Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Early-Round QB Targets (2025)

The lifeblood of a team and the engine that makes the offense go, quarterbacks are without question the most critical position on the offensive side of the ball. Yet, for fantasy football purposes, we typically wait at least several rounds before filling that slot on our roster.

Depth at the position, coupled with most league formats only allowing one to start each week (Superflex leagues aren’t as common as you’d think), has led to running backs and wide receivers dominating the first several selections. But make no mistake: Choosing the right quarterback will provide your team with a high weekly floor of points. Adding a capable alternative or backup option in case of injury or bye-week woes is becoming more widely accepted amongst analysts.

When should you consider adding a signal-caller to your fantasy squad? Which quarterbacks stick out in their respective tiers? Let’s dive into some early-round quarterbacks to consider.

Early-Round Fantasy Football Quarterbacks

Tier One

This is commonly referred to as the “rushing upside” tier for obvious reasons. Each of these four players, should they be on the field for an entire season, offers their managers upside not only in the passing game, but on the ground as well. Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen have the most potential for scoring rushing touchdowns in short-distance situations around the goal line, with Lamar Jackson and Jayden Daniels being more lithe runners who can generate chunk plays with their elusiveness.

This tier is by far the most expensive to acquire. Jackson and Allen will likely come off the board towards the end of the second round, with Daniels and Hurts usually gone in the third and fourth rounds, respectively, based on average draft position (ADP).

Favorite Pick

If you are opting to address quarterback this early, I’d go whole-hog and take Lamar Jackson. He made terrific strides last season as a passer (setting career highs in passing yards and touchdowns), while maintaining his stellar upside on the ground.

Jackson’s 915 rushing yards last season were more than De’Von Achane or J.K. Dobbins, and he is still just 28 years old. Jackson has a deep group of surrounding talent and is one of the safest selections in all of fantasy.

Tier Two

Waiting a little longer at the position will provide managers with these options. Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes bring modest rushing upside (around 300-350 rushing yards in a season), with Joe Burrow tracking right behind them. Burrow finished as the QB3 in fantasy last season, mainly due to the absurd number of passes he attempted (his 652 led the league; no one else reached more than 585).

Cincinnati did make an effort to improve its defense to keep the Bengals competitive within games, but this will still be a pass-heavy offense. Mayfield enjoyed a stellar 2024 campaign where he set career highs across the board, but managers should bank upon some sort of regression. We’d anticipate his totals to come closer to his 2023 mark, where he remained a top-10 option.

It feels odd writing that Mahomes doesn’t offer the same upside as the other players within this tier, but he hasn’t been a top-six producer at the position since 2022, with Kansas City adopting a more balanced approach.

Favorite Pick

Although Mahomes and Mayfield have higher rushing floors than Burrow, he will blow past them in terms of production within the pocket, with the best one-two wide receiver tandem in the NFL at his disposal. Burrow has been a top-three option in two of the last three years when he was healthy, and is the most consistent option amongst this pairing.

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