Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings
With Major League Baseball hitting their All-Star Break, it’s a reminder of how quickly the fantasy football season will be upon us! Quarterback is arguably the most “replaceable” positions in fantasy but that doesn’t mean you can just swing wildly and pick. It’s just about time to get prepared for the drafts that we all know and love, so let’s kick it off with Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings!
Note – Any ADP (average draft position) is taken from FantasyData.com. In addition, these are my personal ranks and not WinDaily Staff ranks.
Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs – The franchise man for the Chiefs finished 2020 third in points per game, third in intended air yards, and second in yards above replacement. Kansas City added some much-needed big men upfront along the offensive line with the likes of Joe Thuney and Kyle Long (hoping to be ready for Week 1). Even with the question marks of who’s the third target in the passing game behind Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, I’m betting Mahomes and coach Andy Reid can figure things out.
- Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals – This could be a bit of a jump to some but Murray didn’t finish in the top 12 in passing yards last season yet was the QB6 even in six-point passing touchdown formats. The Cardinals went out and added a veteran in A.J. Green in free agency and used a top 50 draft pick in Rondale Moore. Murray combined for 86 plays inside the red zone last year and converted for a total of 37 touchdowns. 40 is not at all out of the question this season.
- Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills – Allen may be the player I have been most wrong about my entire fantasy career, so ranking him third may scare some people.
- Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys – Dak could threaten for the number one spot this season. He also gets you a main piece of the high-octane Dallas offense without having to sweat which receiver has the best game week to week.
- Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Ranking him this high is a risk because, at his age, it could all go away in an instant. Still, we’re talking about the quarterback who was QB7 in 2020 with no real offseason to acclimate to his new offense. He led the entire NFL in intended air yards and still has Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Antonio Brown as his top receivers. QB9 in ADP feels like an absolute bargain.
- Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers – Herbert lit the NFL on fire in his rookie season and they frankly crushed the off-season on paper. Adding Corey Linsley and Matt Feiler to the O-line was great. Then rookie Rashawn Slater fell into their laps in the draft. The departure of tight end Hunter Henry shouldn’t derail this offense much and Herbert should in theory take a nice leap in his second season.
- Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens – There is not really a reason to pick on Jackson and it speaks to how loaded the quarterback position is. Most will have Jackson and Brady flipped.
- Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans – This man threw 33 touchdowns last season, got the luxury of adding Julio Jones to throw to, and his ADP is outside of the top 12. They also have some serious defensive concerns since they were 31st in passing touchdowns allowed and 32nd in sacks. If the defensive signings don’t stop that bleeding, Tannehill will finish higher than 18th in attempts. In truth, I wanted him higher but couldn’t justify anyone else moving down.
- Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers – Let’s see where he plays before getting too attached to a ranking for Rodgers. He may still just be golfing, living his best island life by September.
- Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams – The best coaching staff he’s ever had and a massive upgrade from his 2020 offense all-around.
- Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks – Just like Lamar, this is a sign of just how loaded the quarterback position really is. The fizzle down the stretch last year likely leaves certain players leaning away from Wilson.
- Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings – Nobody gets excited to add Cousins to the squad but he’s finished 11th, 14th, and 11th in the past three years among his colleagues. If not for a disaster start to the 2020 campaign, a top 10 finish was in sight. Cousins is currently sitting at QB18 in ADP, which makes very little sense.
- Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals – The receiving trio for Burrow is not in question with Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, and former LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase all in the fold. The offensive line is a different story and Burrow is coming off a serious knee reconstruction. I don’t believe it’s a large difference, but if I’m on the clock in redraft leagues I’d likely go Cousins.
- Trey Lance, San Francisco 49ers – I suppose you can say this is my hottest take in the ranks but I’m a big believer in Lance. Most rookie quarterbacks selected third have some issues with the team around them. That’s not the exact case for Lance. He inherits a solid offensive line and has George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, and Deebo Samuel for weapons. Coach Kyle Shanahan is one of the most respected offensive minds in the game. The 49ers gave up an immense amount to get to the third pick. Lance will play early, has some rushing upside, and will be a fantasy dynamo off the hop.
- Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles – Possibly the toughest quarterback to rank. He’s the clear starter and has serious rushing upside but legit questions on the passing game as a whole in Philly make life difficult.
- Trevor Lawerence, Jacksonville Jaguars – It wouldn’t be surprising if Lawerence ends up higher at the end of the year. He’s been the consensus first pick for so long that I think some have forgotten how good he actually is. My questions are more on the side of coaching but Lawrence has a god cast and should trail plenty this year.
- Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns – Our founder thinks this is about 15 spots too high. Baker is a good quarterback but with a strong run game that Cleveland loves to lean on (fifth-most rush attempts per game in 2020), I’m not sure where the ceiling truly is for Mayfield.
- Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons – Can he do enough to support Calvin Ridley and Kyle Pitts as dominant players at their respective positions? I believe so, but Ryan losing Julio with no real replacement is just a huge loss for an offense. I know Julio was hurt through a lot of 2020 and Ryan finished as the QB13 in part due to that reason. Finishing second for intended air yards and outside of the top 12 for quarterbacks, last year isn’t the best sign to my eyes.
- Tua Tagovialoa, Miami Dolphins – The vibe around Tua is weird. He has just 290 attempts under his belt and it seems like plenty are ready to give up. I’m not there yet. Tua shouldn’t have to worry about getting yanked from the game midway no that Ryan Fitzpatrick is gone. He also has been drawing great reviews with his command of the offense in OTA’s. Adding Jaylen Waddle in the draft and Will Fuller via free agency to DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki should help the 6.3 yards per pass thrown, ranked 31st in the league last year.
- Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders – He’s like Kirk Cousins-lite. Nobody is excited to draft him, but the field is leaving him below QB25 in ADP. He was the QB14 last year and passed for over 4,100 yards, threw for 27 touchdowns, and got almost nothing from Henry Ruggs or Bryan Edwards. There is profit to be had at QB29 in ADP, even with some concerns about the offensive line.
- Carson Wentz, Indianapolis Colts – Talk about someone tough to rank. Wentz could take the reunion with coach Frank Reich, get his head right, and take massive advantage of the upgrade in offense line and weaponry. He could also continue to just be a guy, take a ton of sacks, and turn the ball over. Indy was top 10 in rush attempts per game, so they don’t need Wentz to be a hero.
- Ryan Fitzpatrick, Washington Football Team – Fitzpatrick and his majestic beard are now in Washington and he has some weapons to work with Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, Logan Thomas, and Antonio Gibson. I’m not sure Fitzmagic is going to be required to have many huge games because Washington should continue to have a very good defense.
- Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans – The team is a mess and he has large issues off the field right now. I’m in no position to address those, but if I was drafting today I wouldn’t take Watson in case the NFL hands down discipline. He’s a player that could see his ranking change instantly.
- Justin Fields, Chicago Bears – Full disclosure, I love Fields and I wanted the Steelers to make the same type of trade to draft him. However, Matt Nagy has not proven to be a coach that we can trust to elevate folks for fantasy. We also don’t know when he gets on the field. You can make that same argument with Lance but the trade packages were far different and San Francisco is a clearly better offensive environment.
- Sam Darnold, Carolina Panthers – A lot of my dynasty teams are littered with whatever New York spit out of Darnold. A friendly reminder that he just turned 24 and is free of the tyranny of Adam Gase for the first time in his career. His weapons are far better, the coaching is far better, and Darnold costs you nothing with a very tangible reward at his QB31 ADP.
- Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers – Well, nobody can accuse me of being a homer. Big Ben was 29th in yards per completion last year and struggled to hit anything deep downfield. Now he has an offensive line in flux (and that is being very kind), is a year older, and has a lot of folks saying he should’ve hung it up last year. His receivers are very talented but he’s learning a new offense with major question marks around him. It’s a tough sell for fantasy.
- Zach Wilson, New York Jets – New York did a pretty solid job of re-vamping the offense this past offseason and Wilson will have to fail pretty spectacularly to get the starting job taken away.
- Daniel Jones, New York Giants – The talent around him is not a question as far as pass catchers go, but the O-line is and Jones has always been turnover-prone.
- Jameis Winston, New Orleans Saints – Until we know who the starter is, I’m not going to be that excited for Winston or Taysom Hill.
- Jared Goff, Detroit Lions – Goff was 23rd in points per game with Sean McVay as his coach and much better weapons in LA last season. You’d be banking on a lot of garbage time stats (which count all the same) but the environment is way inferior to 2020.
Thank you for reading my Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings and make sure you follow me on Twitter at @bucn4life! Be sure to sign up for an ALL ACCESS GOLD ACCOUNT account here at Win Daily Sports. Gain access to our Projection Models and jump into our Discord where we will have our experts talking plays across every sport and slate!