5 Late-Round Quarterbacks to Target in Fantasy Football Drafts

Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals

By Tony DelSignore

When I'm looking for a late-round quarterback in my fantasy drafts, I tend to shy away from youth and look for veterans who have slipped due to injury or a change in team.

This season, look no further than the Arizona Cardinals' Carson Palmer

Palmer is a proven fantasy producer that has fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered last season. In six games in 2014, he led the Cardinals to a 6-0 record behind an impressive 11-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

In terms of Passing NEP, Palmer finished 17th among all quarterbacks last season. But NEP is a cumulative metric, and because he only played six games, that number isn't exactly fair.

Among full-time starters, Palmer was actually sixth in Passing Net Expected Points on a per drop back basis last season.

In essence, Palmer was on pace for a fantastic season in 2014, and the only thing that has changed this year is that his offensive line has significantly improved with the additions of rookie tackle D.J. Humphries and guard Mike Iupati.

Palmer will lead a Bruce Arians offense in 2015 with plenty of weapons at the skill positions, including Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, John Brown and Andre Ellington. And the team drafted David Johnson for backfield help as well.

Look for Palmer to bounce back in a big way and far outproduce his current 13th-round average draft position (QB17).