Pat Mayo made a bold season-long call, saying Daniel Jones could out-produce Trevor Lawrence and C.J. Stroud in 2025 now that he is paired with Shane Steichen in Indianapolis. Mayo likes the fit because Steichen will lean on designed runs, unlocking Jones’ rushing upside while simultaneously widening lanes for Jonathan Taylor. He compared the ceiling to the efficient 2022 campaign Jones posted under Brian Daboll and believes the legs-plus-scheme combo gives Jones a league-winning profile at his dirt-cheap ADP in best-ball and redraft formats. Mayo acknowledged the floor—“he could also be benched in Week 3”—but is willing to swing for the upside late in drafts.

Sam Monson argued that making Daniel Jones the Colts’ starter leaves Indianapolis stuck in the league’s middle class. Running a tongue-in-cheek 10,000-simulation thought experiment, Monson said the most common result lands Jones exactly where he has always lived—rank-average efficiency illustrated by an 85 career passer rating and sporadic 2022-style spikes. In that scenario, the Colts "aren’t winning that much," a phrase he clarified as missing the playoffs despite a soft AFC South. Monson added that Indy still lacks proven edge rush juice behind DeForest Buckner, so there is no complementary defensive pressure to bail the offense out. The actionable play is to fade Colts win-total overs and treat all Indianapolis pass catchers as low-ceiling options in season-long formats until the quarterback situation materially improves.

Warren Sharp said Daniel Jones still is "not a good quarterback," yet Indianapolis can smash an undersized win total if Shane Steichen baby-sits him the same way Brian Daboll did in 2022. Sharp reminded listeners that Daboll’s first-year training-wheels approach raised Jones’ floor and the entire offense’s floor, while letting him “spread his wings” in 2023 caused the system to crumble. Steichen, he believes, will lean on quick reads, designed runs and a conservative game plan that hides Jones’ down-field weaknesses. Combined with an easier-than-average schedule and a defense Sharp trusts to keep games close, he projects the Colts to grind out eight-plus victories, making them an over bet in win-total markets.

Andy Holloway argued that Daniel Jones is an undervalued late-round or early-season streaming option now that he’s in Indianapolis. Holloway stressed Jones’s rushing baseline—31 yards per game, seventh-best among quarterbacks since 2000—which supplies a sturdy weekly floor. He referenced Scott Barrett’s tweet showing Jones’s offensive line rankings improving from dead last in New York (32nd, 30th, 28th, 32nd, 31st) to seventh with the Colts, calling it a massive upgrade in protection. While the receiving corps lacks a true alpha Holloway sees upside in emerging weapons: Tyler Warren could hit top-three tight-end status, Josh Downs might climb into the top-24 wide-receiver tier, and Jonathan Taylor offers a reliable check-down outlet. Because of those pieces and Shane Steichen’s scheme Holloway said, “it won’t shock me if in Week 2 we’re saying stream of the week, Daniel Jones,” recommending fantasy managers stash him in season-long leagues that start one quarterback.

Jones climbed from QB34 to QB28 once Shane Steichen confirmed him as the Colts’ Week 1 starter. Freedman admits Jones’ 5.2 adjusted yards per attempt the past two seasons is ugly, yet the mere fact he is not the erratic Anthony Richardson stabilizes the passing game and elevates Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, and rookie TE Tyler Warren. Expecting 4–6 weeks of job security, plus sneaky rushing equity, Freedman labels Jones a viable superflex or early-season streaming option before the inevitable Richardson takeover.

Hayden Winks moved his Week 1 probability toward Daniel Jones after Anthony Richardson dislocated a pinky and failed a simple hot read that led to a hit. Shane Steichen keeps preaching "consistency," and Winks thinks the staff will default to the safer Jones while Richardson proves he can stay healthy. He advised fantasy managers to diversify late-round quarterback builds with Jones shares and lower early-season expectations for Richardson until he strings together healthy, mistake-free practices.

