Fantasy Football: 7 Sleeper Quarterbacks to Target in 2018

Alex Smith, Washington Redskins

Another draft season is upon us, and once again Alex Smith has turned into the Rodney Dangerfield of NFL quarterbacks: no respect.

Smith is coming off a top-five season in which he set career bests in multiple categories. He topped 4,000 yards and 25 touchdowns for the first time, set a new high in completions (341), and led the league in passer rating (104.7). In addition, he continued his effectiveness on the ground, with 355 yards on 60 carries.

Perhaps more importantly, however, are the leaps Smith took in downfield passing. On passes of 20 yards or more, he ranked first in passer rating (134.7) and completion rate (54.2%), and second in touchdown rate (18.6%). Needless to say, he is no longer the checkdown king, and anybody still using that moniker to describe him this year is living in the past.

On the other hand, he won't be throwing to the same players this season, which could be one of the reasons he's being drafted as the QB19. Instead of Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce and Kareem Hunt, Smith will now be throwing to the likes of Jamison Crowder, Jordan Reed, and Chris Thompson. It's reasonable to fear change, especially when talking about the injury-prone Reed, as well as Thompson, who is coming off a broken leg.

Instead of focusing on those question marks, people should instead be focusing on a Jay Gruden system that led Kirk Cousins to top-10 fantasy finishes three years in a row.

Barring injury, it's hard to think of a year in which a top-five quarterback was drafted so low -- QB19 in the 12th round -- in the following fantasy season. If you're planning on waiting to draft a quarterback, take advantage of this and ride Smith to a fantasy championship. --Ian Goldsmith