We asked our staff to plant their flag on players this fantasy season. These are the guys they want and have big hopes for this season. Lets take a look at our staff’s quarterback flag plants
Quarterback Flag Plants
Dustin Ludke: Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
No one wants to talk about the fact that Bo Nix might just be a mobile quarterback. he had 92 rushing attempts in his rookie season. He gets another year with Sean Payton developing his soft skills like reading defenses, scheme, and accuracy. Another year of chemistry with Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims, and adding in Evan Engram. How can you not love the value of Nix as a mid-round quarterback who has the rushing floor and all the upside in the world? With a running game that is still lackluster and a defense with issues, they should be playing from behind a ton, giving Nix even more opportunities to sling it. If he drops his interception number a few and can increase the passing touchdowns, he will be a massive value. He’s a ton of fun to watch and is the future of quarterback rivalries in the NFL.
Ty Recino: Drake Maye, New England Patriots
I know what you’re thinking — QB23 in 2024? That’s not someone you want to draft. But I’m all in on Drake Maye. Drake Maye is about to turn the corner in 2025. I’m talking top-12 quarterback territory, maybe even hitting the top-10. This is not the same Patriots offense we saw last season — this is a reloaded, retooled, quiet juggernaut. The Patriots added a star in Stefon Diggs through free agency but the real improvement came through the draft. A stud left tackle in Will Campbell at #4 overall, an NFL-ready running back in Treyvon Henderson, and a sneaky sleeper pick in receiver Kyle Williams. The Patriots made drastic changes to the offense and I see them finishing 2nd in the division, behind the Buffalo Bills. With New England’s commitment to build around Maye, I see him making a huge leap in his sophomore year. He has more weapons to throw to and much better protection, meaning more time to throw the ball down the field. Also, with Henderson as the lead back, expecting less fumbles meaning more time for Maye to work with the ball and rack up more points. Mark it down: 2025 is the year Drake Maye makes his first Pro Bowl — and I wouldn’t be shocked if he takes home Most Improved Player. If that happens, it’ll be the second time a Mike Vrabel player has won it.
GOYAADi: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Close your eyes and answer this: who’s the best quarterback in the NFL? If your mind jumped to Kansas City’s $500 million man, you’re right. Patrick Mahomes just dragged a patchwork O-line and a banged-up receiving corps to another Super Bowl, and yet the narrative is that he’s slipping. That’s the opportunity. In 2025, Mahomes finally gets help: Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown return healthy, Isiah Pacheco brings his trademark toughness, and rookie Jalen Royals has already drawn CeeDee Lamb comps. The offensive line, a sore spot last season, gets a boost with Jaylon Moore. Travis Kelce (who caught 97 balls in his “down year”) looks lighter and “swifter” in camp, and first-round burner Xavier Worthy gives the offense a new dimension. Andy Reid didn’t lose his aggressive streak either, maintaining a top-3 neutral passing rate. Add in Mahomes’ own X-factor, REVENGE! After a Super Bowl loss and whispers that his fastball is fading, he’s got the same fuel that once powered a 4,800-yard, 37-TD rebound after falling to Tom Brady in Super Bowl LV. The market is overthinking it. Mahomes is still the QB who tilts fantasy leagues, and his discounted ADP makes him a steal in 2025.
Joe Frick: Justin Fields. New York Jets
Over the last three seasons, Justin Fields is 6th in fantasy points per start. In Weeks 1-6 last season, he was QB6 as a starter. In Weeks 1-5 in 2023, he was QB3 and was QB13 after he returned from injury in Week 11. In 2022, he was QB6 on the season. When he is on the field, he produces. Yes, it might not be pretty, but his rushing prowess allows for a great floor and makes up for the fact that he is not a great real life quarterback. Add in the lack of competition in the New York Jets’ QB room (sorry Tyrod Taylor) and a rekindling connection with his best bud from Ohio State, Garrett Wilson, and Fields is locking like a lock to smash his double digit ADP. Additionally, Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, and Mason Taylor provide great secondary options for dumping the ball of when Fields is unable to find his primary target (which is quite often. I am less bullish from a dynasty perspective and would look to ship Fields off to a contender after a spike week, but in redraft formats, I will be consistently reaching for him to ensure that he’s on my team. Fields slides into my rankings as QB6.
Chris Luff: Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
We know the story- last season Bryce Young was benched and eventually came back, and he came back strong. He showed us what he’s made of and how resilient he can be. Despite intense pressure he was able to return as a better QB than we’d seen at the NFL level from him. In the final three weeks of the season, his 10 total TDs ranked first in the league. He also threw ZERO interceptions during that time, and was third in scramble yards and third in total QBR. Viewing the entire 2024 season as a whole, BY showed off high-end talent by tying for 2nd in the NFL in Hero Throws, a metric developed by Fantasy Points that indicates a throw a QB made that maximizes the result of the play. He’s going incredibly late this year, currently coming off the board as QB23. I’m more than happy to utilize him as my late round QB and stream to supplement him based on matchups. I think he should demolish his ADP this season after the Panthers drafted him an alpha WR and the OL has another year to mesh together as they return all 5 starters.
