“Five Quarterbacks You Must Draft According To Sr. NFL Analyst Justin Mark”
I’ve already had a couple of people reach out about doing a start-up draft. Is it too early? Absolutely not! Regardless of whether you have a draft this month or in three months, you have to start prepping now. This is my list of five fantasy football quarterbacks you must draft!
Let’s not be silly. I’m not throwing guys like Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson on here. Those are too obvious! We’re going with some guys you might be on the fence about whether to draft or not. These are the guys that fall on my draft list.
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1. Caleb Williams
The first fantasy football quarterback you might be on the fence about but must draft is Caleb Williams. After a bunch of offseason hype leading up to the draft, and then getting drafted by the Bears, Williams was a sought-after commodity.
However, after a disappointing rookie season and coming in as the 16th-ranked quarterback, perhaps you’re a little hesitant now. He was drafted as the 13th quarterback off the board last year. I think he deserves to be in the top 12 this year.
The Bears addressed two of the biggest things holding him back last year. One was the offensive line. Caleb Williams was sacked a boatload and rarely had time to let a play develop. To address this, the Bears traded for guard Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson. They also signed the top center in the free agency.
The other big issue was their defensive-minded coach. I really liked Matt Eberflus. However, he wasn’t doing the rookie quarterback any favors, especially after firing the offensive coordinator. The Bears went out and got Ben Johnson, the Lions’ offensive coordinator, who is quickly rising to being thought of as one of the better younger coaches in the game.
Even though I’d like them to add another weapon or two for Caleb Williams, he still has D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, and Cole Kmet. Something tells me the Bears aren’t done adding pieces to their offensive puzzle yet either.
Williams is currently being drafted 14th overall. If he stays healthy, I’ll be surprised to see him outside the top 12 this year.
2. Baker Mayfield
Talk about a guy who continually gets disrespected. If you’re debating on if you should draft Baker Mayfield among your fantasy football quarterbacks, stop it. Draft him! In 2023, Baker Mayfield had an ADP (average draft position) of 31. That was behind guys like Ryan Tannehill, Mac Jones, Jimmy G, Bryce Young, etc. He finished as the 10th-ranked quarterback.
Last year, in 2024, Mayfield had an ADP of 21 and finished as the fourth-ranked quarterback. This year, he’s getting a little more respect, but I still see him getting passed up for guys like Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, and even Justin Herbert. I’d take Mayfield over any of these guys.
Mayfield changed offensive coordinators from 2023 to 2024, and many thought that might hurt his play. It didn’t. He still has Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Cade Otton, Rachaad White, and a good offensive line.
Even better, his team loves him. He’s a fiery competitor who is just a football dude. I don’t expect him to take any steps back. His team will keep fighting for him, and he’ll keep producing in fantasy football.
3. Drake Maye
The next player in our top five fantasy football quarterbacks to draft is Drake Maye. He’s currently being drafted as the 18th quarterback off the board. I get it, he was the 23rd-ranked fantasy quarterback last year. However, this is a new year, and I think the sophomore is about to make a big leap.
The Patriots had a huge offseason. They beefed up their offensive line with offensive tackle Morgan Moses and center Garrett Bradbury. They also added veteran receiver Stefon Diggs, which could be considered good or bad, depending on which Diggs is in the locker room.
The Patriots also have the fourth pick in the draft, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them draft the top wide receiver on their draft board. In my opinion, that’s Tetairoa McMillan, a 6-4 receiver who had 1,319 yards last year and will become Maye’s best friend.
Maye has sneaky athleticism too, being able to take off and scramble, which will help him rack up more fantasy football points. He may not be your QB1 in Superflex leagues. However, he should be considered for your QB2 in Superflex, or a quarterback you draft later with confidence in a standard league.
4. Justin Fields
The next two fantasy football quarterbacks I think you should consider for your draft may get me cancelled. That’s fine, cancel me. Then “un-cancel” me when it proves to be right. The first one is Justin Fields.
Currently being drafted as the 25th quarterback off the board, Fields is about to prove all his haters wrong. Don’t forget that Fields started for the Steelers in the first part of the season last year. While he had a slow start in the first two games, in Week 3 he finished 12th. He followed that up by finishing first in Week 4.
He placed seventh overall in Week 6, and then Russell Wilson came in. In 2022, in a full season with the Bears, Fields finished sixth overall. Am I making my point? He’s reunited with Garrett Wilson, a wide receiver he had a lot of success in college. That should help his passing stats.
However, if you’ve watched Justin Fields before, you know his greatest fantasy football value is his scrambling ability. Fields is one of the most naturally gifted runners at quarterback in the league. He’s also a big dude. The year he finished sixth overall, he ran for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns.
Don’t sleep on Fields. Don’t wait until the 25th quarterback off the board to draft him. With Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall (unless he’s traded), and anybody else they add in the draft, Fields is going to push to be a top-15 quarterback or better.
5. Daniel Jones
I know you think I’m crazy for this one. I’m okay with that. Remember how I was just talking about Justin Fields and him finishing sixth overall in 2022. Daniel Jones finished ninth that year. That was on a Giants organization that was a bit of a mess. Since then, he got cut, signed as a backup with the Vikings, got cut again, and now is with the Colts.
So why do I think he’s one of the fantasy football quarterbacks you have to draft? His value. He’s currently being drafted as the 34th quarterback off the board. I get the hesitation, he may not even play. I’m not telling you to draft him as your top quarterback. I am telling you to draft him though.
He falls in my category of players that people are back and forth on. Can he perform well? Can he win the job? Yes, and yes. With Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, Michael Pittman Jr., a decent offensive line, and Jonathan Taylor, Jones could really sling it in this offense. I’m prepared for him to return to his 2022 form when he finished ninth, and you should be too.
Just for a bonus, don’t forget to target Michael Penix late, who’s going as the 36th quarterback off the board. I think he gets the start and flourishes, even if the offense overall isn’t that good.