Steve Palazzolo pointed out that Daniel Jones has now twice entered preseason action after a Richardson injury and "played pretty well" despite several drops that hurt his completion rate. Palazzolo highlighted Jones’s conservative, underneath style—"going to dink and dunk and throw underneath"—as a good schematic fit for a Colts roster that lacks proven field-stretchers but features reliable short-area targets. With the coaching staff openly debating whether they can trust Richardson to stay healthy, Palazzolo believes a risk-averse approach could hand Week-1 duties to Jones even if camp grades remain close. For season-long fantasy or best-ball managers, Jones is a cheap late-round stash who could return immediate starter value if the Colts opt for stability over upside.

Josh told listeners that the market is giving Daniel Jones an undeserved pass simply because he is not Anthony Richardson and hasn’t been on the field. Josh said repeated injuries have sapped Jones’ arm talent—he no longer pushes the ball downfield with any consistency and when he tries, the placement is scatter-shot. The rushing that once buoyed his fantasy value is also in doubt; Josh questioned whether the trademark 40-yard break-aways will show up after multiple lower-body issues. He compared the current version of Jones to late-career Carson Wentz: a name everyone keeps recycling even though the tape is brutal. Josh conceded Shane Steichen’s QB-friendly scheme coaxed competence out of Gardner Minshew last year, so there is a narrow path to relevance, but he still advised treating Jones as a deep-bench flyer or waiver-wire streamer rather than drafting him inside the top-24 quarterbacks in season-long or best-ball formats.

Sam Monson predicted Daniel Jones will be the Colts’ Week 1 starter. He expects the coaching staff to enter camp "wanting Richardson to win the job," but believes Jones’ experience and reliability will force their hand. Monson pointed out Jones already owns the 20th-most single-season QB rushing yards (2022) and showed his career-best play that same year, demonstrating how a designed run game can unlock him in Shane Steichen’s system. With every first-team rep while Richardson rehabs, and a superior supporting cast featuring Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman Jr. and an above-average line, Monson thinks Jones will simply outperform the still-raw Richardson in August and grab the job. Fantasy drafters should treat Jones as the favorite for early-season starts with a sneaky rushing floor.

Sam Monson said Daniel Jones could post a career season if he wins the Colts’ starting job. Richardson’s offseason injury has left Jones with every first-team rep, and Monson believes the surrounding talent is miles ahead of anything Jones had in New York: three proven linemen (Bernhard Raimann, Quenton Nelson, Braden Smith) with a path to a top-10 unit if an average center and right guard emerge; a receiving corps of Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, slot technician Josh Downs, and first-round rookie TE Tyler Warren; plus Jonathan Taylor as a true bell-cow. Coupled with Shane Steichen’s QB-friendly system, Monson expects a legitimate 6-4 or 7-3 start and a playoff push, arguing that makes Jones a late-round fantasy target and an intriguing long-shot futures bet for Comeback Player of the Year.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound has ramped his Daniel Jones exposure from roughly 1-2 percent to 8 percent this week, calling it a pure playing-time arbitrage on Anthony Richardson. Pat views the odds of Jones starting more games than Richardson as a "coin flip," especially for the critical Week 17 best-ball finals, yet Jones is drafted multiple rounds later. Because Jones offers rushing upside and can be stacked cheaply with late-round Colts pass-catchers, Pat considers him an ideal QB2 in two-quarterback builds that prioritize extra roster spots for skill-position darts. He emphasized that even a league-average passing season paired with 500 rushing yards would make Jones a smash at his current ADP if Richardson misses time again.

