Fantasy football rankings 2026: Quarterback tiers and draft strategy

Depending the year, quarterbacks in fantasy football are either 1. the most overrated, overblown statistical afterthought that you realistically should be thinking about like a defense OR 2. a thin, premium position and the heart and soul of a football team that feels like free money when you have a guy averaging 25+ fantasy points per game. So which is it in 2026?

The first one. I've been on record all fantasy preseason that quarterback in 2026 is an extremely low-value slot. The difference in value between the QB2 and the QB12 is, to me, literally smaller than the value difference between the RB2 and RB3, the WR4 and WR5 and (honestly) maybe the QB1 and QB2. It's no secret to the internet, to my friends that I'm drafting with tonight or to my dog that I want to be the last person in any draft to take a quarterback. While everyone else falls over themselves in the fifth round for, like, Dak Prescott ... find me in the 10th with Matthew Stafford feeling great about myself.

Quarterbacks are one of the hardest values to parse in 2026

So here's what we're going to do: most leagues aren't bigger than 12 teams, so I'm going to go 14 QBs deep for our 2026 tiers with some honorable mentions at the end. Again: tiers help you sort players mentally that you want to target around the same slot, as trying to go for a specific player is bad business in a league where 90 percent of all picks belong to someone else. However, for quarterbacks specifically, there is a specific guy you want to target, evidenced by him having his own tier. We'll meet him soon. Right now, actually.

*A superflex interpolation: some leagues ("superflex") allow you to play a QB in your flex spot or just have two QBs straight up, meaning that the value of QBs literally doubles, as a position of tremendous scarcity suddenly become legitimately scarce as 20-25 have to start every week out of 32. If you're in a two-QB or superflex league, quarterbacks are the single most important position to draft and Josh Allen should be the number one pick. These rankings ARE NOT FOR THAT KIND OF LEAGUE, and I don't recommend those leagues anyway; I think they disrupt the delicate competitive geometry that makes fantasy football so fun. Anyway, on to the tiers.

Tier 1: Josh Allen

This offseason in NFL media has seen quite the anointing of Josh Allen as the best quarterback in football, and that very much extends to our silly little fake football game too. Allen is the only player in the NFL who is capable of producing the two-way numbers required to turn the QB slot into the world-destroying superweapon that can and has won leagues singlehandedly. Allen rushing is arguably his team's first option on the goal line, and he obviously is among the best pure passers in the league as well.

Despite that, I wouldn't actually recommend taking Josh Allen in 2026 just because of the value you'll be forfeiting. Allen will probably go in the late second round in most leagues and will certainly be gone by the end of the third — that means that, for Allen, you're giving up one of my top-two tiered wide receivers or running backs for a quarterback that MUST be far and away the best QB to pay off. Are you willing to take that gamble when 20+ points per game could be waiting for you 100 picks later anyway? I'm not.

Tier 2: Resisting the ADP

Average Draft Position is all over the place depending on your platform, but on ESPN (my preferred site) the ADP has a lot of "benefit of the doubt" quarterbacks above guys I think are straight-up better. Lamar Jackson in particular; last season saw a legitimately jarring downturn in his desire to run, and he has to be an ultra-mega-elite passer to make up for it if his legs aren't a big part of the offense.

That's not to say Lamar is bad — this is two-time MVP (could easily have been three), and they don't just give those out. But to justify the third/fourth round price point? Get out of here. To me, Maye projects better as a fantasy asset because of his interest in running and his explosive passing ability. The New England Patriots are not a run-first team like the Ravens might be; nor are the Bengals, and Joe Burrow has the capacity to explode with his receivers and big-time pass volume. I like both more than Lamar at value.

Tier 3: Actual impact over name brands

ADP numbers also betray a reality of quarterback selection: it is a position prone to runs. Looks at Hurts and Daniels versus Prescott and Dart — they are going, on average, right next to each other in drafts. Someone takes a QB and then everyone says, "Oh shoot, I better take a QB." I implore you to resist that urge, particularly when the ADP versus actual value is this warped.

I don't functionally understand why I would take Daniels or Hurts over those other three, though their ADP is two rounds higher. Just look at the numbers last year, whose arrow is pointing up and who has money to make on the margins. Both are on worse offenses than Caleb or Dak, and neither has the crazy valuable (albeit potentially self-destructive) proclivity for running like Dart does. Just look at everyone's scoring last season; this is not a hot take whatsoever. If your argument is "Oh, Dart will get hurt," then I can't win, but I always operate on the assumption that we cannot predict injuries (because we can't)

Tier 4: The Fab Five

Now this, this is what I'm talking about. This is value, this is cash money. All five of these guys could easily be a top-five scoring QB in fantasy this year, and you're basically investing a 10th-round pick in that prospect. Unless you are in an absolutely sicko league where people are taking two QBs before pick 100, you will be able to get one of these guys and ride off into the sunset in glory. My best tip for this year: wait until round nine or 10, scan for one of these dudes, and click the button.

That's not to say there isn't risk; we're not sure what Mahomes will be coming off the ACL tear, Stafford is no spring chicken and the other three are hardly locks to be elite. But at the price point? That's a fixable problem. You have all my honorable mentions just sitting there: Kyler Murray, Jared Goff and Malik Willis, you could do worse. There is just no sense surrendering your early picks chasing a QB position that is the deepest it's been in years. This is your tier. This is the tier of destiny. Thank me later.

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