Fantasy Football 2024: Five Rookie Quarterbacks to Watch

Caleb Williams highlights the top passers who could make a fantasy impact in their first NFL season.

Rookie quarterbacks have struggled to make an immediate fantasy football impact, unless of course they could run with the rock. That’s been the case in the last five years, as just three have scored more than 275 points in a single season.

If we dig a little bit deeper, however, just 14 rookies have started at least 10 games since 2019. Six of them (43%) have scored at least 200 points and averaged at least 16 points per game. That list includes C.J. Stroud, who finished with 276 points and averaged a solid 18.4 fantasy points in his 15 starts in his rookie campaign.

So, with Super Bowl LVIII in the rearview mirror and a very exciting offseason right ahead of us, let’s take a look at some of the best quarterback prospects you’ll need to know about when it comes time to prepare for dynasty and re-drafts.

Caleb Williams, USC

Jason Parkhurst/USA TODAY Sports

Williams is the consensus favorite to be the top overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, which is currently held by the Chicago Bears. Drafting Williams would also mean the team will trade Justin Fields, which would also have massive fantasy implications, but let’s focus on the rookie. Over his final two seasons with the Trojans, Williams threw 52 touchdown passes with just 10 interceptions. He also completed more than 67% of his passes and rushed for 21 touchdowns.

Williams has immense arm talent and can make every throw, even when he’s forced to scramble from the pass rush to extend plays. 

Simply put, Williams is a playmaker.

NFL player comparison: Patrick Mahomes

Drake Maye, North Carolina

Maye possesses good size at 6’4” and 230 pounds and has a big-time combo of arm strength and accuracy. In his final two seasons with the Tar Heels, he completed 65% of his passes while throwing for 62 touchdowns with just 16 interceptions. Maye is also able to run with the football, rushing for 1,147 yards and 16 touchdowns in his final 16 collegiate contests. 

Per PFF, Maye led all FBS quarterbacks (minimum 50 pass attempts) with a 94.8 passer grade on throws between the hashes. That shows an ability to get through his progressions and make smart decisions with accurate passes. Overall, most of the top NFL scouts consider Maye the perfect, prototypical new-age quarterback.

NFL player comparison: Ben Roethlisberger

Jayden Daniels, LSU

Fantasy managers who love dual-threat quarterbacks need to take a hard look at Daniels. A five-year starter between Arizona State and LSU in college, he completed 66.3% of his career passes (including 70.4% since 2022). A very dynamic and super athletic field general, Daniels posted 40 touchdown passes and just four picks in his final season with the Tigers. He also rushed for 2,019 yards and  21 touchdowns, which makes him ultra-intriguing in fantasy.

Daniels does have some potential durability issues, as he’s slight of frame and opens himself up to injury with his style of play, Regardless, he could be a fantasy star in the right system, where he can run plenty of RPOs and designed runs.

NFL player comparison: Deshaun Watson

Michael Penix Jr., Washington

Penix was a scary, accurate collegiate quarterback with a big arm who raised his NFL stock in his final two seasons with the Huskies. In that time, Penix threw for 67 combined touchdowns with just 19 interceptions and a 65.4 completion rate. He thrives at pushing the ball downfield and would do well with an NFL team that has the talent to create a vertical pass attack with fast, playmaking wide receivers.

Penix did suffer two ACL tears (2018, 2020) and AC joint ailments (2019, 2021) in college, so there are some potential health issues. He also doesn’t run with the ball, as he rushed for a combined 265 yards in a combined 49 collegiate contests.

NFL player comparison: Tua Tagovailoa

J.J. McCarthy, Michigan

McCarthy led the Wolverines to a national championship, but his statistics didn’t pop off the page. That’s due in large part to the fact that his collegiate offense didn’t throw the football a ton. In fact, McCarthy averaged a modest 22.1 pass attempts per game this past season. By comparison, Williams averaged 32.3 attempts and Maye posted 35.4 attempts per game. If McCarthy were in a more prolific passing attack, he might have put up big totals with his pro-level arm.

McCarthy, who rushed for 508 yards and eight touchdowns in his final two years, could have some issues with his slender frame at the next level. But if you listen to his former head coach, Jim Harbaugh, McCarthy is a top-notch prospect.

NFL player comparison: Kirk Cousins