BALLER MOVE: Target Around ~120 Overall
Current ADP: ~130
For the wait-on-quarterback crowd, Philip Rivers is the embodiment of why it's perfectly fine to be one of the last people in your league to draft a QB. I continue to be amazed by how undervalued he is from year to year. His "worst" season in the last 10 years was a 2012 campaign in which he threw for 3,606 yards and 26 touchdowns.
In every year since then, he's thrown for at least 4,286 yards and 28 touchdowns, eclipsing the 30-touchdown mark four times in this span including last season. What more do you want from the guy? A Super Bowl ring would be ideal, I guess, but from a fantasy perspective, he is as consistent as they come. And yet he continues to be available in the later rounds of drafts.
Rivers lost underrated wideout Tyrell Williams to his division rival in Oakland this offseason, but he's getting Hunter Henry back, Keenan Allen is still hanging around, and Mike Williams was impressive (though very boom-or-bust) in his rookie season. Even if Melvin Gordon turns out not to be a part of the equation any longer, Austin Ekeler has proven to be a serviceable pass-catching replacement in the Chargers backfield.
I don't have anything against guys like Baker Mayfield (ADP QB5) or Kyler Murray (ADP QB9), and I'm all in on this new, creative direction the NFL is heading in terms of how quarterbacks are utilized. But Rivers isn't even being drafted as a starter in 12-team leagues, while a rookie and a second-year quarterback with 13 career starts are being valued as consensus top-10 picks at the position.
I'd say I'm tired of it, but the fantasy world's refusal to acknowledge the excellence of Philip Rivers has continually allowed me to wait, wait, and wait some more for my quarterback on draft day. So by all means, please keep ignoring the future Hall-of-Famer.
Check out RotoBaller's famous fantasy football draft sleepers and waiver wire pickups list, updated regularly!