The 2026 Quarterback Class Is Deep: Why You Should Wait in Fantasy Drafts
LAB REPORTS
With the 2026 fantasy football season approaching, fantasy managers are beginning to prepare for drafts. In one-quarterback leagues, the depth of the position makes waiting on quarterback one of the best ways to build a complete roster.
In this article, I will break down the tiers and recommendations on the best way to construct your roster in one-quarterback leagues.
Tier 1: Josh Allen Stands Alone
The 2025 season was once again led by Josh Allen, who has now finished as the QB2 or better in six of his eight NFL seasons. He stands alone in Tier 1 entering 2026.
Tier 2: Young, Up-and-Coming Stars and MVP Candidates
The second tier features young stars Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels, who possess elite fantasy upside and are ranked inside the top five in most consensus rankings. They are joined by perennial MVP candidates Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow.
Any of these options are good, and a strong value if they fall to the late fourth or early fifth round of your drafts. At cost, they are okay picks, but you are sacrificing breakout value at other positions, like Josh Jacobs, Emeka Egbuka, and many others.
Tier 3: Where the Value Truly Lies
Tier 3 is where the value begins to emerge. I have seven quarterbacks in this group who are strong draft-day values and possess the upside to produce high-end fantasy seasons.
Here is how they performed in 2025:
- Caleb Williams: QB5, 19.2 fantasy points per game
- Jalen Hurts: QB8, 19.3 fantasy points per game
- Trevor Lawrence: QB4, 20.8 fantasy points per game
- Brock Purdy: QB24, 21.0 fantasy points per game across nine games
- Justin Herbert: QB10, 18.9 fantasy points per game
- Bo Nix: QB7, 18.7 fantasy points per game
- Jaxson Dart: QB14, 17.8 fantasy points per game
So ask yourself, why take Hurts in the fifth round when you can potentially draft Purdy, Nix, or Dart in the eighth?
Sure, some of these quarterbacks are better fantasy options than others, but as you can see above, the drop-off in production is not nearly as significant as it is at other vital positions like the running back or wide receiver.
Would you rather draft Hurts in the fifth and Chuba Hubbard in the seventh, who averaged 3.81 yards per carry last season, or pair Dart with a projected RB2 such as David Montgomery or D’Andre Swift? For me, the answer is clear: I would rather have the better running back.
Drafting by tiers is one of the best ways to identify value. It allows managers to recognize when they can wait at a position and when a tier is beginning to run thin, signaling that it is time to make a selection.
Tier 4: Other Reliable Fantasy Starters
Tier 4 includes several reliable pocket passers, including Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford, Jared Goff, Jordan Love and Tyler Shough.
Mahomes has recorded six top-10 fantasy finishes, while Stafford won the 2025 MVP and finished as the QB3. Goff has finished inside the top 10 in four consecutive seasons, and Love ranked second in QBR and seventh in both EPA and EPX last year.
Shough also generated momentum by producing three top-10 weekly finishes over his final five games.
I would be comfortable selecting any of these quarterbacks as my QB1 in a one-quarterback league. Each possesses a realistic path to finishing as a low-end QB1.
Verdict
The running back and wide receiver tiers begin to drop off dramatically by the eighth round. Managers looking to construct the strongest possible roster should prioritize those positions early before selecting a quarterback such as Purdy, Dart, or Nix in the seventh or eighth round.
This strategy allows managers to maximize value at running back and wide receiver without sacrificing much production at quarterback.
Managers who wait even longer can pair two inexpensive quarterbacks and play matchups. However, my recommended strategy is to draft one of the lower Tier 3 options and use the remaining roster spots to build depth at running back and wide receiver.
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