​Hello, readers! Are you enjoying the World Cup as much as I am? I’ve got that same excitement, but I’m also counting down to a different kind of football takeover—the return of fantasy football season. This column kicks off my 2026 redraft rankings and tiers for Fantasy Football. I’ll follow with RBs, WRs, and TEs, and I’ll update everything in August when season-long redraft prep truly gets underway. My hope is that these early looks at each major position will help you gauge player values and shape your draft strategies.
You can find links to all my preseason fantasy content here, including all the rankings and tiers (as soon as they’re posted), plus a whole lot more.
Before we dive into the rankings, tiers, and commentary, here are three quick observations about the quarterback position in 2026. Two of these are largely pulled from last year’s notes.
First, quarterback is loaded. After more than three decades in fantasy football, I can’t recall this level of quality and depth at the position. Scan the rankings and you’ll see what I mean—there are players well past QB12 who are strong starting options for fantasy. With that much depth, you can afford to wait longer on QB, even in two-QB formats like Superflex, if you choose to forego the elite options. It also makes it feasible to land two solid starters in a Superflex setup.
Second, dual-threat quarterbacks are fantasy gold. I’ve long discussed the rise of the running signal-caller and how it reshapes fantasy scoring. An elite dual-threat is essentially two players in one. With standard scoring—one point per ten rushing yards and six points per rushing TD—a mobile QB can rack up points much more quickly than a pocket passer. A QB who runs for 500 yards and five rushing TDs in a season typically adds about 4–5 extra fantasy points per game compared to a non-running passer. There are more mobile QBs now than at any time in history, and you’ll notice they’re favored throughout my rankings.
Third, youth is driving the landscape. There was a time when the quarterback position was dominated by players in their 30s. That era has flipped over the past decade. The 2018, 2020, and 2024 rookie classes were exceptional: 13 of the 32 projected opening-day starters will come from those three classes. Nine more come from other classes since 2019. While veterans like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen remain among the game’s best, only four projected opening-day starters are 35 or older: Aaron Rodgers (42), Matt Stafford (38), Kirk Cousins (will be 38 in August), and Geno Smith (35). The QB position should stay strong and deep for fantasy for quite a while.
I’ve organized the QB rankings into tiers, as I do for every position. I also advocate for using tiers on your draft board. It helps you see the ranges of players who are expected to provide similar fantasy output, which in turn supports smarter, value-driven decisions when you’re on the clock.