2026 Fantasy Football Rankings - ESPN - QB

Allen is the safest pick at the quarterback position, and it's not particularly close. He's finished QB1 and QB2 the last two seasons while playing all 34 games, and his consistency is remarkable—he's scored 20-plus fantasy points in 59% of games over that stretch with only four games below 10. His 2025 efficiency was elite: 93rd percentile in EPA per dropback and 87th percentile in CPOE, and the rushing remains the league's best fantasy cheat code at the position. Allen averaged 37.4 rushing yards per start with 14 rushing touchdowns last season. That's a RB2 season's worth of rushing touchdowns on top of 25 passing touchdowns, and it’s his third consecutive season with at least 12 rushing touchdowns. The Bills added D.J. Moore to a receiving corps that already includes Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid, giving Allen arguably his deepest set of pass-catchers since Stefon Diggs was in Buffalo. He's going as the QB1 off the board with an overall ADP around pick 30, and that's the right price. The only question is whether you want to spend that draft capital on a quarterback when you could wait and get a value QB significantly later. But if you want the highest floor and the highest ceiling at the position, Allen is the pick. If the draft gets weird and the available options in the third round aren’t too appealing, then Allen is an extremely safe pick.

Maye's second-year leap was one of the best stories of the 2025 season. After taking over as a rookie in Week 6 of 2024 and posting QB15 numbers the rest of the way, he exploded into the overall QB2 last season at 21.0 points per game—and he did it with arguably the weakest supporting cast of any top-10 quarterback. His efficiency was staggering: 100th percentile in both EPA per dropback and CPOE among qualified passers, meaning he was literally the most efficient and most accurate passer in football. He threw for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns while completing 72 percent of his passes, and he added 28.1 rushing yards per start with four rushing touchdowns on the ground. Perhaps most impressive was the consistency—Maye scored 20-plus points in nine of 16 games and never once dipped below 10. The Patriots have started to build around him. Romeo Doubs was added as a steady possession receiver, Hunter Henry returns, and if the rumored A.J. Brown trade materializes, this offense goes from interesting to dangerous. Even without Brown, Maye proved last year that he can produce elite fantasy numbers with limited weapons, which means any upgrade to the skill positions is pure upside. He's going as the QB7, and that feels like a significant discount for a quarterback who finished QB2 with the best efficiency metrics in the NFL. If Brown lands in New England, Maye immediately enters the conversation with Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson as a top-three pick at the position. Even without him, the rushing floor and the accuracy make Maye one of the safest bets to outperform his ADP.

Hurts has been one of the most bankable fantasy quarterbacks in football, finishing QB6 and QB7 the last two seasons while playing nearly every game. His per-game average dipped from 21.0 to 18.7 points last year, but the rushing production continued to anchor his floor—27.2 yards per start with eight rushing touchdowns, giving him RB-caliber value on the ground alone. His accuracy was strong (82nd percentile in CPOE) and the efficiency was solid (67th percentile in EPA per dropback), though the second half of last season was uneven, as he averaged 21.7 points in the first eight games and 15.7 the rest of the way. The big question heading into 2026 is the receiving corps. If A.J. Brown is traded as expected, Hurts loses his most dangerous downfield weapon. However, the Eagles moved up in the first round to nab Makai Lemon and added Dontayvion Wicks and Hollywood Brown. DeVonta Smith is more than capable of stepping into the WR1 role and Dallas Goedert provides a reliable safety valve. Saquon Barkley's presence in the backfield also takes pressure off the passing game entirely. Despite the imminent loss of Brown, Hurts once again looks like a rock-solid QB1.

Herbert has settled into low-end QB1 territory, finishing QB13 and QB9 the last two seasons. His passing efficiency was middling last year—53rd percentile in EPA per dropback, 60th percentile in CPOE—but the big story was his legs. Herbert rushed for a career-high 498 yards (31.1 per game) and two touchdowns, and wants to keep running. That's meaningful for his fantasy outlook because the rushing floor is what separates the elite fantasy quarterbacks from the pack. The Chargers have a solid receiving corps with Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, and second-year players Tre Harris and Oronde Gadsden, and they added Brenan Thompson in this year's draft and David Njoku late in free agency. Mike McDaniel will be calling the plays, and has said that he would like Herbert to get the ball out more quickly and not have so much on his shoulders. Reading between the lines, this sounds like less running to me, but Herbert will still need to scramble and will pick his spots to use his legs. Where I think McDaniel can really help is Herbert’s efficiency. Herbert averaged 7.3 yards per attempt last season and has a career 7.2 YPA. McDaniel took over the Dolphins’ offense in 2022 and took Tua Tagovailoa from a career-to-date 6.6 YPA to 8.9 YPA in his first season. I’m not expecting that sort of leap for Herbert, but he could be a lot more productive as a passer under McDaniel, and that could offset a loss of rushing production.

Prescott had a strong bounce-back season in 2025, finishing QB5 at 19.6 points per game after an injury-shortened QB31 the year before. His efficiency was excellent—89th percentile in EPA per dropback and 76th percentile in CPOE—and he was remarkably steady, averaging 19.2 points per game in the first half and 20.0 in the second. Nine of 16 games went over 20 points, and he only dipped below 10 twice. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens give him two legitimate weapons on the outside, Jake Ferguson is a reliable tight end, and Brian Schottenheimer runs a pass-heavy offense that keeps Prescott in high-volume situations all season. The only structural concern is the lack of rushing—11.1 yards per start and two touchdowns last year—which makes him entirely dependent on passing volume and touchdown rate, both of which can fluctuate. He's going as a midrange QB1 for a player who finished QB5 last year and QB4 in 2023. The Cowboys are going to throw the football, and when they do, he's likely to be efficient.