• QB Jared Goff, Detroit Lions: Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson’s scheme suits Goff perfectly.
• QB Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers: Purdy is among the league’s most talented passers even on play lacking San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan’s brilliant use of both motion and play-action passing concepts.
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Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
Fantasy football’s QB1 tier is dominated by high-volume, dual-threat quarterbacks who rack up gaudy fantasy-point sums on the ground. A handful of elite pocket-passing quarterbacks are capable of hanging with the dual-threat players, though, and generally offer fantasy managers more affordable average draft positions while creating helpful opportunities to stack fantasy rosters with corresponding pass catchers.
The article below details three of the NFL’s most fantasy-friendly pocket-passing quarterbacks for 2024.
QB Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Goff’s perfect schematic field and elite supporting cast make him one of the most fantasy-friendly pocket-passing quarterbacks in the NFL. He finished as the Weeks 1-17 QB8 in 2023, and his 86.5 PFF overall grade ranked 10th among 32 qualifiers.
Goff thrives as a centerfield thrower. Targeting passes between the field’s painted numbers, at least 10 yards downfield, allows the pass-catcher extra room to work both before and after the catch. Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson’s brilliant scheming led to Goff targeting this area of the field 72 times on his first read during the 2023 regular season, tying for the second most among quarterbacks.
And among 34 NFL quarterbacks to target that area of the field at least 25 times in 2023, Goff ranked 14th in big-time throw rate (11.9%), ninth in average time to throw (2.78), eighth in yards per passing attempt (13.6) and turnover-worthy play rate (4.2%) and fifth in completion rate (69.5%) and adjusted completion rate (74.1%). His 112 qualifying attempts ranked second and his 97.0 PFF passing grade on qualifying passes ranked first.
Detroit third-year wide receiver Jameson Williams has developed slowly due to a January 2022 (college) ACL tear and a 2023 Grade 2 hamstring strain suffered on Aug. 16. The stage is set for him to assume a full-time role in 2024. Through two seasons, Williams has caught 11 of his 17 targets thrown to the aforementioned area of the field. He averages 21.7 yards per reception and has generated four explosive pass plays and two missed tackles forced on qualifying targets. Among 94 NFL wide receivers to earn at least 15 targets in this area of the field over the past two seasons, Williams ties for 23rd in PFF receiving grade (91.9).
Johnson also efficiently schemes up short-area targets for Goff and his top-tier pass-catchers. Among 30 quarterbacks with at least 100 first-read passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage to 10 yards downfield in 2023, Goff’s 6.8 yards per passing attempt and 77.4 PFF passing grade both ranked sixth. He tallied 265 qualifying passing attempts last year, the second most at the position.
Detroit wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, tight end Sam LaPorta and running back Jahmyr Gibbs round out Goff’s starting pass-catcher corps. St. Brown’s 91.3 PFF receiving grade, LaPorta’s 81.8 PFF receiving grade and Gibbs’ 67.4 PFF receiving grade in 2023 respectively ranked second, fourth and 13th among qualifiers.
Goff is also safely protected by PFF senior fantasy analyst Nathan Jahnke’s second-ranked offensive line.
Fantasy managers can expect Goff to start the season playing particularly efficiently; Detroit’s Weeks 1-3 pass-defense schedule was highlighted in our “Favorable early-season pass- and run-game schedules” article.
QB Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Purdy finished as the Weeks 1-17 QB6 in his 2023 campaign despite undergoing surgery to correct a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his throwing elbow on March 10, 2023. Purdy has strong odds of repeating the feat in 2024, now fully healthy and thriving as an exceptionally talented player in San Francisco’s quarterback-friendly offense. Purdy is one of the NFL’s most fantasy-friendly pocket-passing quarterbacks. His 87.4 PFF overall grade in 2023 ranked sixth among 32 qualifying quarterbacks.
Purdy remarkably notched 10 QB1 weekly finishes in 2023, including four inside the top five.
