2026 Fantasy Football QB Rankings: Top Quarterbacks & Draft Tiers

About five or six years ago, we started using a tight end strategy known as Yin & Yang tight end. The idea was simple. Wait on the tight end position, then draft two - one guy you can trust to start for you early on, and a second with the highest risk, highest reward potential. That strategy has kept our team afloat while nabbing countless gamechangers from Darren Waller and Mark Andrews to Evan Engram and Trey McBride.

Within the last few years, we realized that too many fantasy gamers were slogging their way through the season with mediocre QBs without giving themselves a shot at upside. So we thought, “Why not bring a similar Yin & Yang strategy to our fantasy football quarterback tiers?” And thus, the Dynamic Tier Quarterback Rankings were born. And today, we’ll look at our 2026 fantasy football QB rankings and how they can help you improve how you handle the QB position. 

Fantasy Football QB Rankings 2026

There is a full explanation of the different tiers below, which will further help you understand the chart. But the idea is simple. If you spend up on a quarterback in the early rounds, like Josh Allen, you only draft one. You’ve made your bet. If you wait on quarterback, it’s okay to draft two - one “safe” guy to start and one upside guy on the bench. I used this exact strategy last year to win the top King’s Classic redraft division at the Fantasy Football Expo, which is a 14-team draft of some of the best experts in the industry (thank you, Trevor Lawrence). 

Fantasy Football Quarterback Tiers 

Standalone Tier

This one is self-explanatory by the title. If you pay the price it costs to draft one of the elite quarterbacks, you should not be using draft capital on two (unless it’s superflex, best ball, or some other really deep format). If you take someone like Jalen Hurts, all you need to worry about is his bye week and potential injuries.

Roster Two

Also self-explanatory. In this range, I like to roster two quarterbacks if I can afford it. The two options are to draft someone from the “safe” column and someone from the “upside” column, or draft two guys from the “upside” column if you are feeling froggy. 

Safe

When we say “safe”, we mean that these guys have a pretty good floor because of their usage. But they also might not have the highest ceilings. As you’ll notice, a lot of the guys in this column, like Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford, aren’t particularly mobile. So they would likely need to throw 40+ TDs to really finish in that elite group. Which is possible, but it’s more likely they are the “safe but boring” type. Which is a useful player to help get us where we need to be.

Upside

The Upside column has a lot less safety. Some of these guys, like Justin Fields or Anthony Richardson, could even outright get benched. But there is a layer of unique upside to a lot of them. Some of it comes with mobility, some of it comes with simply being fairly unproven. You never know what you might get with a mystery box, and some of these guys are in unique positions. 

QB3s

With this group, we don’t know for sure if they are going to be starting the entire year. Which is obviously a big problem. That said, in superflex or best ball leagues, you might need to shoot your shot here to see if they can contribute. So this is basically the “best of the rest” for us. 

Color Code: 

• GREEN - Draft at or above ADP
• YELLOW - Draft at ADP
• RED - Only draft below ADP

When Should You Draft A Quarterback?

This is entirely format-dependent. Obviously, Superflex is going to change the game drastically, but that is a format all of its own, where we have separate advice. For single quarterback leagues, the two biggest questions for me are A. how many teams are in the league, and B. how many starting spots are there?

For shallow leagues with fewer starting spots (say, 10 teams with 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 FLEX), I’m actually more willing to spend up at quarterback. Not only are running backs and wide receivers easier to find, but your QB spot is mathematically a bigger percentage of your lineup. In leagues with 12-14 teams or ones that have a lot of flex spots, I’m usually willing to wait longer at the position (the King’s Classic league I mentioned earlier is a 14-team league with THREE flex spots). 

Either way, I stay true to our general advice. If I take one of the first eight quarterbacks, I’m not likely to use any sort of meaningful pick on a second one. If I wait and take one of the last couple of starting quarterbacks in my league, I’m likely already loaded up at running back and wide receiver, so I can afford to use a bench spot on an upside play like Kyler Murray. 

Rushing Quarterbacks Vs Pocket Passers

One important caveat in the modern era is to know your scoring. The key question is whether passing touchdowns in your league are worth four or six points. If they are worth four, that favors rushing quarterbacks. If they are worth six, that favors pocket passers. That does move the needle for big expected pass TD volume guys like Joe Burrow. 

That said, I pulled up every quarterback to run the ball at least five times a game over the last decade and play at least 16 games, and guess what? Every one of them finished in the top 10 in fantasy football. So, whenever possible, we want to target rushing QBs. 

Fantasy Football QB Sleepers

Jon Impemba is doing a full breakdown of the Late-Round Quarterbacks to Target. He is our quarterback guru, so it’s in your best interest to check out that article before your drafts. I will say, based on the research above on mobile quarterbacks, I find myself taking a stab at guys like Kyler Murray and Malik Willis outside the top 12 QB range based on the rushing upside alone. 

Fantasy Football QB Busts

Outside of injuries or getting benched, quarterbacks generally have a better “floor” than other positions because the starting quarterback generally plays every snap. There isn’t much risk that your QB will be relegated to a part-time role like running backs, wide receivers, or tight ends. For us, the bust label comes more often from guys who are being drafted far too early based on their ADP. For instance, Josh Allen isn't likely to be a flat out “bust” but is he worth that high of a pick?

Joe Burrow finished QB3, throwing 43 TD passes, but in his second-best year, throwing 35 TD passes when he finished QB4, he also ran 75 times and scored 5 rushing touchdowns. Last year, he only ran 14 times in 8 games, and, with the injuries he’s had, I don’t think it’s wise for him to run that much. To meet his top 5 ADP, you really need him to throw ~40 TDs, which is kind of a tough ask. BetMGM has his over/under set at 32.5, so I’d rather bet there.