These Three QBs Could be the Next C.J. Stroud in Fantasy Football This Season (2024)

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is coming off a massive 2023 statistical campaign, winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. He played in 15 games, completed 63.9% of his passes for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, and five interceptions, and added 167 rushing yards and three touchdowns. This resulted in him finishing as the QB13 from Weeks 1 to 17.

This was arguably the best season from a rookie quarterback, including a playoff win.

It's important to remember that fantasy and real-life success are quite different. From an accolades and wins point of view, Stroud was excellent. He beat the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card Round but wasn't a QB1 in fantasy leagues.

This is an extremely doable task for many of the young signal callers in the game right now.

Let's dive in to see which can measure up.

Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts

Following Week 5, Richardson missed the remainder of the 2023 season due to a shoulder injury.

Anthony Richardson played in four games in 2023 for the Indianapolis Colts from Weeks 1 to 5 and could not finish any of them due to various injuries. He was QB18 and averaged 18.4 points per game, which was QB14 over that span. If you add his average to the game he missed (Week 3), he would've finished as the QB13 in that span, and again, he didn't finish any of the games.

If you look at Richardson's passing totals, he completed 59.5% of his passes for 577 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. However, where Richardson shines most is on the ground. He had 136 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

The passing numbers weren't that far off of Stroud's, but Richardson's legs give him an advantage to match Stroud's QB13 status in 2023 and go even further and become a top-five quarterback in fantasy football if he stays healthy.

Regarding his health, Colts general manager Chris Ballard deemed Richardson a "full go" for training camp, per ESPN.

Because of his injury history, many may wonder if the Colts will be a bit more reserved in allowing Richardson to run, but head coach Shane Steichen put that possibility to rest by refuting it, per James Boyd of The Athletic.

Richardson also has many excellent weapons, including wide receivers Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, Adonai Mitchell, Josh Downs, and slot specialist Anthony Gould. Not to mention, he has Jonathan Taylor in the backfield.

Yeah, he's set up for a monstrous 2024 season.

Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears

Williams was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams enters the NFL in one of the best rookie situations I can recall. He has wide receivers like D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, and fellow rookie Rome Odunze.

Williams won the Heisman in college in 2022 after throwing for 4,537 yards, 42 touchdowns, and five picks. He continued to limit turnovers in 2023 with five interceptions and added 3,633 yards and 30 touchdowns.

The only thing that worries me about Williams and his projection to the NFL in his rookie season is his style of play. He tends to want to play "hero ball," which I fear could result in more turnovers than we're used to seeing from him in college, which could limit his fantasy output.

The weapons around him are excellent, so I believe he has a high enough floor to potentially match or surpass Stroud's 2023 fantasy output.

This Year's C.J. Stroud: Bo Nix, Denver Broncos

Nix played in 61 games throughout his college career with Auburn and Oregon.

This is the biggest sleeper of the bunch, but I believe Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix will ultimately be this year's Stroud.

I discussed Williams and Richardson above, but I think they can surpass Stroud's fantasy value.

As for a player who will have opportunities to rack up yards but have fewer touchdown passes than expected, limit turnovers, and have some rushing ability, Nix seemingly fits the bill.

Stroud played in 27 college games but played in many big-time games, including the College Football Playoff.

Nix enters the NFL with 61 games under his belt at the college level across two Power 5 conferences and is coming off a Heisman-caliber season.

In 2023, Nix completed an astonishing 77.4% of his passes for 4,508 yards, 45 touchdowns, and three interceptions. Sure, many may point to his affinity with short passes or those behind the line of scrimmage. After all, according to Pro Football Focus, nearly 67% of his completions were either behind the one of scrimmage or between 0-9 yards in front of him, but let's not forget that 54.2% of Stroud's passes were either behind the line of scrimmage or 0-9 yards in front of him.

Nix enters a situation with the Denver Broncos where he has a fantastic Hall of Fame-worthy head coach in Sean Payton, a respectable stable of running backs, and some talent at receiver. Of course, trading Jerry Jeudy doesn't help anything, but he still has Courtland Sutton, Josh Reynolds, Marvin Mims, and his No. 1 target from college, Troy Franklin, to work with.

The early reports of Nix this offseason have been great.

According to DNVR Broncos, in May, Payon said that Nix was farther along than most rookie quarterbacks.

This is perhaps a fair thing to say, as Nix played in more than 60 college games.

The latest report on Nix from The Denver Post mentions that Nix has done "nothing but impress his teammates and coaches."

Here's what Ryan McFadden of The Denver Post had to say:

McFadden also added comments from Sutton, the No. 1 receiver on the team, who was positive about the young signal-caller.

Nix's college experience, history of not turning the ball over, and a rushing outlook that's even better than Stroud's (143 carries for 744 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns while at Oregon) make Nix a prime candidate to be a rookie quarterback who finishes the season as a borderline QB1 in fantasy football.

All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference and College Football Reference unless otherwise stated.