6 Fantasy Football Sleepers Experts Target: Quarterbacks (2026)

When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, knowing which players to target and others to avoid is important. The amount of information available can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine players to draft and others to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to fantasy football average draft position (ADP). In this way, you can identify players the experts are willing to reach for at ADP and others they are not drafting until much later than average. Let’s dive into a few notable fantasy football sleepers below. And check out all of the fantasy football sleepers experts love in our consensus sleeper rankings.

Fantasy Football Sleepers Experts Draft: Quarterbacks

Here are fantasy football sleepers the experts love to target in drafts.

Who are Fantasy Football Sleepers?

Fantasy football sleepers are players who have a strong chance to exceed expectations and become surprise difference-makers for fantasy managers.

Fantasy Football Sleepers: Quarterbacks

Rank	Quarterbacks	Team	Bye	Num Experts	ECR	ADP
1	Kyler Murray	MIN	6	6	17	17
2	Jared Goff	DET	6	6	16	16
3	Malik Willis	MIA	6	4	20	21
4	Baker Mayfield	TB	10	5	19	19
5	Tyler Shough	NO	8	5	21	20
6	Jordan Love	GB	11	2	18	18

After seven topsy-turvy seasons with the Cardinals, Kyler Murray will make a fresh start with the Vikings in 2026. Murray may or may not be in a quarterback competition with JJ McCarthy for Minnesota’s starting job, but it’s widely expected that Murray will be taking the snaps when the Vikings face the Packers in Week 1. Murray played only five games last season before sustaining a foot sprain that eventually landed him on injured reserve. Murray’s yearly finishes in fantasy points per game among quarterbacks with at least five starts: QB11, QB4, QB4, QB7, QB9, QB12, QB20. Murray steps into a good situation with Kevin O’Connell as his playcaller, and he’ll have Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jauan Jennings as his wide receivers. Murray has always added rushing value, having averaged at least 30 rushing per game in all seven of his NFL seasons. The perception might be that Murray is damaged goods, but he could be one of the better QB values in 2026 fantasy drafts.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Is Malik Willis in a tough spot in Miami? Sure. Could this offense outperform expectations in a number of ways? Absolutely. Greg Dulcich was outstanding on a per-route basis last year. Their receiver room is unproven and full of castoffs, but talented rookies like Chris Bell and Kevin Coleman Jr. could open some eyes in 2026 along with Willis. I know the starting resume for Willis is limited. I get it. What he have seen in limited doses over the last two years has been outstanding, though. Over the last two seasons, Willis has posted a 5.6% big-time throw rate (118 dropbacks, per PFF), 10.9 yards per attempt, and averaged 44.8 rushing yards per game. Last year, among all quarterbacks with at least 110 dropbacks, that big-time throw rate would have ranked eighth-best behind Caleb Williams, and his yards per attempt mark would have led the NFL. That rushing yardage mark per game over the last three years would have ranked first, fourth, and third among quarterbacks. Willis’s running prowess should have him flirting with QB1 production this year alone. If he and this offense surpass lowly expectations through the air, Willis would be a strong QB1 with upside in 2026.
– Derek Brown

Jared Goff has become a paragon of consistency. He’s strung together four consecutive 4,000-yard seasons, averaging 4,551 passing yards and 32.5 TD passes per season over that span. Goff hasn’t missed a game since 2021. But Goff has finished outside the top 12 in fantasy points per game (five starts minimum) in three of the last four years. He’s a fine passer but offers next to nothing as a runner, with 195 rushing yards and two TD runs over the last four years. Goff’s high-floor, low-ceiling profile makes him an unsexy target in fantasy drafts, but his high-floor makes him an ideal backup in 1QB leagues or QB2 in superflex leagues.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Tyler Shough is a wonderful late-round quarterback who could be a QB1 in 2026. Last year, in Weeks 12-18, Shough was the QB6 in fantasy points per game while averaging 25 rushing yards per game. That rushing yardage mark per game would have placed him at 12th-best last year had he kept it up for the entire season. In Weeks 12-18, among 30 qualifying quarterbacks, Shough was 12th in yards per attempt and highly accurate throw rate, ninth in hero throw rate, and seventh in passing yards per game (per Fantasy Points Data). With Travis Etienne, Bryce Lance, Oscar Delp, and Jordyn Tyson added to the offensive firepower this offseason, I expect the Saints offense to take another leap this season if Shough is up to the task, which his strong finish to last season says he is primed for.
– Derek Brown

It’s possible Jordan Love is simply a better real-life fantasy quarterback than fantasy quarterback. In 2025, Love ranked second among all quarterbacks in expected points added per dropback, third in defense-adjusted value over average, third in QBR and sixth in passer rating. And yet Love averaged only 16.1 fantasy points per game, which ranked QB19 among quarterbacks who made at least eight starts. Love finished QB5 in 2023, his first full season as an NFL starter, and hasn’t finished in QB1 range since. It’s partly because the Packers have been so run-heavy the last two seasons, finishing 31st in pass rate over expected in 2024, 22nd in 2025. Love hasn’t offered much rushing production either, with 282 rushing yards and one TD run over the last two seasons. Love might be a top-10 quarterback in reality, but it’s best to regard him as a high-end to midrange QB2 in 2026 fantasy drafts.
– Pat Fitzmaurice