4 Fantasy Football Quarterbacks Primed to Break Out in 2026

Aug 11, 2026

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Taking the right quarterback late in drafts can help you win your fantasy football league. If you don’t pay a premium during drafts to select a top tier option like Josh Allen and Drake Maye, you can load up on running backs and wide receivers. Pairing those players with the right quarterback later on will then be key.

In this quarterbacks primed to break out article last season, I hit on Maye and Caleb Williams, who both finished inside the top five in total fantasy points for quarterbacks, per 4for4’s Fantasy Points Browser. Here are four quarterbacks who are being selected outside the top 100 in drafts who are breakout candidates for 2026. All ADP data is from 4for4’s Multi-Site ADP.

Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (ADP 109)

This list will include all young players. Veterans like Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield are also being selected outside the top 100, but they don’t qualify as potential breakouts based on their track records. Bo Nix barely qualifies for this list based on his ADP as he enters his third season in the NFL. His second season was littered with inconsistent production, which is likely why he is being selected this late. He finished with eight games last year in which he threw for fewer than 200 yards. On the other hand, he had two games with four touchdowns each and four games with at least 300 passing yards. Another thing that fantasy managers like to see is his 83 carries for 356 yards and five touchdowns. In his first two seasons in the NFL, he has totaled nine touchdowns on the ground.

Nix’s overall production helped him finish as QB7 last season, yet he is being drafted as QB15 heading into 2026. That’s despite the Broncos making a big splash with the addition of Jaylen Waddle. Waddle has produced an average depth of target of at least 9.3 yards in each of the last four seasons, highlighted by his average depth of target of 12.7 yards last season. As the Broncos’ leading receiver the last two seasons, Courtland Sutton has posted average depths of targets of 12.8 and 12.3 yards, so Nix now has two deep threats at his disposal. Nix could be part of a more explosive offense and still has upside with his legs, so if things break his way on the injury front, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he finished as a top 10 fantasy quarterback again.