There is a bit of a misconception about the quarterback position in best ball. Especially for the big tournaments like Underdog Best Ball Mania VI. Because quarterbacks often slide in terms of ADP, folks start to think they aren’t important. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Drafting a quarterback early is not important - drafting the RIGHT combination of quarterbacks is. Last year specifically, every team that finished top 10 in Best Ball Mania V had at least one of Joe Burrow, Jayden Daniels, or Jared Goff (or multiple of them). The BIG money sees the right guys getting hot at the right time.

Now, that doesn’t mean you need to obsess over the late-season schedule. And you absolutely can win decent money without the exact perfect plays (use RQW123WGY won $125,000 with Baker Mayfield, C.J. Stroud, and Derek Carr as his QBs). What matters most is getting the best possible value on quarterbacks you like with a little bit of luck down the stretch. 

Our 2025 Best Ball Guide has EVERY player ranked as well as a tiered grid to help you college value every step of the way in your best ball drafts. So make sure you pick up a copy of that if you take this seriously. In the meantime, there are some value picks at quarterback that we like to get you started! 

 


 

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs QB6 Pick 83

Best ball is all about the range of outcomes. Obviously, it would be nice to just draft a guy who is consistently putting up monster games every single week. But that’s unrealistic in most cases. At each position, we are building a group that ideally has our floor coverage with a chance for upside in any given week.

Which is why it’s so surprising to me that a guy like Patrick Mahomes has seemingly fallen out of favor. I mean, this is the all-time leader in passing yards per game we are talking about. Things went pretty perfectly last year for the Chiefs as Mahomes cruised to a 15-1 record while skipping the last game of the regular season comfortably. With the improvements being made around the AFC West, there is a world where Mahomes has his back against the ropes a little more often, where we get more vintage Mahomes games.

Finishing as the QB1 in any given week or for the season as a whole is always in the range of outcomes for the best QB in the league. That’s even more true with guys like Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown expected back. Right now, Mahomes goes comfortably outside the first five rounds - in a recent best ball mania draft I did, I was able to take three solid RBs, three solid WRs, and then stack Mahomes and Travis Kelce.

 

New strategy I’m workshopping called “Robust Everything” pic.twitter.com/4ZchuMfpt2

— Andrew Cooper (@CoopAFiasco) May 17, 2025

 

Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals QB8 Pick 95

This bet is pretty simple. Kyler Murray is already the QB8 of all time in fantasy points per game. We’ve seen him finish as high as the QB3 in fantasy in a season. We know he can run, and he even stated his intention to run more in 2025. This bet is on Kyler Murray taking that extra step as a passer in 2025.

We did a pretty extensive study on Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison this offseason. And the results were pretty obvious. Everyone knows that Murray likes to run. What they might not realize is how quickly he gets the ball out on the other plays. He was a top-three QB in getting the ball out in under two seconds, per FantasyPoints Data Suite. He was either letting it fly right away or taking off and running.

Despite that, Kyler was quite accurate passing to secondary targets, as the article points out. Arguably the most accurate QB in fact. This year, I think Drew Petzing makes it a point to help Kyler reach that next level. The rushing creates a great floor for Kyler, but progressing as a passer on those intermediate to deep plays could bring back the high-end fantasy QB we saw in the DeAndre Hopkins days. MHJ growing as a player should help with that as well.

 

 

 

Bo Nix, Denver Broncos QB10 Pick 100

Statistically speaking, what was the difference between Bo Nix and Josh Allen last year? In terms of passing, Bo Nix actually had the better completion percentage and threw for slightly more yards and more touchdowns. Nix threw 12 picks to 6 for Allen, but interceptions don’t really move the needle much for us in fantasy (plus Allen can certainly turn the ball over himself).

On the running side, they both ran a similar number of times (92 for Nix, 102 for Allen). Naturally, that led Allen to have more rushing yards. But the key difference between the two players was 12 rushing TDs for Allen to 4 for Nix. The Bills are likely still the better team, but touchdowns are a fluky stat, so we can’t just pencil those in.

And Nix did that as a rookie. The Broncos added weapons in Evan Engram, Pat Bryant, and RJ Harvey this offseason. There’s a real possibility that Nix takes that jump into the untouchable tiers where we put the other mobile QBs. At QB10 off the board, that’s a pretty nice proposition. 

 

 

 

Drake Maye, New England Patriots QB16 Pick 124

Drake Maye offers a similar skill set to Bo Nix. Last year, Drake Maye had a higher completion percentage and rushing yards per attempt while offering the same passing yards per attempt. And it’s that rushing yards per attempt that was so appealing - it was nearly double Nix, so Maye actually had 421 yards on 52 carries while Nix had 430 yards on 92 carries. We also talk about rushing floor but if Maye can keep that up, he’s got monster upside potential.

The reason Maye goes behind Nix is pretty simple - the Broncos are viewed as the better team here. Which I agree with. But is the game as big as it was last year when the Patriots won three games? MGM Sportsbook currently has the Denver Broncos listed with a 9.5 over/under win total, with the Patriots having an over/under win total of 8.5. Both teams have solid defenses, with Denver having arguably the best one in the league, so the difference can’t be explained away there.

And, as we just said, we LIKE Bo Nix at ADP. So, naturally, we LOVE Drake Maye at his ADP. There is a world where Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels come in with weapons like Stefon Diggs, Kyle Williams, and TreVeyon Henderson, and this Patriots team looks a lot better. The sports books are betting on it. And, if you look at how aggressively we have Drake Maye placed on our 2025 Best Ball Cheat Sheet, we’re betting heavily on him too.

 

 

 

Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams QB25 Pick 163

Sometimes in best ball, we need to do a little bit of arbitrage. For instance, Ja'Marr Chase is a first-round pick. Tee Higgins typically goes in the second or third round. It makes a lot of sense then that Joe Burrow would go as the QB5 off the board at pick 53.1. Naturally, he’s capable of games with 300+ yards and 3+ passing TDs, which is what moves the needle in best ball for QBs that don’t run heavily.

Meanwhile, Puka Nacua is also a first-round pick. And Davante Adams goes in the second or third round. Yet Matthew Stafford doesn’t go off the board until QB25 at ADP 163.4. Even if he just did what last year, he would easily surpass that ADP. But he’s capable of so much more.

If you look at the teams that hit the big prizes in Best Ball Mania V last year, including the one that finished first overall, a lot of them had Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Joe Burrow. Highly consolidated targets and a few touchdowns from a QB who is willing to sling it are all that it takes. And we aren’t necessarily saying that Matthew Stafford is Joe Burrow here - he doesn’t have to be because he literally goes over a hundred picks later. But he’s absolutely capable of a league-winning stretch of games. The Rams will face the Cardinals, Lions, Seahawks, and Falcons to wrap the fantasy season, which has upside potential. 

 

 

 

BONUS Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints

You can create a lot of value by betting on who the starting QB will be in uncertain situations with your last couple of picks. The Giants' situation is pretty fluid (I like Russell Wilson). Daniel Jones could also make a push against Anthony Richardson. But Wilson could lose his job, and Jones could never win it. That’s the rub.

With the Saints, Derek Carr is officially retired. Rookie Tyler Shough could start the entire season at QB. He’s still a rookie, but he has seven years of experience playing high-level college ball. The weapons are still there in New Orleans, and they’ve got a brand new Super Bowl-winning head coach in Kellen Moore. In the last two rounds of an Underdog draft, all he has to do is start 17 games to be well worth the pick.