🏆 (Sometimes Painful) Fantasy Football Lessons Learned...
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ABOUT 1 YEAR AGO • 11 MIN READ
🏆 (Sometimes Painful) Fantasy Football Lessons Learned...
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Welcome In. We're rolling to Conference Championship Weekend and we've got you covered with sweet content including our annual Lessons Learned series. We're diving in today with quarterbacks and the (sometimes painful) lessons we learned this year. All with the idea of dialing in the 2025 season.
2024 Lessons Learned: Your 2025 Quarterback Strategy
By Rachel Tootsiepop - Exclusive to Footballguys
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As we close the door on the 2024 fantasy football season, it's beneficial to look back and see what lessons we learned. In this week's roundtable series, I asked our Footballguys staff to discuss their fantasy New Year's resolutions for each position and their overall takeaways for approaching drafting in 2025.
In today's article, we discuss the quarterback position.
Lessons Learned at Quarterback
Target Dual-Threat Quarterbacks
Jason Wood: I don't think the quarterback position was particularly surprising this season, as things mostly played out as expected. Four of the top five quarterbacks—Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, and Jayden Daniels—are elite rushing threats who are also hyper-accurate passers. Based on preseason ADP, the only real shock was Sam Darnold finishing as QB8 with 4,153 passing yards and 35 touchdowns.
One point I think is important to remember—though it's not unique to 2024—is that the Late-Round Quarterback strategy is a fallacy if your goal is to dominate. Lamar Jackson averaged nine more points per game (26.0 vs. 17.2) than the QB12, Kyler Murray. For comparison, that's the same gap as between Saquon Barkley (22.0 points per game) and Tony Pollard (13.1) or Ja'Marr Chase (23.6) and Adam Thielen (14.5).
Jeff Haseley: Spending big on a quarterback might win your league if you can also hit on several other players at different positions. It comes down to drafting a quarterback who will get rushing yards and/or rushing touchdowns, along with decent passing numbers. Thirteen quarterbacks had 300 yards rushing this season. The lowest finisher of that group was Anthony Richardson, who had 499 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns in 11 games, finishing 25th.Drake Maye had 421 yards rushing with two rushing touchdowns in 13 games, finishing 21st. Every other quarterback with at least 300 yards rushing finished no lower than 15th (Caleb Williams). If you're not a rushing quarterback like Jared Goff (56 rushing yards), you better have the stats to make up for it. Goff had over 4,600 yards passing with 37 touchdown passes and finished only 7th. The next-highest quarterback with under 100 yards rushing was Jordan Love (83 yards), who finished 18th. The key is to draft versatile, dual-threat quarterbacks with a good supporting cast.
Will Grant: For many years, I advocated waiting on a quarterback, targeting two in rounds 7-10, and playing matchups in a Quarterback By Committee (QBBC) approach. However, as Jason pointed out, I've taken Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson early in the last three years and have been very happy with the results. In leagues with 12-14 teams or short benches, having one quarterback can save you a couple of extra draft positions / free agent slots for your standard flex positions.
If you miss out on the top four choices, you are probably better off waiting a bit and taking the QBBC approach. That can certainly help you compete with the mid-tier quarterbacks who are drafted after the top guys, but you'll need to make up the difference against the top teams with better running backs or wide receivers.
Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts (knee) injured his knee during the Divisional Round playoff game, but the team does not have an update on his status at this point. Head coach Nick Sirianni said he is confident that Hurts will do everything he can to play in the NFC Championship game.
Our view: As CBSSports.com suggested, the Eagles will likely not have Hurts at 100 percent when they take the field against the Commanders on Sunday. Hurts showed his limitations playing through the issue in the win over the Rams. He was 3 of 3 for 19 yards after he was hurt in the third quarter. Hurts had one carry for -1 yards and took two sacks, including a safety where he was holding onto the ball too long. Having him as an added threat in the run game has been a huge plus for this offense. We'll be following Hurts' progress closely in the days leading up to Sunday's NFC Championship game.
The Bears are finalizing a deal to hire Ben Johnson as their head coach, sources tell NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Johnson is set to fly there soon, and contract parameters are in place. Barring a last-minute snag, the Lions OC lands with an NFC North rival.
Our view: Multiple outlets are reporting the news, with Pelissero and ESPN's Adam Schefter both reporting that Johnson has already been lining up staff, and former Saints head coach Dennis Allen is a prime candidate to be Johnson's defensive coordinator in Chicago. Johnson has been a hot head coaching candidate for the last couple of years but passed on previous opportunities to leave the Lions. As Profootballtalk.com suggested, it seems the chance to work with quarterback Caleb Williams while remaining in the familiar confines of the NFC North was enough of a lure to get him to move on. Reports last week indicated that the Raiders were also pursuing Johnson for their head coaching vacancy, but Vegas will now have to move in a different direction as they look for Antonio Pierce's successor.
