These are Rich Hribar's 2026 fantasy quarterback rankings with brief analytical notes on every fantasy relevant player.
The full rankings for PPR, Half-PPR, Superflex, and TE Premium leagues are downloadable and sortable on our main fantasy rankings page.
Rich's 2026 positional tiers will publish later this summer.
These notes will be updated throughout the offseason as the landscape changes.
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2026 Fantasy Quarterback Rankings:
1. Josh Allen: Still the best dual-asset fantasy scorer has closed as a top-three scorer in six consecutive seasons.
2. Jayden Daniels: High upside as a rusher and a passer, as demonstrated during his rookie season. 2025 was a lost season due to injuries, but a new offensive system will have Daniels playing more under center with increased rates of play action and pre-snap motion.
3. Lamar Jackson: Still MVP-caliber upside. Injuries led to a fall-off as a passer and rusher last season, and he was still the QB5 in passing points per attempt. Gets a fresh start under a new regime, but has missed multiple games now in five of the past seven seasons.
4. Joe Burrow: QB1 scorer in five of six starts after returning to the lineup showcases the passing upside. Best bet to lead the league in passing touchdowns if he can stay on the field. 6.6% touchdown rate when on the field the past two seasons. Has missed significant time in two of the past three seasons.
5. Drake Maye: Made a second-year jump to QB2 in points per game. Playoffs illuminated some schedule impact, but Maye offers dual-purpose upside in the realm of Josh Allen.
6. Jalen Hurts: Was still QB8 in points per game in a tumultuous 2025 season. The decrease in rushing volume and the pullback on the Tush Push are concerning. Hurts has lost spike-week output in four straight seasons. The potential loss of A.J. Brown is another hit, but another scheme change under first-time play caller Sean Mannion could be a jolt that boosts Hurts’ value.
7. Justin Herbert: Was the QB2 in overall scoring through nine weeks last year before the end-of-season injury to Joe Alt (QB19 afterward). A healthy offensive line and the addition of Mike McDaniel to run the offense open the ceiling back up.
8. Caleb Williams: Significant strides in first season under Ben Johnson, up to QB7 in points per game in 2025. Ended the year playing his best football, finishing QB7 in expected points per game over the final 10 weeks.
9. Dak Prescott: Has led the NFL in completions in each of his past two full seasons. Defense should be better by default in 2026, but the Cowboys are still set to play in high-scoring game environments, and Dak has one of the best receiver combinations in the league. Prescott has been a top-eight scorer in points per game in five of his past six full seasons.
10. Brock Purdy: QB8, QB12, and QB6 in points per game for the past three seasons. Has a 7% touchdown rate in three of the past four years, while rushing output in the past two seasons has been a bonus.
11. Trevor Lawrence: Career-best 29 passing touchdowns and 9 rushing scores in his first season with Liam Coen. Last season ended on a heater. Closed as a QB1 scorer in 11 of his final 13 games and a top-six scorer in five of his final six games.
12. Patrick Mahomes: Passing points per game average has sagged to back-end QB1 levels the past three seasons as surrounding talent has weakened. 2025 was boosted by career rushing output, something in jeopardy following ACL/LCL injury that will put his timetable for full recovery right against the start of the season.
13. Jaxson Dart: Held a high ceiling when the rushing was there as a rookie. 42.5% of his fantasy points were rushing, but he had the same passing points per game as Cam Ward. First-year concussions may rein in his designed rushing, but he still has a dual-threat profile that warrants chasing the upside.
14. Matthew Stafford: Coming off his first top-12 finish in points per game since 2021. This year’s top regression candidate with no rushing floor to lean on. Stafford had a career-high 46 passing touchdowns, 7.7% touchdown rate, with 15 passing touchdowns over expectation. That said, attachment to Sean McVay and a strong receiver duo is tough to fully throw out and fade since it was his second 40-TD season with McVay.
15. Bo Nix: Took a step back in his second season but still managed to finish as QB10 in points per game. Has at least 25 passing touchdowns and 350 rushing yards in each of his first two seasons. Getting an upgrade with the addition of Jaylen Waddle.
16. Jared Goff: Has thrown at least 29 touchdown passes in each of the past four seasons and is the only quarterback to have 30 or more touchdown passes in each of the past three seasons.
17. Jordan Love: QB21 and QB19 the past two seasons in points per game as he has battled injuries to himself and the supporting cast. That said, he was still QB11 in points per dropback (0.49) and is one of four quarterbacks to have a 5% touchdown rate or higher in each of the past three seasons.
18. Kyler Murray: Has a new opportunity to reset the table in Minnesota, playing under Kevin O’Connell and throwing to Justin Jefferson. Ghosts of chasing failed rebounds in Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, and Justin Fields in recent seasons should keep the price in check.