Sam Monson said the Colts signing Daniel Jones creates a clear win-win quarterback competition that could unlock Jones as a fantasy sleeper. Monson argued Jones fits Shane Steichen’s run-heavy, RPO-friendly scheme that was designed for Anthony Richardson, noting that Jones actually plays a similar brand of football with a reliable rushing floor. If Richardson does not develop quickly enough, Jones steps into what Monson called “probably the best situation of his six- or seven-year career” thanks to an improved supporting cast of Michael Pittman, Alec Pierce, Josh Downs and rookie tight end Tyler Warren. Monson concluded that this environment could push Indianapolis toward playoff contention, making Jones a viable late-round dart in best ball and superflex drafts and even a deep Comeback Player of the Year betting flier.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound called Daniel Jones a no-brainer dart at pick ~200. He expects Jones to open the season as Indianapolis’ starter while Anthony Richardson’s shoulder remains a question mark, forecasting a "ping-pong" scenario where Richardson plays only a handful of games before ceding the job back. Pat likes the environment: a much better offensive line than Jones had in New York, Jonathan Taylor in the backfield (he noted Jones’ fantasy production nearly doubled whenever Saquon Barkley was active with the Giants), plus pass-catchers Michael Pittman, Josh Downs and Alec Pierce to stretch the field. If Jones simply hangs onto the gig through the fantasy playoffs, Pat thinks his rushing floor and upgraded supporting cast could make him one of the highest-ROI quarterbacks in the entire late-round bucket.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound said Daniel Jones is one of the sneakiest quarterback clicks in Underdog’s new Eliminator contest. With Anthony Richardson already dealing with another throwing-shoulder issue—the same injury that wiped out most of his rookie year—Pat expects Indy’s offense to start slowly and sees Jones as the safer bet to give you weekly points. Because Eliminator payouts begin in Week 5, early production matters more than in Best Ball Mania, and Jones’ combination of rushing floor and occasional ceiling games fits that bill. Pat likes pairing him with Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman as a Week 17 Giants-Colts correlation while their prices remain palatable. He predicted Jones’ 160-plus ADP will climb once drafters realize he’s likely locked in for a full season of starts while Richardson’s timeline stays murky.

Jakob Sanderson signed off on taking Daniel Jones as the room’s third quarterback even though Jones and Trevor Lawrence square off in Week 17. Sanderson said overlapping signal-callers would bother him in a two-QB build, but once you’re rostering three passers the correlation risk flips into a feature. Their roster is already heavily levered to the Colts–Jaguars game—Lawrence, Tank Bigsby, Michael Pittman, Brenton Strange and Jarkez Hunter are all on board—so the entire entry lives or dies with that matchup anyway. Adding Jones simply doubles down on a bet that the game environment shoots out; if it fails, the lineup was dead regardless. He framed the move as classic Best Ball tournament game theory: embrace variance and condense your win condition around one must-hit shootout rather than spreading thin, especially when you can grab Jones at the very end of drafts.

While showing Mike Clay and Rich Hribar’s season-long projections, Winks pointed out that the QB11–QB24 cohort is essentially flat—Baker Mayfield and Bo Nix project within a handful of points of Trevor Lawrence, yet the market prices them 50–60 picks apart. He singled out Daniel Jones and Aaron Rodgers as the biggest discounts, saying their projection dots ‘should be higher’ now that injury clarity and supporting-cast upgrades are baked in. Because the real drop-offs at RB and WR are far steeper, Winks recommends smashing Jones (and Rodgers) in the 14th-round range, pairing them with earlier stacks, and fading the pricier mid-tier pocket passers whose ceilings aren’t materially different.

Jon Warner cautioned that drafters are still paying a Superflex premium on Daniel Jones in regular Best Ball rooms. He reminded listeners that in Jones’s last full season with the Giants, the top three wideouts—Darius Slayton (724 yards), Richie James (569), and Isaiah Hodgins (350)—all failed to clear four receiving touchdowns, a sign that Jones struggles to elevate pass-catchers even when his team wins (they took a wildcard game that year). Warner thinks that brief Superflex smash window has created a lingering 'halo effect' now pushing Jones inside the top-120 picks in single-QB formats. With Anthony Richardson offering a far higher rushing ceiling at a similar cost, Warner moved Jones behind rookies like Bo Nix in his rankings, is fading him in one-QB drafts, and will bet any season-long passing-TD prop north of 18.5 under the assumption that Indianapolis leans on Richardson by mid-season.