Among 32 NFL quarterbacks with at least 280 dropbacks, Purdy tied for 13th in average time to throw (2.73), ranked 10th in big-time throw rate (5.5%) and average depth of target (8.6), ranked sixth in past-the-sticks throwing rate (42.6%) and completion rate (67.8%) and ranked first in yards per passing attempt (9.2). His 81.5 PFF passing grade placed 13th.
San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan’s brilliant 2023 offensive scheme used motion on 395 regular-season dropbacks, ranking fifth, and called play-action pass plays at a 22.7% rate, ranking 19th. The unit astonishingly ranked first in success rate (40.6%), expected points added per play (0.161) and positive EPA rate (49.2%). Its 18.9% explosive pass play rate on passing attempts using motion ranks second and its 23.0% explosive pass play rate on play-action passes each placed sixth.
Purdy undoubtedly benefits from Shanahan’s use of these concepts, but Purdy also excels without them. Among 32 NFL quarterbacks with at least 135 non-play-action and non-motion dropbacks in 2023, Purdy ranked second in average depth of target (10.8) and big-time throw rate (8.8%) and first in yards per passing attempt (9.0).
Though Purdy runs the ball selectively (53 rushing attempts), he demonstrated a keen nose for both the first-down marker and end zone last year. Among 35 NFL quarterbacks with at least 25 rushing attempts, Purdy’s 37.7% first down-plus-touchdown conversion rate ranked 12th and his 17.0% explosive run play rate ranked 14th. Purdy’s 62.5% first down-plus-touchdown conversion rate in the red zone tied for second, and his 66.7% first down-plus-touchdown conversion rate in the green zone tied for ninth.
San Francisco also appears to have retained its elite pass-catching corps after earning a No. 1-ranked 91.1 PFF receiving grade in 2023. The remaining 31 NFL pass-catching corps finished below an 86.0 PFF receiving grade.
QB C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
Stroud established himself as one of the NFL’s most efficient and explosive passers in his 2023 rookie season. He enters 2024 in offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik’s smartly schemed offense, playing behind a now-healthy offensive line while throwing passes to an improved pass-catching corps. His 83.2 PFF overall grade last year ranked 13th among 32 qualifying quarterbacks.
A Week 14 concussion sidelined Stroud for Weeks 15 and 16. Despite the absence, he tied for both the 14th-most passing attempts (499) and big-time throws (23) and the 13th-most touchdowns (23) while totaling the 14th-most completions (319) and the eighth-most passing yards (4,108) in the regular season. He finished as the Weeks 1-17 QB13.
Among 32 NFL quarterbacks with at least 280 dropbacks, Stroud ranked second in both average depth of target (9.3) and yards per passing attempt (8.2). His 22nd-ranked 64.0% completion rate leaves something to be desired, but his 15th-ranked 2.8% turnover-worthy play rate offers mild comfort and his pass-catchers tied for the eighth-most drops (26). Stroud’s 80.4 PFF passing grade ranked 14th.
Stroud’s productivity playing behind Houston’s beleaguered 2023 offensive line suggests his ceiling remains to be fully realized. He was pressured on 237 dropbacks in 2023, the 12th most among quarterbacks. The offensive line lost one starter before Week 1 kicked off and two more missed double-digit games. The unit’s 66.2 PFF pass-blocking grade ranked 16th.
Houston’s 2023 pass-catching corps earned an 81.3 PFF receiving grade, the fourth-best mark in the NFL. The unit upgraded its No. 2 perimeter wide receiver role by acquiring wide receiver Stefon Diggs (79.0 PFF receiving grade) to play ahead of wide receiver Robert Woods (61.0). Former Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon (68.8) replaces former starting running back Devin Singletary (61.2).
The acquisitions suggest Slowik will likely increase Houston’s 14th-ranked, 61.1% one-score-game passing rate, ranked among NFL offenses. The offense already benefits from Slowik’s 14th-ranked, 24.5% play-action passing rate and frequent use of motion. Houston’s 607 regular-season offensive snaps incorporating motion ranked ninth.
Stroud already established himself as one of the league’s most fantasy-friendly pocket-passing quarterbacks in Year 1 and can be counted on as a fantasy football QB1 in Year 2.