Former Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has been hired by the Indianapolis Colts to be their new defensive coordinator, according to sources.
Our view: The Colts fired Gus Bradley after the end of the regular season. That's also when the Bengals dismissed Anarumo. He was hired in Cincinnati along with head coach Zay Taylor in 2019 and helped the team make it to the Super Bowl after the 2021 season, but the Bengals defense struggled the last two years. The Colts hope a change of scenery leads to a return to better results for Anarumo.
Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford said he would take some time before deciding on his NFL future, following the playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, Jan. 19, but he added that he 'sure feels like' he has football left in him.
Our view: Stafford, 36, has two years remaining on his contract, one he and the Rams worked to adjust heading into training camp this season. Rams coach Sean McVay declined to answer a postgame question Sunday about Stafford's future, saying, "I'm not really interested in talking about anything as it relates to next year. Right now, I'm just appreciative of this team." Though Stafford said he hadn't made any decisions about his future, when recounting the end of the game, he spoke in anticipation about the next time he's on the field. "I love competing," he said. "It didn't go the way I wanted to today. Next time I'm out there, line it up. Let's do it again." Stafford's return would offer continuity for those invested in Puka Nacua and the other offensive pieces in Los Angeles. We'll watch for more on this.
New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will have a second interview with the New Orleans Saints Tuesday, Jan. 21, for their head coaching vacancy.
Our view: The Saints have completed initial interviews with Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, and Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, among others. Mike McCarthy also emerged as a candidate after his departure from the Dallas Cowboys. In addition to Kafka, Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver is also getting a second interview. We'll continue to watch for more.
Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver will have a second interview for the New Orleans Saints head coaching vacancy Wednesday, Jan. 22.
Our view: Another candidate getting a second interview for the Saints job this week, according to Pelissero, is New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. As SI.com's Alain Poupart notes, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has been considered one of the front-runners for the opening, and that still should apply even after his defense fell short in an upset loss to Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels in the NFC Divisional Round on Saturday night. Among others who have interviewed for the position is Darren Rizzi, who finished 2024 as New Orleans' interim head coach after Dennis Allen was fired. Weaver is also among the more than a dozen candidates to interview to become head coach of the Chicago Bears, the latest candidate being former Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George.
The Saints are setting up an in-person interview with Mike McCarthy, per source. Logistics are still being set. Weather is also a consideration, but the goal is to meet this week.
Our view:
McCarthy was the Saints' offensive coordinator under head coach Jim Haslett from 2000 to 2004. He spent one year in the same job with the 49ers before becoming the Packers head coach. He was 125-77-2 in Green Bay and won a Super Bowl before being fired during the 2018 season. McCarthy was 49-35 with the Cowboys. As Profootballtalk.com notes, the Saints have started setting up second, in-person interviews with candidates that they have already interviewed remotely. However, McCarthy might not need a second round if the team likes what it hears whenever the two sides can get together.
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said he'd be open to looking outside of the organization to replace offensive coordinator Ben Johnson or defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn if they took head coaching jobs.
Our view: Make no mistake, there are in-house candidates. The list includes Lions passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand, assistant head coach/running backs Coach Scottie Montgomery, and offensive line coach Hank Fraley. But any of those three could leave to become offensive coordinator for current Lions OC Ben Johnson or DC Aaron Glenn if/when they take head coaching jobs. Some potential outside candidates mentioned in recent days are Broncos senior offensive assistant Pete Carmichael and Buffalo QBs coach Ron Curry, both of whom worked alongside Campbell on Sean Payton's staff in New Orleans.
The Chiefs are coming up on the deadline to activate receiver/returner Mecole Hardman off of injured reserve. But head coach Andy Reid said in his Monday video conference that Kansas City hasn't decided whether or not Hardman will be brought back to the 53-man roster. "I haven't made any decisions on that yet, but he's worked hard to try and get himself back," Reid said. "We'll see how that all works out."
Our view: Hardman was designated to return from IR during the last week of the regular season. Hardman was a limited participant in practice all last week. In 12 games this season, Hardman caught 12 passes for 90 yards and took five carries for 62 yards with a touchdown. He also averaged 10.2 yards per punt return and 26.4 yards on five kick returns. Last year, Hardman caught the walk-off, game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl LVIII.
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