Quarterback has always been the most important position in football. But it wasn’t until recently that it became the most important position in many dynasty fantasy football rankings as well. Superflex is quickly becoming the preferred format, which has shifted the QB position from an afterthought in dynasty fantasy football rookie drafts to a massive, future-altering decision. And the 2026 NFL Draft is once again going to challenge us - not just within our dynasty rookie QB rankings for fantasy football but our overall rankings as well. This might not be a year where QB at 1.01 is worth it, even in Superflex

Obviously, the 2026 NFL Draft is going to shake things up for us and our rankings. Draft capital is one of the best indicators of success and, as our study on where elite quarterbacks are drafted has illustrated, that’s especially true for the QB position. So, right now, we are familiarizing ourselves with the candidates and their profiles before we get the final piece of the puzzle via the draft.

So we’ll start out by grouping them into basic tiers. Fernando Mendoza is in a tier of his own as we expect him to go at 1.01. After that, we have the best candidates to get first-round draft capital. And next, the guys with rushing upside that could be wildcards. This is the first edition of these rankings, so expect changes, including additional names as we move along. And, as always, we’ll finalize them after the 2026 NFL Draft!

TierSchoolNamePosTypeAge40 TimeHeightWeight
1IndianaFernando MendozaQBPocket224.656-6235
We've already accepted that Fernando Mendoza is going first in the draft to the Raiders. Being picked 1.01 historically gives him the best odds to succeed. Beyond simply becoming an NFL-caliber quarterback, however, we need to figure out HOW he's going to be a difference maker for fantasy. He's got size and mobility but we can't really deem him a true "rushing quarterback" at the next level. Seasons like early Dak Prescott scoring some rushing touchdowns on draws is on the table but I don't expect heavy designed runs. So we'll need him to be a high-volume passing QB, with the numbers that often move the needle being some combination of 4,000+ yards or 35+ TDs. It's worth noting that Mendoza had exactly zero 300+ yard passing games in his season with Indiana despite winning the National Championship but they were also steamrolling teams. At CAL, before he transferred, he did flex with a number of high-volume passing games games so we tend to believe he's capable of throwing the ball at a high level - the Wake Forest game is a good example. Either way, he's almost certainly going to be the top drafted and top ranked QB in fantasy so the question really is whether or not he's worth the 1.01 in Superflex leagues. Right now we lean Jeremiyah Love and some of these wide receivers could work their way in ahead as well, depending how the draft breaks.
2AlabamaTy Simpson Pocket23NA6-2211
It's rare in the NIL era for a player to "wait their turn". But that's exactly what Ty Simpson did, waiting three years to finally start at Alabama. So we basically only have a 15 game sample size of him for NFL teams to work off of. Two things are apparent from watching that sample size. One is that Simpson has great pocket awareness and ability to escape pressure. And two is that, when he does, he struggles a bit to make off-schedule throws without resetting. When you get out of the pocket at the next level, you rarely have time to square up set your feet - you need to be able to throw on the run, especially as an undersized QB. This is what separates guys like Trevor Lawrence and Justin Herbert from the rest. NFL teams will need to decide for themselves if that is a "fatal flaw" or not. We know that, historically, QBs taken in round 1 have much better odds of success than those that fall into later rounds. We also know that it's incredibly rare for the QB2 and beyond to hit when the QB1 is a complete bust. So it's a statistically risky move in general to not lean into draft capital unless there is rushing upside or some other ulterior motive here. With Simpson, there really isn't. And his ranking here is based heavily on the projections that he will be the second quarterback drafted - if he's not, we'll be out.
2LSUGarrett Nussmeier Pocket244.796-2203
Nussmeier is probably the most polished of the Tier 2 guys here. Which makes a lot of sense for two reasons. One, he's the oldest of the group at 24 years old. And second, his father is an NFL offensive coordinator. He threw the ball equally well from the pocket and on the run which is an impressive feat. In fact, there aren't many glaring weaknesses to his game when you go over both the numbers and the film. The question is whether he has the ability to truly be special. He's undersized for an NFL quarterback which was on display as he played through injury in 2025. He also doesn't have particularly game-changing traits in terms of arm strength or mobility. Draft capital will be huge in terms of getting an opportunity as guys like him who slide in the draft sometimes never get a chance to elevate beyond backup QB at the next level at all.
2Penn StateDrew Allar Pocket224.776-5228
Unlike the other guys in this tier, Drew Allar does have the prototypical size for an NFL quarterback. He's kind of the opposite of Garrett Nussmeier, in fact, as he has the size and physical traits but lacks any sort of real polish. He's been a highly touted prospect for a long time and everyone kept hoping that he would take the next step, especially after returning for his senior year. But he never quite did. Still, he does flash special ability at times and, if a team wants to take a shot at developing a raw talent with upside, Allar might be the pick. Despite staying in school, he did just turn 22 years old. As with all of Tier 2, whoever goes off the board as the QB2 will gain a lot of ground with us, especially if it's in the first round. Whoever falls to QB4 might end up behind these Tier 3 guys below where we are basically just chasing rushing upside.
3ArkansasTaylen GreenQBRusher234.366-6227
This is where we emphasize that, in dynasty rookie drafts, we don't care at all about "floor". Even in the actual NFL Draft, picking guys based on perceived floor is how you end up with special teamers or journeymen. Taylen Green might not be an acomplished passer whatsoever but he has absolute freak athleticism at 6'6" 227 with a 3.36 forty. Folks have a bad taste in their mouth from Anthony Richardson but, if Richardson did hit, he would have hit in a big way for fantasy football. There really was no middle ground given his playstyle and what we know about rushing QBs in fantasy. That is especially true in single QB leagues where upside is everything. And let's say, hypothetically, that Green doesn't work out as a QB. If someone could actually convince Green to go the Julian Edelman route and convert to WR or TE, it could take a bit to learn but his build is incredibly rare. The best comparable WR for this kind of size/speed combo is probably Calvin Johnson. At tight end, Kyle Pitts has 99th percentile speed for the position and he's a full 10th of a second slower. That's the kind of athlete we are looking at here.
3North Dakota StateCole PaytonQBRusher4.564.566-3232
The thought process on guys like Cole Payton and Taylen Green is fairly similar and equally simple. There's probably only going to be one, maybe two quarterbacks taken in the first round of thise draft. After that the hit rate drastically falls off for NFL quarterback success. And even QBs that "hit", as in become a starter, need to have some sort of path to fantasy upside. The easiest path, especially in terms of trade value in dynasty, is rushing. If a QB is willing to run five or more times per game, their floor as a starter is backend QB1 in fantasy. And Cole Payton's 4.56 forty yard dash at 6'3", 232 pounds is right in line with Drake Maye. In his final season, Payton ran 136 times for 777 yards and 13 TDs (which was really 894 yards but college football counts sack yardage against you). If he starts at any point, you better believe he'll be running.