With two teams kicking off training camp this coming weekend -- rookies report in Seattle on Friday and San Francisco on Saturday -- the NFL's annual late-June/early-July break is almost over.
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But for fantasy managers who take their preparation seriously, there is no downtime. That's why the Fantasy Notebook has been using this time to roll out a position-by-position series on underrated players.
Three weeks ago, it was Underrated Running Backs. Two weeks ago, we covered Underrated Wide Receivers. Last week, we plumbed the depths of Underrated Tight Ends.
Now, we'll close out the series with Underrated Quarterbacks just in time to get back to our regular coverage as training camps open. It started Monday with Discounts Despite Big 2025 Finishes. Tuesday we looked at Leveraging Cheap Cheat Code QBs. Today, we'll look to reap easy value by . . .
Buying Post-Injury Dips
Fantasy managers often focus so much on the injury that they forget to price the recovery. That's how proven quarterbacks become bargains. We have two notable examples -- with differing degrees of value -- heading into this year's drafts.
Jones Ahead of Schedule
As ESPN.com's Stephen Holder noted, Daniel Jones resurrected his career with the Colts in 2025, leading Indianapolis to new heights with its record-setting offensive performance during the first half of the season.
Through 10 weeks, when the Colts were 8-2, Jones led the NFL in passing yards and was top six in completion percentage and yards per attempt.
But a hairline fibula fracture in his left leg negatively impacted his performance in the following weeks, with Jones sustaining a season-ending ruptured Achilles in his right leg in Week 14.
Jones finished his abbreviated first season with Indy, completing 261 of 384 passes (career-best completion rate of 68 percent) for 3,101 yards, 19 touchdowns, and eight interceptions, along with five rushing touchdowns.
Although he was QB10 when his season ended in Week 14, Jones was QB5 over the first 10 games.
Everybody Wins!
With Jones at the helm, the Colts started the season with one of the most productive offenses in the league, averaging over 31 points per game through their first eight contests. While they slowed slightly after that, they were still putting up 28.1 points per game through the Week 14 outing when Jones went down.
Jones running the offense at peak efficiency would be great news for Jonathan Taylor, who finished the season as RB4. He was RB2 through Week 14.
Tight end Tyler Warren had an impressive rookie season, finishing the year as TE5. He was TE4 in 13 full games with Jones at the helm.
Taylor is being drafted as RB4. Warren's Average Draft Position (ADP) is TE4.
Even as we're paying like we expect the Jones-level production for both those players, Jones' QB25 ADP doesn't reflect that same confidence.
Why Not?
Jones progressed to 7-on-7 work during the team's offseason program, and the Colts quarterback expects to do everything at camp.
"I'm doing everything. Cleared to do everything," Jones said on Friday, via video from James Boyd of TheAthletic.com. "I think it's just about, at this point, sharpening that, getting more explosive, getting stronger, improving what you can do. I can do everything and feel really good doing it."
Even if you're not convinced Jones will be ready to go Week 1, investing an 11th-round pick to land him as your second quarterback could pay off in a big way.
Jones is QB16 in my rankings, and that will rise if he's working fully when camp opens.