Draftable Fantasy Football Quarterbacks: Where Can You Find the Most Value in 2026?

Quarterback has maybe the biggest gap of any position between its importance in real football versus in fantasy football. QB is the most important position in all of sports, but it's often a position that successful fantasy owners wait on in the draft and/or stream during the season. You can find fantasy points from many passers on any given week.

As we go through the “draftable” quarterbacks below, you will see me talk about value a lot. While Josh Allen is likely to be the top scorer in fantasy, his value over the next group of QBs isn't nearly as important as getting a top running back, often the shortest position. My advice this year is the same as it is every year: wait on drafting your quarterback and load up on the skill positions.

Let's look at the draftable quarterbacks based on current ADP trends from ESPN. Each player is listed with his ADP ranking among all players in PPR leagues as of August 20, and the tiers are based on those rankings, not my own analysis. Most stats are from NFL.com, and previous fantasy scores and rankings are from FantasyPros.

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Clear Top Option

• 19. Josh Allen, BUF

Allen has been as consistent as any player in fantasy football since he entered the league. He finished either first or second in scoring among quarterbacks in each of the past six seasons and was sixth in 2019; there's not a much better bet to be a top player at his position.

Allen is likely to finish among that lofty group again, but the problem is the value, as drafting Allen in the second or third round means passing on a running back or wide receiver who is more valuable from a fantasy perspective; there are a lot of quarterbacks who can score plenty of fantasy points. I can't argue with Allen as a player, but the value generally isn't there to take top quarterbacks.

Second Tier

• 34. Lamar Jackson, BAL
• 42. Drake Maye, NE
• 46. Jayden Daniels, WSH
• 47. Jalen Hurts, PHI
• 52. Joe Burrow, CIN

Jackson was ranked right with Allen in previous seasons, but after missing four games and not playing up to his best numbers last year, he has fallen back a little. Jackson started 33 of 34 games the prior two seasons after injury issues earlier in his career; there is always going to be concern, but he has also shown the ability to stay on the field. Like Allen, Jackson is a strong fantasy player, but there is more value in waiting to draft your quarterback (though Jackson two rounds later is a little intriguing if you believe in his health).

Maye was second in fantasy points among QBs behind Allen last season, playing all 17 games and racking up nearly 4,400 passing yards and 31 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. He also ran for 450 yards and four more scores, the fourth-most rushing yards among quarterbacks. The schedule was easy last year and will be tougher (a common talking point), but we can still expect him to run; it all comes back to value, though, and you can find more of it later.

Daniels is another passer who has fallen down fantasy boards a bit because he dealt with injuries last year. After ranking fifth in QB fantasy scoring in his rookie season of 2024, Daniels was a hot ticket in fantasy drafts. He then missed 10 games in 2025 and was less efficient when on the field, bringing some questions. While there's obvious upside, you're going to hear the same story: the value is much better down the board for a comparative likely fantasy score.

Hurts was eighth among fantasy quarterbacks in each of the past two seasons, but he was a top-three player at the position each of the two years before that. In his two best seasons (2022-23), Hurts averaged 3,779.5 passing yards, 22.5 passing touchdowns, 682.5 rushing yards, and 14 rushing touchdowns. The past two years, he was at 2,618.5, 21.5, 525.5, and 11, respectively. His volume was down, particularly throwing the ball, and Hurts lost the most off his running in 2025, putting up career lows in rushing attempts, yards, and TDs in any year in which he was a starter. Hurts is probably a top-10 fantasy quarterback again, but the drop in volume and production is a bit worrying for a fifth-round pick.

Burrow is my least favorite of this group because he's not a runner. Running QBs regularly score more than those who stay in the pocket, so a pure thrower has to be at his top form to match up with the highest fantasy guys. He was tied for third in quarterback fantasy points in 2024, when Burrow was an MVP candidate, but he only played 10 and eight games in 2023 and 2025, respectively, bringing injury concerns. I'd love to have him as my real quarterback, but I'm out on Burrow as a fantasy guy this season.

Fantasy Starters

• 63. Jaxson Dart, NYG
• 68. Matthew Stafford, LAR
• 73. Dak Prescott, DAL
• 75. Bo Nix, DEN
• 78. Caleb Williams, CHI
• 80. Trevor Lawrence, JAX

You might be asking if this is where the value starts coming into play; well, kind of. Despite playing just in just 12 games in which he threw a pass and had more than one rush attempt, Dart finished third in rushing yards at the position, only 11 yards behind Justin Herbert for second. He also dealt with concussion issues and is causing concern because he doesn't like to slide, so there is risk, but Dart is going to run the football, and he was close to average as a passer as a rookie. I like Dart in the seventh round better than any of the other running QBs two rounds earlier, but risk-averse owners should think twice based on what we've seen.

While Stafford was third in fantasy points among QBs last season (and won MVP), he hadn't been higher than 15th since 2021, when he finished fifth at the position. On top of recent questions about his health and playing at 38 this year, Stafford doesn't run, and his best years were built on huge touchdown totals: 41 in 2021 and 46 last year but no more than 24 in any season between 2022-24. Stafford is almost definitely going to regress, and while he should still have very good fantasy weeks, it's tough to expect anything like his 2025.

