How to Use the Late Round QB Strategy in 2025 Fantasy Football

Each year, one of the most popular draft strategies is the late-round quarterback strategy. Below, we’ll be explaining how you should use this strategy to win your 2025 fantasy football league.

To give examples of player ADP, we’ll be using FantasyPros. With that said, let’s dive right into the article.

How To Use The Late Round QB Strategy in 2025 Fantasy Football

1. Don’t Draft a Quarterback Until Round Nine

With the late-round quarterback strategy, the earliest you should be trying to draft a quarterback is in round nine. Round eight is typically the absolute cutoff, but the reason it’s round nine this year is because of one player. Justin Fields.

If you’re looking to build a late-round quarterback roster, you desperately want Fields. Right now, Fields is going as the QB10, but there’s a clear drop off in his overall rank.

Bo Nix at QB8 is 80th overall, then Kyler Murray at QB9 is 90.5. Fields at QB10 is a new tier at 112.5. You can find my full breakdown on Fields here, but he’s one of the only players with an incredibly high floor and ceiling combination.

In both years that Fields has played in at least 13 games, he’s had 17 plus points per game. Despite only throwing for 2,242 yards in 2022, Fields had 19.7 PPG due to 1,143 rushing yards.

Now that Fields is back to being a full-time starter, you should expect him to come close to scoring at least 17 PPG. If Fields can take that next step as a passer, he has true QB1 upside.

2. Target Two Quarterbacks

Now the only expectation to this rule is Fields, who can serve as your only quarterback in most ESPN leagues. Other than that, you should be looking to pair two quarterbacks together.

Not only should you simply draft two quarterbacks, but you also want to balance them out. One of them should have an extremely high ceiling, while the other has somewhat of a safe floor. The order you draft them in does not matter.

3. Your 2nd Quarterback Should Always be Your Last Pick

When talking about your last pick, that really means all of the skill positions. Your kicker and then defense should always be your last two picks.

This year, the quarterback that should be your last pick is the one with a ton of upside. For 2025 fantasy football, that’s Anthony Richardson. At QB29 prices and an ADP of 182 overall, you can get Richardson in every single draft.
The floor with Richardson is that he doesn’t even start this year, and that’s why you have to pair him with someone else. However, the rushing upside is insane. You can read my full breakdown on Richardson here.

Richardson was the 4th overall pick in the NFL Draft, which should give him another opportunity to start over Daniel Jones and also showcase his unreal upside. Just like Fields, Richardson is an elite runner, posting 635 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns in just 15 career games.

4. Top Late Round Quarterback Targets

The quarterbacks you want to target are in this order. First draft Fields in round nine. If that’s the case, you’ve successfully completed the late-round quarterback strategy this year and can use the picks after to further attack the other positions you’re already strong at.

If you can’t draft Fields, here are a few possible pairings. Select Drake Maye at QB16 (126.5 ADP), C.J. Stroud at QB18 (129), or Michael Penix Jr at QB22 (157 ADP). Then pair these quarterbacks with Richardson in the last round of your draft.

All three are guaranteed to hold a starting role this year, which gives them a fairly high floor. If you need to start any of these guys for a few weeks, it’s not the end of the world.

At the same time, these players are extremely talented and all have paths to becoming a top 12 quarterback this year. If you’ve enjoyed this article, make sure to follow my author profile for more 2025 fantasy football content!