Aaron Weiner: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott suffered through injuries last year, but was the #3 fantasy quarterback just two years ago in 2023. Unlike a lot of today’s star fantasy QBs, Prescott accomplished it without a lot of rushing volume: he averaged just three carries a game and had just two rushing touchdowns in 2023. The offense in Dallas is built around Dak and superstar wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, and the Cowboys were the third-heaviest pass volume team in the NFL last year. I expect this trend to continue in 2025. Dallas’ big running back signing was Javonte Williams, who was not a good runner last year (bottom 10% in multiple rushing efficiency stats) but 5th in targets and 6th in receiving yards amongst running backs in 2024. Aging Miles Sanders and 5th-round rookie Jaydon Blue are the only other running backs currently on the roster that are likely to get heavy carries for Dallas, so the whole running game could be ineffective. On the flipside, the Cowboys upgraded the passing game by trading for wideout George Pickens this offseason, who is in his prime and should be their best WR2 in recent memory. Wide receivers Jalen Tolbert and KaVontae Turpin were useful weapons last year, and the Cowboys have two solid pass-catching tight ends in Jake Ferguson and Luke Schoonmaker. Dak is currently going off the board fairly high on CBS (ADP: 76) but has an ADP of over 100 on ESPN, Yahoo, and Sleeper, so he could be a huge bargain in drafts.
Aaron St. Dennis: Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence was the No. 1 selection in the 2021 NFL Draft and was hailed as a “generational talent”. Sadly that talent would go to waste in his rookie season due in large part to head coach Urban Meyer‘s deficiencies. Lawrence exploded onto the scene in his sophomore season finishing as QB8 but has failed to replicate that finish due to a constant onslaught of injuries. He bottomed out fantasy-wise in 2024, missing 7 of his last 8 games and finishing as QB27. In January, Lawrence underwent successful shoulder surgery and has stated that he expects to be ready by the start of the regular season. His injury history and the subsequent decline in fantasy production that came with them has led to his fall in the ADP for this season as he currently ranks as QB18 in Fantasy Pros Expert Consensus Rankings. In his two healthy seasons, Lawrence finished as QB8 and QB13 which demonstrates his high-ceiling and his current price tag as a mid-range QB2 is all the reason I need to buy back in on him. When you add rookie receiver Travis Hunter to the mix, a healthy Lawrence could be the steal of the year. A QB18 price tag for a quarterback capable of being in the Top 5 in an up-and-coming offence is the exact kind of upside play you want to take in fantasy leagues. He is an excellent option as an upside QB2 when paired with a safer QB1 in Superflex leagues, and is worthy of being stashed in 1QB leagues to see if he bounces back.
Greg Crammer: Justin Fields, New York Jets
When it comes to fantasy Justin Fields is an absolute unit. I looked at the games he started and finished, took out his rookie season because of the injuries all year and he didn’t start right off, going with the seasons he was the starter for the offseason and established. There are 33 games in 2.3 seasons. His scored 657.16 points which comes to 19.91 PPG. In a 17 game pace, that comes out to 338.4 points. Last year that would have been good enough for QB6 in fantasy. His best season was in 2022 where he was the QB7. He was on a terrible bears team, with his best pass catcher being Cole Kmet. Fields out ran all his running backs with 1,143 yard (7.14avg) and 8 TDs while his best WR was Darnell Mooney. He is now on a team who is easily the best roster he’s played with. His O-line is ranked at 9th by PFF for 2025 after moving on form Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses then drafting Olumuyiwa Fashanu and Armand Membou and the guards being John Simpson and Alijah Vera Tucker, who were both graded in the top 12 tackles by PFF last year, as well as Tippmann at center who was 8th in PFF at the position last year. Easily the best O line he’s had protecting him. Then you have a good run game to work with, Breece Hall and Braelon Allen are a one two punch that will keep the offense honest and help Fields play at his best when throwing the ball. He has his college teammate in Garrett Wilson who is by far the best WR he’s had in the league so far and a young new guy at TE Mason Taylor who has been shining in camp so far. Their new OC Tanner Engstrand comes over with HC Aaron Glenn from Detroit and he was the passing coordinator under Ben Johnson in 2023 and 2024 which created an offense that was first in points scored, first in touchdowns, second in total net yards, and first in first downs on top of the best passing offense as a whole as well. Are there concerns in Fields passing game? Sure yes. The thing is, with the new regime and being in the best situation he’s been in, I think he shocks the world this year and gets into the top 5 in fantasy.