Every draft season, somebody wins their league because they found a quarterback nobody else wanted. Andrew Cooper does great work breaking down the position in his Dynamic Tier QB Rankings, so make sure you check that out as part of your draft prep. Late-round quarterback strategy has become one of the most reliable ways to build a roster, and the track record of recent fantasy football QB sleepers proves it works more often than not. For a deeper dive, check out our full rankings, ADP, and projections pages, all updated throughout draft season. Let's get into the QB sleepers 2026 has to offer.

What Makes A Great Late-Round QB Sleeper?

The best late-round QB sleepers almost always share the same setup: a new play-caller who fits the quarterback's skill set, a full offseason as the unquestioned starter, and a rushing floor that gives the passing game room to develop. You're not looking for a finished product this late in the draft. You're looking for the situation that's about to change for the better before the market catches up.

Volume matters more than efficiency at this point in the draft. A quarterback who can be relied on for 400 to 900 rushing yards doesn't need to be an elite passer to return value, because the floor is already baked in from his legs alone. That's why so many of the league's biggest fantasy football late-round quarterbacks over the past several years have come from the dual-threat mold rather than the traditional pocket passer.

 

 

 

Past QB Sleepers That Won Leagues

Jaxson Dart, New York Giants, QB32, ADP 206 (2025)

Jaxson Dart went from a midseason waiver claim to a genuine league winner as a rookie, completing 63.7 percent of his passes for 2,272 yards, 15 touchdowns, and five interceptions while adding 487 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns across 13 games for the Giants. He did it despite losing top receiver Malik Nabers to a torn ACL in his very first start. Managers who scooped him up off waivers in Week 4 got a legitimate dual-threat starter for the rest of the season.

Drake Maye, New England Patriots, QB16, ADP 125 (2025)

Drake Maye was New England's clear QB2 exiting camp as a rookie before an injury to Jacoby Brissett handed him the job, and by year two, he had become the runner-up for NFL MVP. He threw for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns while leading the NFL in yards per attempt (8.9) and adding 450 rushing yards on the ground, all while Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels rebuilt the Patriots offense around him. Anyone who drafted him, hoping that the new offense was going to unlock his upside, got one of the best fantasy football QB sleepers of the entire 2025 season.

Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders, QB12, ADP 102 (2024)

Jayden Daniels wasn't a total unknown given his draft slot, but the Commanders' offense carried real question marks entering his rookie year. He answered them immediately, throwing for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for 891 yards and six more scores, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year and leading Washington to its first NFC Championship Game appearance since 1991. He became just the third player in NFL history to post five passing touchdowns and 80 rushing yards in a single game.

Bo Nix, Denver Broncos, QB23, ADP 192 (2024)

Bo Nix might be the purest late-round QB sleeper story on this list. He was going off the board around pick 192 in 2024 redraft leagues, buried behind established veterans, and was barely rosterable through his first month as a pro. Starting in Week 5, Nix instantly became a weekly must-start, averaging over 21 points per game the rest of the way and finishing his rookie season with 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 430 rushing yards, leading Denver to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans, QB24, ADP 192 (2023)

C.J. Stroud entered the league with real doubts attached to his profile, largely because he lacked the rushing floor teams love in a fantasy quarterback, and he was available deep into redraft rosters as a result. He then threw for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions, won Offensive Rookie of the Year, and finished as a top-10 fantasy quarterback in his very first season under new head coach DeMeco Ryans and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik.

Justin Fields, Chicago Bears, QB17, ADP 142 (2022)

Justin Fields' fantasy football breakout in 2022 remains one of the wildest single-season runs a quarterback has ever had. After a rough rookie year, Fields set the all-time single-season rushing record for a quarterback with 1,143 yards on the ground, including a 178-yard rushing performance against the Dolphins. He wasn't drafted as anything more than a streaming option that summer, but for a two-month stretch, he was the highest-scoring fantasy quarterback in football purely off his legs.

Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles, QB12, ADP 95 (2021)

Jalen Hurts took over as Philadelphia's full-time starter under first-year head coach Nick Sirianni and immediately became one of the best fantasy football QB sleepers of his era, throwing for 3,144 yards and 16 touchdowns while adding 784 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. He was a low-cost QB2 in most drafts that summer and finished as a top-five fantasy quarterback by the end of the year, cementing the rushing floor archetype that's driven quarterback rankings ever since.

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers, QB36, ADP 280 (2020)

Justin Herbert might be the single greatest waiver-wire quarterback story in modern fantasy football. He wasn't even the Chargers' Week 1 starter, and only took over after Tyrod Taylor was accidentally injured by a team doctor treating a rib injury before kickoff of Herbert's first career start. Herbert never gave the job back, throwing for 4,336 yards and 31 touchdowns and winning Offensive Rookie of the Year, all while going undrafted or barely drafted in most fantasy leagues that preseason.

 

 

 

Late-Round QB Checklist

Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints, QB20, ADP 123

Tyler Shough checks the boxes of a classic late-round QB sleeper. He took over as the Saints' starter in Week 9 after Spencer Rattler opened the year under center following Derek Carr's abrupt retirement before the season, and he completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 2,384 yards, 10 touchdowns, and six interceptions while adding 186 rushing yards and three scores on the ground down the stretch. New Orleans then used the eighth overall pick on Arizona State receiver Jordyn Tyson this offseason, giving Shough a legitimate new target to pair with Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed.

Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers, QB18, ADP 118

Jordan Love doesn't have the name recognition of a true sleeper, but his ADP still doesn't fully reflect the investment Green Bay has made around him. The Packers locked up Christian Watson and Jayden Reed to long-term extensions and got a full offseason from 2025 first-round receiver Matthew Golden, while tight end Tucker Kraft works his way back from a torn ACL. Love threw for 3,381 yards and 23 touchdowns against just six interceptions in an injury-shortened 2025, and the continuity around him now makes him a real value if he stays on the field for all 17 games.

Kyler Murray, Minnesota Vikings, QB17, ADP 122

Kyler Murray was released by Arizona after a foot injury limited him to five games in 2025, but he landed in one of the better fantasy football late-round quarterback situations available. He's currently competing with J.J. McCarthy for the starting job in Minnesota, and if he wins it, he inherits an offense with Justin Jefferson still looking to bounce back from the quietest season of his career. Murray's rushing ceiling alone makes him worth a very late pick on the chance he wins the job outright.

Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans, QB22, ADP 138

Cam Ward's rookie season was rough in the box score, completing 59.8 percent of his passes for 3,169 yards, 15 touchdowns, and seven interceptions behind an offensive line that allowed an NFL-worst 55 sacks. But Tennessee completely retooled around him this offseason, hiring Robert Saleh as head coach and Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator, re-signing Calvin Ridley, adding Wan'Dale Robinson in free agency, and using the fourth overall pick on receiver Carnell Tate. Ward also reported losing 10 pounds this offseason to improve his mobility, and the sheer volume of change here makes him one of the more interesting late-round QB sleepers on the board.

Common Late-Round QB Mistakes

The biggest mistake managers make with late-round quarterback strategy is waiting so long that they're left with genuinely bad situations instead of just cheap ones. There's a difference between a quarterback who's undervalued and a quarterback who's actually going to struggle behind a bad offensive line or in a run-first scheme that never throws the ball. Do your homework on the situation, not just the name.

The second mistake is drafting two of these profiles and assuming they cancel out the risk. If both of your late-round quarterbacks lose a training camp competition or get hurt, you're stuck scrambling on waivers in September. Pick one or two names you actually believe in and build a real plan around them instead of hoarding lottery tickets.

The third mistake is ignoring situation changes that happen after your rankings are set. Coaching hires, receiver trades, and depth chart battles can shift value dramatically between May and August, and the best fantasy football QB sleepers are usually the ones whose situation improved most recently, not the ones who've been cheap for years for a reason. Stay plugged in through the summer, because the late-round quarterback landscape can look completely different by Week 1 than it did on draft day.