In fantasy football, the QB position is easily the deepest player pool to choose from for managers. With that, we see a lot of year-over-year variance, QBs who are drafted later on jumping up into QB1 status by the end of the season. Four of our Yahoo analysts — Hayden Winks, Joel Smyth, Justin Boone and Ray Garvin — share their favorite QB breakout candidate for 2026.
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Jordan Love, Packers
It’s rare to have a QB’s WR1, WR2, WR3, TE1 and RB1 all go before him in fantasy football ADP, but that’s what is happening with Love. Either we are taking crazy pills with all of this Packers’ investment or Love is simply underpriced. I think the latter. Love is benefiting from a few things this upcoming season. First, his skill group is sick. I love Matthew Golden at cost as a sleeper and Tucker Kraft being back a month before the season is promising. Beyond that, the Packers are stressing more pace in practice and they followed that up by quickly breaking the huddle and snapping the ball in preseason action last week. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they passed more with Josh Jacobs’ status and this new quicker-paced offense, and more dropbacks mean more fantasy points. On that, Love has been extremely efficient for years (see below), but the Packers have been too conservative for him to break into the top-10 fantasy mix. The defense looks rough early on without Micah Parsons, and the early schedule includes games with the Vikings, Jets, Falcons, Bears, Cowboys, Lions and Panthers. — Hayden Winks
Here’s a look at how Love stacks up in terms of EPA per dropback vs. success rate at the QB position.
(Hayden Winks)
Caleb Williams, Bears
Williams finished as the QB9 in PPG last season and is now being drafted as the QB8 on Yahoo. For a Year 3 quarterback, the combination of floor and upside looks incredible. He’s flawed; his second season had plenty of missed throws down the field, but his natural playmaking ability and offense easily overcomes it. Keep in mind, this is only his second season in the offense and third overall in the NFL, often where the most offseason growth occurs for a QB. Williams has every ingredient of a great fantasy QB: Coaching, offensive line, weapons, scrambling, an aggressive passing style, all on an offense that will likely be in shootouts or as Ben Johnson loves, merciless blowouts. He already was a 20-PPG scorer in the second half of last season and can take it to the next level this year. — Joel Smyth
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Malik Willis, Dolphins
You can define a breakout player a lot of ways, but to me it should be someone who hasn’t had a complete season as a fantasy star yet. The breakout occurs the year they finally put it all together and become a difference-maker. There are a few players who fit that criteria in 2026, but Willis is the kind of dual-threat QB fantasy managers used to steam up draft boards. The 27-year-old rediscovered his game as a backup on the Packers the last two seasons. During that time, he made three relief starts where he posted rushing totals of 41, 60, and 73 yards while averaging a touchdown per outing on the ground.
Unsurprisingly, he finished as a top-seven fantasy QB in two of those three contests. The Dolphins were impressed enough to sign him to a three-year, $67.5 million contract this offseason. Though Willis’ path to fantasy relevance will come thanks to his skills as a runner, there’s also untapped upside here through the air, if any of his pass-catchers other than De’Von Achane step up. The positive reports around Malik Washington, as well as third-round rookies Caleb Douglas and Chris Bell provides some hope for this passing attack. Don’t be surprised at all if Willis flirts with low-end fantasy QB1 numbers, even if it might not always look pretty. — Justin Boone
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Jaxson Dart, Giants
Jaxson Dart is one of my favorite breakout bets at quarterback this fall because I think the usage is going to be there in a major way. You’re talking about a head coach who just spent years with Lamar Jackson. No, Dart isn’t Lamar as a runner. Relax. This offense is going to flow through the quarterback. And Dart can do major damage with his legs. He’s getting Malik Nabers back, the Giants upgraded the weapons around him and I expect them to lean into everything Dart does well instead of asking him to sit in the pocket and play boring football. That rushing production gives him a fantasy floor with a legitimate winning weekly ceiling. Yes, the trips to the blue tent concern me. They should. But let’s also remember he’s only been diagnosed with one concussion. At the price you’re paying right now, I’ll gladly bet on the talent, rushing upside and potential volume. The ceiling is way higher than the cost. — Ray Garvin
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Top targets and players to avoid from Justin Boone (the top in-season ranker of 2025) , Matt Harmon, Josh Norris, Joel Smyth, Scott Pianowski and Hayden Winks
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