Prescott is usually a fine fantasy player when on the field, but he played five, 12, and eight games in three of the six seasons since 2020 (and at least 16 games in the other three). He also doesn't run, relying on big passing games to excel in fantasy. He has a lower ceiling than Stafford or Burrow among the non-runners, making him just an OK option; there's more value later.

Nix has finished seventh among fantasy passers in both his pro seasons, relying on his running for his lofty status. Nix has mostly been a little below average as a passer, and though he could definitely improve in his third season, I'm expecting him to top out as average when throwing while continuing to run the ball. He suffered a broken ankle in the playoffs, but Nix is expected to be full strength to start the season. He should still do plenty of work with his legs, making him an intriguing fantasy player again.

Williams and Lawrence were very similar players last season, both finishing with around 4,000 passing yards and between 350-400 rushing yards. Lawrence was the better fantasy player because he ran for nine touchdowns (tied for second among QBs) while Williams only had three, but Lawrence is unlikely to find the end zone that often again, as he had previously never topped five scores. Both players have a good probability of finishing in the top 10 again this year, making them decent values as the 11th and 12th quarterbacks being selected in drafts.

Worth Drafting

• 93. Brock Purdy, SF
• 100. Justin Herbert, LAC
• 101. Patrick Mahomes, KC

This tier is full of guys who have previously been high-level fantasy players but have reasons to think they might not be as great this year. Purdy has never reached the heights of Mahomes or Herbert, but he was QB6 in 2023. After an injury-riddled 2025, there are plenty of questions (including maybe his worst supporting cast), but Purdy still plays in an offense that will allow him to put up numbers, making him a decent pickup in the 10th round if you miss everyone before this spot.

Mahomes played in 14 games last year, his fewest since 2019, but he mostly kept up his raw passing totals from the previous few years while having his best rushing season. There are questions on whether he'll be ready for Week 1, though Mahomes says he wants to be on the field; there are major questions about how much he'll run while coming off a torn ACL and LCL. Still, Mahomes is going near the end of the 10th round after previously regularly ranking among the top five QBs in fantasy ADP, bringing real value if you think he'll be ready to go in Week 1.

After a down season in 2023 (when he played just 13 games), Herbert was better in each of the past two years and ran for nearly 500 yards last season, about 200 more than he had in any previous year. That got him to QB10 after a QB13 finish in 2024, fine work but far from the dynamo who racked up stats while throwing 600-700 passes early in his career. The Chargers have been more measured in their attack, and while that helps efficiency, it hurts Herbert from a fantasy perspective. He's fine at this draft spot, probably right about where he belongs.

Questionable Fantasy Starters

• 134. Jared Goff, DET
• 141. Kyler Murray, MIN
• 145. Baker Mayfield, TB

This might be the range where I see the most value. Goff has been a top-10 fantasy QB in each of the past four seasons, continuing to excel last year without Ben Johnson, a major question. His supporting cast is still intact, and we should expect similar production to what he has been doing in Detroit (around 4,500 yards and 30-plus touchdowns). He doesn't run at all, which leaves some quiet fantasy games when the passing game isn't humming, but Goff is a strong draft pick as the 16th QB off the board.

Mayfield saw all his passing numbers drop last year from his first two in Tampa Bay, finding both less volume and efficiency in a trying season for the Bucs. He had career highs in rushing yards (382) and yards per attempt (6.9), but Mayfield has only run for more than one TD twice in his career and topped out at three. He has been a top-12 fantasy QB in each of his three seasons in Tampa, reaching as high as third in 2024; this is another player who will probably outplay this draft slot.

Murray has been named the starter in Minnesota, which is no surprise. He will be throwing to a superstar in Justin Jefferson and several other good pass catchers, including Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson, and Murray is a running quarterback; there's real upside here in the 15th round. While the injury concerns are real, Murray was a top-10 fantasy player as recently as 2024, and he will likely outplay this draft spot if he stays healthy.

Others of Note

• 154. Tyler Shough, NO
• 157. Jordan Love, GB
• 158. Daniel Jones, IND
• 163. Sam Darnold, SEA
• 171. C.J. Stroud, HOU
• 179. Fernando Mendoza, LV
• 180. Malik Willis, MIA

I won't go in-depth with everyone here, but they all have their good and bad points. Mendoza is an exciting prospect as the first overall pick, but he is probably starting the season on the bench, leaving him off the radar until he hits the field. Shough showed promise as a rookie but wasn't highly regarded as a statistical player even as a second-round pick, leaving his floor a little lower than we'd like. Love, Jones, Darnold, and Stroud are all veterans who have shown real flashes but also stretches of subpar fantasy play and/or injury concerns (especially Jones with the latter).

My favorite pick near the end of fantasy drafts is actually Willis. I'd be lying if I said I had high hopes for him excelling in Miami, but he is going to run the ball, and there are far worse fantasy players you could grab with your last pick. Willis has barely played; we can't make any real determinations from failing with a bad team in Tennessee and succeeding with a good team in Green Bay with less than 300 combined pass and rush attempts to his name. Willis will have the ball in his hands, though, and his legs are going to be his best asset in fantasy. If you miss out on all the earlier QBs you like and/or want a lottery ticket, Willis might be your best bet.