19. Malik Willis: Hyper-efficient with the most fantasy points per dropback over the past two years on a small sample with Green Bay. Rushing floor exists for QB2 foundation with upside, but the surrounding talent on the Miami offense does not provide comfort.
20. Baker Mayfield: Multiple injuries torpedoed his 2025 season. That could provide a nice discount for 2026, but Mayfield’s 2024 season (QB4 in points per game) still looks like an outlier compared to his other seasons with the Bucs, which were QB19 and QB19. No Mike Evans and on his 10th different NFL offensive coordinator.
21. Tyler Shough: QB16 in points per game (16.6) after taking over the starter role in Week 8. Played the easiest schedule in the NFL over that span, but also was attached to the worst surrounding cast in the league. The Saints have emphasized upgrades across the offense this offseason.
22. C.J. Stroud: QB23 and QB28 in points per game the past two seasons after his rookie-year breakout. Did run more last season before a scary midseason concussion. Houston still has a strong foundation surrounding Stroud when the receivers are healthy, and they added David Montgomery and bodies up front to improve the offense in bulk.
23. Daniel Jones: Had a career year with the Colts last season, setting career-highs in completion percentage (68%), yards per pass attempt (8.1), yards per completion (11.9), success rate (52%), and rating (100.2). We have been here before with Jones, in terms of a glass-half-full/half-empty outlook. He was tailing off before an Achilles injury ended his season, but the offense's infrastructure is still the best he has had, providing value again as an upside QB2.
24. Bryce Young: Has opened his career as QB41, QB29, and QB26 in fantasy points per game. He threw 200 yards in only four games in 2025.
25. Sam Darnold: Is coming off career highs in completion rate (67.7%) and yards per pass attempt (8.5) with 25 touchdowns, but still lacked major fantasy upside. He was QB24 in points per game (15.1) while exceeding a QB34 rank in expected points per game. Seattle is due for some top-down offensive regression in 2026 with a harder schedule and the loss of Klint Kubiak.
26. Cam Ward: Rookie campaign gave similar vibes as Caleb Williams as a rookie, based on mistakes and a lost year with a lame-duck coaching staff. Ward and gamers will look for a similar year-two spike through the additions of Brian Daboll (who was attached to spikes for Josh Allen and Daniel Jones), while the Titans have added Carnell Tate and Wan’Dale Robinson as pass catchers.
27. Aaron Rodgers: Anticipating that he will be back for his age-43 season, Rodgers is a floor-based QB2 for fantasy purposes. He completed 65.6% of his throws (16th) for 6.7 yards per pass attempt (27th) with a 4.8% touchdown rate (16th) and a 1.4% interception rate (8th) last season.
28. Fernando Mendoza: May not open the season as the starter and will be throwing to a limited receiving unit when he does inevitably start for Las Vegas. Brock Bowers and Klint Kubiak are feathers in his hat for potential to succeed.
29. Geno Smith: Turning 36 in October, Smith is coming off a disastrous run last year with the Raiders. An intriguing set of young playmakers on offense offers the potential for a rebound and early-season upside, but can the Jets win enough games to keep Smith under center for a full season?
30. Deshaun Watson: Early offseason front-runner to be the QB1 for Cleveland, but Watson is coming off missing all of 2025 with an Achilles injury. The last time we saw him play, in 2024, he completed 63.4% of his passes (29th) for 5.3 yards per pass attempt (44th), a 2.3% touchdown rate (42nd), and a league-high 13.3% sack rate.
31. Jacoby Brissett: Was the QB5 in overall scoring after taking over as the starter in Week 6 last year, but a perfect storm of injuries and off-the-rails scripts made him a volume-based producer, concealing that he was QB17 in points per dropback. If Arizona is as bad a real team again in 2026, Carson Beck will find the field sooner rather than later.
32. Tua Tagovailoa: Expecting Tagovailoa to open the year as the starter with Michael Penix recovering from injury this offseason. He will need to play much better than recent seasons to keep Penix on the bench once he is healthy.
33. Michael Penix: Having his surgery on November 25, he will be right around nine months into his recovery at the start of the season. Even when healthy, Penix has not shown much fantasy upside to date, with only three QB1 scoring weeks over his first two partial seasons.
34. Kirk Cousins: All of the early word has been that Cousins will open the year as the starter, giving him some appeal as a bridge option in SuperFLEX formats, but the Raiders will need to win games to keep Fernando Mendoza on the sidelines.
35. Shedeur Sanders: Still alive in a potential competition this summer to start for the Browns, which keeps the lights on for early-season usage in SuperFLEX formats. Sanders finished higher than QB18 in one of his seven starts as a rookie.