Peter Overzet backed Daniel Jones to log more starts than Anthony Richardson this season and labeled the veteran an ideal late-round Best Ball piece. Overzet believes if Jones opens the year under center and plays even "pretty well," the Colts will stay adjacent to playoff contention, removing the incentive to bench him. He conceded Week-17 odds might tilt 60/40 toward Richardson but would still lay action that Jones wins the overall start count. With Indianapolis facing several coin-flip games early and a coaching staff that prefers continuity when winning, Overzet keeps tacking Jones onto the back of three-QB builds and would bet any head-to-head "most starts" market in his favor.

Tom Strachan advised taking Daniel Jones at his newly risen 197 ADP because Colts insiders believe he is the front-runner to start Week 1. Catchable-target data from Fantasy Points showed Jones’ 2024 Giants ranked 10th in that metric, while Anthony Richardson’s Colts were dead last with 16% fewer catchable throws than the next-worst team. Strachan argued that Shane Steichen’s up-tempo scheme plus Jonathan Taylor’s strong YAC profile could buoy Jones’ weekly floors, making him an efficient QB3 in best-ball builds.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound encouraged drafters to grab Daniel Jones at his current 194 ADP, arguing the market is under-pricing the odds he starts most of the season for Indianapolis. Pat pointed out that Shane Steichen ran 29% RPOs last year—second-highest in the league—and Jones logged 708 rushing yards the last time Brian Daboll leaned into similar concepts. With Jonathan Taylor forcing defenses into heavy boxes and an offensive line that ranked 6th in ESPN’s Pass Block Win Rate, Pat projects Jones to average 5–6 designed attempts per game plus 30 pass attempts. Even a conservative 0.55 fantasy points per drop-back would make him a weekly QB15. Pat added that if Jones somehow keeps the job all 17 weeks, his season-long ceiling looks a lot like 2022 (top-10 in fantasy points per game), which would justify an ADP in the low 130s. He advised stacking Jones with cheap Colts receivers like Alec Pierce and Adonai Mitchell to maximize playoff leverage in BBM6.

Sean Koerner suggested grabbing Daniel Jones in Round 17 as insurance against Anthony Richardson’s shoulder setback and accuracy woes. Koerner currently projects an even split—roughly eight or nine starts apiece—because Richardson hasn’t shown reliable passing chops and the Colts set Richardson’s completion prop around 13.5 before last year’s scratch. If Jones wins the job for 12-plus games, Koerner expects him to "thrive in Shane Steichen’s system," pointing to an indoor schedule, a soft AFC South, and a loaded skill group (Pittman, Downs, Pierce, Mitchell, TE Tyler Warren, Jonathan Taylor). Jones’ 40-yard rushing upside gives him a path to weekly top-12 scores, making him an ideal last-round quarterback to pair with Richardson in best-ball builds that need cheap contingency options.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound pitched Daniel Jones as an ideal third quarterback you can grab in the final round and play ‘naked.’ He reminded listeners that Jones posted QB9 fantasy points per start in 2022 once the Giants’ offensive line held together and a functional run game reduced pressure. The tout believes the organization’s offseason trench upgrades give Jones a fighting chance to replicate that top-12 rushing-plus-passing blend (he averaged 43.5 ground yards and 0.5 rush TDs per start two years ago). Yes, the neck is a risk, but Pat argued that at a pick in the 180s you simply need a couple of 22-point outings to spike an advance rate, and Jones’ legs give him that ceiling that pocket passers in the same range lack.

Pat Kerrane said he is flat-out avoiding every New York Giants quarterback in BBM6 drafts. He told Pete that he will only throw a single last-round dart if a roster desperately needs a third QB, otherwise he refuses to click Daniel Jones—or whoever ends up starting—because the franchise left the position completely unsettled this offseason. Kerrane expects bottom-tier passing volume and efficiency and would rather use those roster spots on backs, tight ends or a second passer tied to a competent offense. With a 50-pick stretch in the middle rounds where wide-receiver options disappear, he believes Giants signal-callers are dead money that drag down roster advance rates until the depth chart and offensive outlook materially improve.