With the first game of the 2024 NFL preseason officially in the books, fantasy football drafts are quickly approaching.
Quarterback is undoubtedly the most important position in football, but from a fantasy perspective, you can still win your league without a top option. After all, Justin Fields and Joe Flacco were two of the highest-scoring quarterbacks during last season’s fantasy football championship week.
While we won’t fault you for targeting one of the elite quarterbacks, here are three signal-callers who shouldn’t be overlooked in 12-team ESPN league drafts.
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Last season, many fantasy managers spent their second or third-round picks on elite quarterbacks such as Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen. While they still had productive seasons, this strategy proved to be a mistake as several signal-callers selected in later rounds proved to be massive steals.
In all likelihood, quarterbacks will come off the board a bit later this time around. Although the Big 3 of Mahomes, Hurts and Allen remains intriguing, Burrow, who is being drafted as the QB7 on ESPN, could be the best cost-effective target if you want a top quarterback.
Burrow’s 2023 season was one to forget, considering he threw for 2,309 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions in 10 games before suffering a season-ending wrist injury en route to a QB25 finish. However, a preseason calf injury, which was aggravated in Week 2, coupled with WR Tee Higgins’ fractured rib, played a part in Burrow’s sluggish start.
Prior to his season-ending injury, Burrow looked to be returning to form, given that he was the QB6 overall from Weeks 8 through 10 — the final three games he was healthy enough to finish.
Now that he’s fully healthy, Burrow should look more like the quarterback he was in 2022 when he finished as the QB4 overall.
