5 Late-Round Quarterbacks to Target in Fantasy Football Drafts

Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

By Sam Hauss

The old school mentality on rookie quarterbacks was always "wait and see". However, monster rookie seasons from guys like Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III have many fake footballers rethinking the way they approach first-year signal-callers all together.

Jameis Winston comes into his rookie campaign blessed with both immense talent and a tremendous supporting cast, a combination that has the potential to lead to outstanding fantasy football value.

The addition of pass-happy offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter seems to be a perfect fit. Over the past three seasons, Koetter coached an explosive Falcons offense that finished in the top 10 in Passing NEP twice, including third overall in 2012, with similar offensive pieces in the passing game –- two big, talented wide receivers on the outside and a huge tight end capable of being a red zone dynamo.

Don’t mince my words, I’m not trying to tell you that Mike Evans, Vincent Jackson and Austin Seferian-Jenkins are on the same level as Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez, but those three Tampa targets are pretty good in their own right.

As a rookie, Evans finished the season with the 15th highest Reception NEP in the league at 100.3, and the veteran Jackson wasn’t too far behind him, ranking 27th in the league at 82.04. And that was with Josh McCown and Mike Glennon under center. Although the young tight end Seferian-Jenkins is unproven, the reports out of camp are glowing, and Koetter has even likened him to the aforementioned Gonzalez.

While I don’t expect Winston to be 2012 Matt Ryan, given Koetter’s system and the pieces around him, he has a chance to make a real splash in his rookie season. With his ADP currently in the late 13th round, I’m willing to take a flier on the Buccaneers' rookie signal-caller all day long.