Quarterbacks are the most important players in the NFL and the highest scoring for fantasy, but managers need to be smart about how they approach the position in drafts.
While it’s enticing to secure one of the top names, you can often put yourself at a massive disadvantage by using high draft capital on an elite passer if they don’t come through with a colossal campaign.
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Josh Allen is as close to a sure thing as exists in the fantasy world, having finished as the top QB in four of the last six seasons and never falling below third at the position during that span. However, other premier quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels and Joe Burrow have dealt with injuries and underperformed at times recently, leading their managers down a road of regret for investing so heavily in their services.
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Thankfully, the late-round quarterback strategy is back in a big way this year. There are 13 quarterbacks you can feel confident selecting as your starter and around 20 passers who have a realistic chance to compete for fantasy QB1 status in 2026. So don’t feel compelled to acquire a superstar in the early rounds.
Even if you just wait until the eighth round to address the position, you can often get players with proven track record and top-five upside. Delaying longer than that comes with slightly more risk, which means you should consider pairing two double digit-round QBs together to give you more opportunities to hit on the right one. And if all else fails, don’t sweat it because you can attempt to stream the position using the waiver wire.
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It’s also important to know which types of quarterbacks to target for maximum return on value. Dual-threat QBs have always been a shortcut to fantasy production (shoutout Rich Hribar and the Konami Code). A quick look at last season shows us that among the top-12 QBs in fantasy points per game last year, nine of them racked up over 350 rushing yards. The three who didn’t were prolific through the air with at least 4500 passing yards and 30 touchdowns.
More position previews
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Wide Receivers (Wednesday)
Though it’s not impossible to find a pocket passer who can help you reach the fantasy championship, there’s less room for error when venturing down that path.
Other key factors to keep in mind when choosing a fantasy QB, include skill position talent, offensive line quality, coaching, strength of schedule, shootout potential due to a weak defense and so much more.
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Now let’s get into which quarterbacks you should be targeting or avoiding this season.
The 2026 Fantasy QB Board
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Jayden Daniels, Commanders
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Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers
Draft Targets
Jayden Daniels, Commanders
Daniels is just one year removed from being the QB4 overall in fantasy points per game as a rookie, with six outings above 28 fantasy points, including four of his final five appearances that season. Since then, the 25-year-old battled through an injury-riddled 2025 season where he only played the majority of the snaps in six games. Now, he returns healthy in a new offense that added Stefon Diggs and Chig Okonkwo to suit up alongside Terry McLaurin. If he stays upright, there’s a non-zero chance that Daniels pushes to be the No. 1 fantasy quarterback this season.
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Justin Herbert
Herbert has shown us his fantasy ceiling before when he finished as the second-highest scoring QB in 2021. We’ve also witnessed stretches of strong production since Jim Harbaugh became his head coach. Last year alone, Herbert averaged the fourth-most fantasy points among quarterbacks over the first nine weeks (21.8 FPPG) before injuries to himself and his offensive line took their toll. Some better injury luck combined with the arrival of offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel is more than enough reason to invest in Herbert and the Chargers’ offense this year. A top-five fantasy finish is well within reach.
Trevor Lawrence
Lawrence was a top-six fantasy QB on a per game basis during his first season in Liam Coen’s offense and his production only improved down the stretch as he became more comfortable in the new system. The 26-year-old (turns 27 in October) finished as a top-five fantasy QB in four of his last five outings, capitalizing on a soft schedule. Good news on that front, Lawrence faces the fourth easiest fantasy schedule among QBs in 2026 and has an even deeper group of pass-catchers to work with.
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Brock Purdy
Purdy has averaged top-12 fantasy stats for three straight campaigns, including the second-most at the position (22.7 FPPG) during an injury-shortened 2025 season. He was the hottest fantasy quarterback down the stretch last year, averaging 28.3 points per game over the final five weeks of the fantasy calendar — more than any other passer. Purdy has proven himself as a reliable fantasy starter with a surprising ceiling. Injuries are always a concern in San Francisco, but this offense will find a way as long as some combination of Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans, De’Zhaun Stribling, Deebo Samuel Sr. and George Kittle are on the field.
