardson. Last year, Jones rushed 120 times for 708 yards and seven touchdowns. His 5.9 yards per attempt ranked just ahead of his career average of 5.8. Jones rushed 7.5 time per game last season and should be in a similar ballpark under Daboll. Daboll previously coached Josh Allen in Buffalo and unlocked his true athleticism.
From a team perspective, the Giants come in with a modest win total. Their coaching staff remains intact, but there could be improvements to their 63.6 plays per game (15th) and 52.9% pass rate (22nd) from a season ago. For the fantasy playoff weeks, the Giants travel to New Orleans and Philadelphia and face the Rams at home. This schedule could be better, but New York is not expensive enough for that to matter.
Jordan Love (Green Bay Packers)
Jordan Love has an ADP of 153.2 and is QB20. Quarterbacks like Russell Wilson and Derek Carr come off the board just before Love. Now, there are plenty of concerns with Love’s profile. However, in larger tournaments like Best Ball Mania IV, shooting for Love’s upside over Wilson’s/Carr’s mediocrity presents asymmetric upside.
Love has thrown just 83 passes in his NFL career. He has completed 60.2% of those for 7.3 yards per attempt, three touchdowns and three interceptions. The sample is miniscule, but there is enough here to at least work with. Love should also have job security after the Packers spent a late-round pick on career underachiever Sean Clifford as the primary backup.
As a rusher, Love has 26 yards to his name on 13 carries, averaging 2 yards per carry. However, Love displayed more rushing ability in college. Collegiate stats include sacks as negative rushing yards, which the NFL does not. Removing sacks, Love rushed for 590 yards on 109 attempts in his three-year career with Utah State. This equates to 3.9 yards per carry. Love also ran the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds at the NFL Combine. All this is to say that Love can run, while most of the other quarterbacks in this range cannot. Now it just comes down to how often the Packers deploy him as a rusher.
The Green Bay skill position players should be improved. Running backs Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon return, second-year receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs have another offseason under their belts, and the Packers finally smashed pass catchers in this past NFL Draft. They selected Michigan State’s Jayden Reed in the second round, along with tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft. Now younger and more dynamic, Love’s pass catchers provide some upside here.
As for fantasy playoffs, Green Bay draws Tampa Bay at home, travels to Carolina and then to Minnesota in Week 17. The Minnesota game screams shootout, and Carolina could be interesting as well with their new regime. Ultimately, the price is right on the Packers, and they have a favorable postseason to stack for large tournaments.
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Bryce Young (Carolina Panthers)
Bryce Young comes off the board at pick 177.8 and is QB24 on Underdog. This is just behind Matthew Stafford, Kyler Murray and Kenny Pickett. Stafford and Pickett are actually OK at their costs, but Murray is insane. He could sit out literally all of 2023. Coming off the board so late, Young has multiple outs to overachieving in 2023.
The No. 1 pick in this year’s draft had an elite 2022 season. Young completed 64.5% of his passes for 3,328 yards, 8.8 yards per attempt, 32 touchdowns and only five interceptions. More impressively, Young did much of this under pressure, showing elite poise in the process.
As a rusher, Young ran for 185 yards on 49 carries, averaging 3.8 yards per attempt. However, when removing sacks, these rushing numbers climb to 311. While Young’s deployment as a rusher remains to be seen, he certainly possesses the skill to incorporate this into his game.
From a skill position perspective, Carolina still needs work. With that said, they at least tried to improve the offense during the offseason. At receiver, Carolina signed Adam Thielen and D.J. Chark Jr. While neither has proven to be anything elite at this point in their careers, Thielen should provide a reliable underneath option, while Chark can stretch the field. The Panthers also added Ole Miss receiver Jonathan Mingo on Day 2 of the draft. He was often injured in college, but Mingo ran an absurd 4.46 40-yard dash at 220 pounds at the NFL Combine. Finally, Carolina improved tight end by bringing in veteran Hayden Hurst. Trotting out Ian Thomas as the starter for as long as they did was frankly negligent by the former regime. While the Panthers did trade away Christian McCaffrey midseason, signing Miles Sanders as an upgrade on Chuba Hubbard should be a net positive for the entire offense.
As for team outlook, no one expects the Panthers to compete for the Super Bowl. However, they hired Frank Reich as head coach and Thomas Brown as the offensive coordinator. The Colts ranked top 12 in play rate and pass rate under Reich last year. For the fantasy playoff schedule, Carolina will take on Atlanta and Green Bay at home before traveling to Jacksonville in Week 17. This is not a horrible draw for Panthers stackers. With the discount on the entire team, these stacks should be easy to get to.