Draft Fades
Patrick Mahomes II, Chiefs
There’s no denying Mahomes is an incredible quarterback, who we are lucky to watch play each year. He even dazzled us as the fourth highest scoring fantasy QB on a per game basis in 2025. However, that strong fantasy finish came after a couple down seasons where the Chiefs’ franchise passer fell to the low-end QB1 range as the QB11 in 2024 and QB12 in 2023. His bounce-back last year was thanks to career highs on the ground with 422 rushing yards and five touchdowns. It’s unlikely he’ll repeat those kinds of stats in the first season after a torn ACL suffered in Week 15. Other quarterbacks returning from ACL tears have been hesitant to use their legs the following year. With less rushing attempts and so many good quarterbacks to choose from in fantasy, Mahomes is a tough sell inside the top 100 picks.
Matthew Stafford, Rams
Stafford is a 38-year-old pocket passer who defied the odds last season, finishing as the QB5 in FPPG on the back of 4,707 passing yards and 46 touchdowns. That touchdown total was more than he had accumulated the two previous seasons combined when he was the QB20 and QB28, respectively. The Rams are a true Super Bowl contender and should have plenty of opportunity to run up the score on opponents this year thanks to a stacked roster, but Stafford has only thrown more than 32 TDs twice in his career and it’s a risky game to expect elite totals from older passers year after year.
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Jordan Love, Packers
Love hasn’t been a top-12 fantasy quarterback in either of the past two seasons. The 27-year-old (turns 28 in November) fell to the QB13 in fantasy points per game in 2024 and the QB21 last season. This has occurred due to an overall drop in average yards and touchdowns through the air, but the bigger concern has been his reduced rushing production. Love ran for 247 yards and four TDs during his strong 2023 campaign. Since then, he’s managed just 282 yards and one score over the last two years combined. While the potential for a spike-season is still there, Love is just one of many fantasy QB2s hoping to shock the world this year.
Top Sleepers
Tyler Shough, Saints
Shough was a revelation during the second half of his rookie season last year. Once he took over the starting job in Week 9, the 26-year-old instantly became a usable fantasy option, averaging the 12th-most points per game (17.6 FPPG) during his nine starts. Among full-time starters over that stretch, Shough was eighth in attempts, fifth in completions, third in completion percentage and ninth in yards per attempt. He also ran for 174 yards, including at least 30 rushing yards in three of his last five appearances and scored three rushing touchdowns over that span. It’s also very easy to see that his environment has only improved since then, with the additions of first-round wideout Jordyn Tyson, starting running back Travis Etienne Jr. and guard David Edwards. In one of the fastest paced offenses in the league, Shough is in the mix to crack the top-12 fantasy QBs this year.
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Malik Willis, Dolphins
In recent years, most of the late-round quarterbacks with massive rushing upside have seen their ADPs get pushed up into the middle rounds. That hasn’t happened with Willis, likely due to the abundance of quality quarterbacks available in fantasy, as well as the Dolphins’ lack of proven pass-catchers. Regardless, Willis still offers a significant fantasy ceiling thanks to his expected rushing production. In his three relief starts over the last two years with the Packers, Willis posted rushing totals of 41, 60 and 73 yards while averaging a touchdown per game on the ground. Unsurprisingly, he finished as a top-seven fantasy QB in two of those three contests. If you’re waiting on Willis in drafts, it would be wise to pair him with a more stable option like Jared Goff.
C.J. Stroud, Texans
After breaking onto the scene with a QB11 finish in FPPG as a rookie, Stroud has disappointed the last two years. However, the first-round passer wasn’t far off those numbers at the start of his sophomore campaign, posting QB14 fantasy results through the first six weeks before injuries struck his receiving corps. While he only managed QB23 fantasy numbers last year, an injury derailed his season and caused him to miss three games. If you remove the outing where he got hurt and only played part of the contest, as well as the first game back where he struggled, Stroud averaged 16.8 FPPG in his other 11 contests. That would have tied him as the QB15. We can also quite easily paint a brighter picture for him in 2026 with a stronger supporting cast. Unlike some of the quarterbacks going in his ADP range, Stroud is locked in as his team’s starter for the full season and he’ll face the ninth friendliest fantasy QB schedule.
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